{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Retreats & Offsites Unpacked","title":"What Does Family Therapy Have to Do With Retreats?","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1674,"description":"What if the real work of retreats isn’t strategy or skills—but relationships?\nMany retreats struggle not because of poor agendas, but because of unspoken dynamics, unmet attachment needs, and a lack of psychological safety inside the group.\nIn this episode, Dan Berger is joined by Patience Shutts, a retreat facilitator, keynote speaker, and licensed marriage and family therapist, to explore how family systems thinking can radically improve retreat and forum outcomes.\nThe conversation unpacks why belonging is a felt, somatic experience—not an intellectual one—how facilitators can co-regulate groups, and why deep listening, shared agreements, and vulnerability are the real drivers of trust and transformation in retreat settings.\nEpisode ThemesWhy retreats are fundamentally relational systemsFamily systems theory applied to forums and retreatsBelonging as a somatic, nervous-system experiencePsychological safety and attachment needs in groupsFacilitators as co-regulators of the roomTeaching vs. facilitating—and when to do eachVulnerability, credibility, and leading by exampleHow shared agreements shape healthy group cultureChapters00:00 – Welcome and introduction\n01:36 – The story behind the name “Patience”\n03:04 – What makes facilitation truly effective\n04:58 – Systems thinking and group dynamics\n08:13 – Teaching vs. facilitating in retreats\n08:44 – Forums, families, and relational systems\n11:39 – What belonging really feels like\n15:35 – Vulnerability and facilitator credibility\n16:42 – Co-regulating a group as a facilitator\n19:32 – Choosing the right facilitator fit\n23:24 – How family therapy informs retreat work\n27:25 – Final reflections and closing\nAbout the Guest – Patience Shutts\nPatience Shutts is a retreat facilitator, keynote speaker, and licensed marriage and family therapist who blends human development, attachment theory, interpersonal neurobiology, and systems psychology. With thousands of clinical hours and global field experience, her work focuses on...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/bOBTiJs7vh0BXESSAuKMgrIiALFaXvXWvSKoFPBd1Co/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS85ZDE1/NmMxYmI2MTM4YzRk/ZWI5ZmE3ZTc4MmYx/OGUwMy5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}