Home > Weekends of Recovery > 2011 Weekends of Recovery: Kempenfelt
MaleSurvivor Level I Weekend of Recovery
"Dare to Dream"
Kempenfelt Conference Centre
July 15-17, 2011
Quick Navigation:
Goals of the Level I Weekend of Recovery
Facilitator Team
Is this for me? How can I prepare for the weekend?
Survivors with perpetration history
Registration Costs
Scholarships
Dining
Other Information About Kempenfelt
Traveling to Kempenfelt
When to Arrive and Depart - Making Plane Reservations
Arrival Policy
Transportation Coordination
Therapist Recommendation Letter
Consent Form
Schedule
Any Questions?
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN--CLICK HERE
Save $75 by registering early!
MaleSurvivor Weekends of Recovery are open to any man, 18 or older, who has been sexually victimized as
a child and/or as an adult. . We have selected the Kempenfelt Conference Centre near Barrie, Ontario as
the site to host the 2011 Canadian Level 1 Weekend of Recovery experience. The Kempenfelt Conference Centre
is located about 1 1/2 hours north of the Toronto International Airport.
Setting the standard as an off-site day and residential meeting location of quality and distinction for over 20 years, The Kempenfelt Conference Centre is a "dedicated" full service facility located just a 'little above' Toronto on beautiful Kempenfelt Bay, Lake Simcoe. An 'ancillary' property of Georgian College, the center will provide us with our own exclusive building, Bayview Place.
Included with your registration will be single or double accommodations, full hot and cold buffet breakfast, full hot and cold buffet lunch, 3 course table d'hote dinner with 3 entrée selections, selected beverages with each meal, evening snack, accommodations, unlimited morning and afternoon coffee and beverage breaks, 24 hour access to coffee and beverage stations plus full use of on-site recreational facilities. Within our building, there is darts, pool table, ping pong table, shuffleboard, and a fitness room.
Enjoy the Outdoors
Also on the grounds are double tennis courts walking trails, mountain bikes, horseshoe pita and a ball diamond. Swimming is available in Lake Simcoe and there are also paddleboats for our use during our afternoon break time.
Goals of the Weekend of Recovery
The facilitator team invites you to
- Dare to dream you can leave your isolation behind you at this weekend;
- Dare to dream you can make real connections with the participants and facilitators at the weekend;
- Dare to dream you can co-create and experience a sense of real safety;
- Dare to dream you can claim your right to use your voice to become a powerful male survivor who is sensitive to his own feelings and experiences and those of other survivors here;
- Dare to dream you can tell your story this time and be understood, believed and supported like you have always deserved;
- Dare to dream you can experiment with being more vulnerable and letting go and still feel safe enough;
- Dare to dream you will be able to leave Kempenfelt a freer, less burdened, and even a happier man, taking the connections you make here with you to utilize as you continue to heal and recover!
Facilitator Team:
Weekends of Recovery are facilitated by trained psychotherapists, utilizing the same clinical boundaries and code
of ethics as adopted by the American Psychological Association. The weekends are adjuncts to participants' ongoing
recovery work with individual and/or group psychotherapy, twelve step programs, and individual spiritual work, and
are not meant to substitute for the participants' local support systems that are consistent with their own recovery.
Dr. Howard Fradkin, a Psychologist and Jim Struve, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, both with over 30 years of
experience working with male survivors, co-chair the facilitator team. The team of facilitators includes other
Psychologists, Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Mental Health Counselors. The rest of the team for
this Kempenfelt Centre Weekend of Recovery includes: Lynne MacDonell, Rob Hawkings, Don Laufersweiler, Sharon Imperato,
and Sandi Forti.MaleSurvivor reserves the right to make changes to the staff depending on enrollment. Biographies of
all staff members for this weekend can be found on the MaleSurvivor website at
www.malesurvivor.org
IS THIS FOR ME? HOW CAN I PREPARE FOR THE WEEKEND?
For those working with professionals, we recommend you discuss your planned participation in this weekend to get their
feedback and suggestions for how you can benefit as much as possible from the experience while keeping yourself as safe
as you need to be. All participants must be able to safely and appropriately engage in structured group activities.
When we receive your completed registration form, we will also send you a form for your therapist to complete and return
to us. You can also download the form on our website as well. If you have an already established support system of
friends/family members/significant others, we also encourage you to talk with them about your participation so they can
be available both before and after the weekend as needed to help you prepare and process your experiences.
If you are not in therapy, and/or do not yet have a support network, we encourage you to consider setting up an appointment with a therapist either before you come to the retreat, or after your return, and/or encourage you to explore what types of self-help groups and resources are available in your community or near by. This way you can follow up on some of the experiences and skills you learn that will help the weekend's learning stay fresh in your mind and help you apply what skills and awareness would most help your continuing recovery.
One of our staff members will be contacting you by phone within two weeks of when we receive your application to talk with you about your needs for the weekend and your readiness to participate. All participants must be able to safely and appropriately engage in structured group activities. If we have any concerns about you participating, we may suggest some steps you can take to enhance your readiness for this weekend or we may ask you to wait for a future weekend while you take some additional steps we believe would be important for you to benefit from the experience. Please do not schedule your travel arrangements until after your interview is completed and you have been told you have been accepted as a participant. The facilitator team will make every effort to complete that process as quickly as possible. The earlier you register, the more possible that will be (which of course could help you save money on transportation and by getting an early registration discount).
You can read comments from other participants on our web page (see the testimonials section under the tab Weekends of Recovery). Many participants have told us that the weekend is a very intense and rewarding experience, and at the same time sometimes it is quite uncomfortable. We recognize that one of the challenges male survivors have is feeling comfortable enough to ask for help, especially when they are feeling most in need of the help. For participants who are aware they have a problem with dissociation, this can be an especially difficult challenge. We would encourage you to practice asking for help before the weekend, perhaps with your own therapist, as well as with friends and significant others, and to assess for yourself what gets in your way of asking for the help you need so you can let us know when we contact you prior to the retreat. The facilitators are all very skilled therapists, and often times we can be sensitive and intuitive enough to know you need help even when you are not asking. However, we will clearly need your help and ask you to take the risk to articulate your needs during the retreat. To the extent you can help us know you are needing some extra help at any time during the weekend, this will help you to have an even safer and hopefully more beneficial experience.
During the weekend, we'll invite you to participate in a number of different types of activities. We'll spend some time helping each of you to feel as safe as possible. We'll take our time getting to know each other by sharing a little at a time. Frequently during the weekend we will meet in small groups, where you can have more individual time to talk and share your feelings and observations.
Everyone will be given some opportunities to choose how to tell your story - through words, through art, through movement, and/or through music. We'll also introduce you to some different types of relaxation and visualization exercises you may choose to do at home to increase your abilities to cope and manage life stresses. We'll also give you time to wander the beautiful retreat grounds alone or with some of your fellow participants.
No alcohol or un-prescribed drugs may be brought to the weekend.
Survivors with perpetration history:
Any person who has been adjudicated (found guilty) of sexual perpetration at any time in their life is not eligible
for participation in the weekends. Because some survivors have sexually acted out in childhood, adolescence or even
young adulthood, we do not wish to automatically exclude them from a Weekend of Recovery. However, to assess each participant
on a case-by-case basis, we want to be able to discuss perpetration history with them and their therapist. This means that in
order to assure other participants that we have their safety in mind, we want to be able to screen anyone with such a history to
determine if attending a weekend is in their best interest and the best interest of all participants. We encourage all
potential participants to be honest when we call you about any such incidents in your past because some participants may be
unable to deal with people with such histories. In such cases, an interview with the Weekends of Recovery Chairperson will be
required to determine if you will be accepted.
Registration Costs
Registration includes the costs of the facilitated Weekend of Recovery program, with our 6 skilled facilitators from the MaleSurvivor
Weekend of Recovery Facilitator Team, plus lodging, 7 meals, and snacks. Bottled water, juices, tea and coffee will be available
throughout the weekend. Single and a limited number of double accommodations with private bathrooms are available in Bayview Place
(see below). If you are not a MaleSurvivor member, we encourage you to join the organization and become a dues-paying member prior
to registration both to secure a significant discount ($75 off) and to help support the work of MaleSurvivor. (NOTE: This is not
the same as registering for website use with a log-in name; this is free). If you register and pay by May 15th,
you’ll receive a $50 discount; plus a $75 discount if you are a dues paying member of MaleSurvivor.
The majority of accommodations for this event will be offered as single rooms. We do have a very limited number of double rooms that we can offer to non-scholarship recipients, and they will be granted on a first come - first served basis. This requirement is necessary so that we are entitled to exclusive use of the Bayview Lodge at The Kempenfelt Centre.
For our Canadian participants: all rates are quoted in US dollars; we know it would be preferable for you to pay in Canada dollars, but unfortunately our U.S. payment system is not equipped for the exchange. As we are posting this, the US and Canadian exchange rate is practically identical -1 penny difference (www.xe.com) The exact exchange rate will be determined on the day you register. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by our system.
All prices quoted below are for Early Registration (by May 15th)
| Category | Description | Price |
| A1 | Single MaleSurvivor Member | $895.00 |
| A2 | Single Non-Member | $970.00 |
| B1 | Double MaleSurvivor Member | $795.00 |
| (There are a limited number of B1 rooms available for non-scholarship recipients) | ||
Registration after May 15th: Add $50 to the costs above
To register for the weekend, we ask that you complete an online registration at www.malesurvivor.org and/or mail in a registration form. To hold your spot for the weekend, we are requesting at least $150 deposit with your registration. You will have the choice on the registration form to either prepay your registration in full at the time of registration or opt for a payment plan. If you want to take advantage of the early registration discount, your total registration must be paid by May 15th.. Your balance will automatically be charged to your credit card on June 15th and you will still receive the early registration discount. All payments are due by June 16th. You may also mail in checks to be received on these dates. Holding your registration will be contingent on receipt of your additional registration fees on these dates. Any registration which is not paid in full by June 16, 2011 is subject to cancellation and a $50 cancellation fee. Any cancellation after June 16th will be subject to the loss of all monies paid.
Registration will remain open until July 12th, provided there is space available. Anyone who registers after June 16th the full amount of the participant fees at the time of registration.
PARTIAL SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE:
Dependent on MaleSurvivor's scholarship fund balance, a limited number of partial scholarships will be available for this weekend. If you have a need for a scholarship, please go to the MaleSurvivor website, click on Weekends of Recovery, and then click on Apply for a Scholarship, which will take you to this page: https://www.malesurvivor.org/register/register; put an x in the box "apply for event scholarship" and you'll be taken to a separate page where you'll find a form to complete which MaleSurvivor will email to Jim Struve, Weekend Co-Chairperson. If your scholarship request can be granted, Jim will email you back with authorization to register and directions about how to enter your scholarship into our payment system. We encourage those requesting scholarships to apply for partial scholarships and to commit to self-paying as much of the registration as possible (or ask others in your support system to assist you in your support group). This enables MaleSurvivor to make more scholarships available to more participants. We can only provide assistance with registration costs, and cannot at this time provide any assistance with transportation costs..
If you are in a position to make a financial contribution to our scholarship fund, you can make a donation through the MaleSurvivor website (same link as above-https://www.malesurvivor.org/register/register ) by contributing to the Memorial Fund or on the registration form. Thanks for any help you can provide.
DINING:
The meals at Kempenfelt are delicious with a wide variety of choices. There is always a vegetarian entrée as one of the choices for
our meals, and any specific food needs or specific food allegies should be indicated on your registration form and we will do our best to
accommodate any special requests. Bottled water, juices, coffee and tea, half and half and soy milk will be supplied all weekend long for you.
OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT DAHLONEGA AND THE CENTER:
No alcohol or un-prescribed drugs may be brought to the weekend. There is also a no smoking policy in the buildings.
We will indicate to you at the time of your arrival where the designated smoking area is and ask that you respect this limit. Most cell
phones do work here.
We have several optional hikes during the weekend, including early morning meditation walks and a longer hike on Saturday afternoon. There are plenty of walking trails through the woods, so bring socks, bug protection and shoes that support you. We will provide you a packing list after you register. All bedding and towels and soap and shampoo are provided. Rooms also have hair dryers, irons, ironing boards and alarm clock radios. Wireless high speed internet will be available in all meeting rooms, bedrooms and public spaces. Parking is free.
Smoking Policy
Guests may not smoke inside any building at the Center - including guest rooms - out of consideration for other guests. Cigar and pipe smoking are also prohibited. Guests may smoke outside buildings in designated smoking areas only which will be indicated to you when you arrive.
Internet Access
The Center has wireless internet access in several buildings and a computer. However, we request that you only access the internet during break times and not during any regularly scheduled activities.
PASSPORTS: Please note that all U.S. residents must have a valid passport to enter Canada and re-enter the U.S.
MaleSurvivor will coordinate transportation to the center after you have been fully accepted to the weekend pending your completed interview with one of our staff. one of our facilitators will contact you to find out your transportation needs. During your interview, you'll be asked if you need help in coordinating transportation. We will do our best to provide shared transportation to the center if you need it. We ask that if some other participant agrees to provide transportation to you that you offer to contribute to their fuel costs. The center is located 91.2 km north of Toronto airport (1 hour 7 minutes depending on traffic).
Driving directions are available on the Kempenfelt website (go to www.kempenfelt.com and click on directions. You can enter where you are coming from and it will access a site to provide a map and directions for you).
Door to door transportation to and from the Toronto and Barrie airports can be arranged by calling Simcoe County Airport Service at 800-461-7529 or airport limousine from Blacktie Affair Limousine at 705-424-4808.
WHEN TO ARRIVE AND DEPART - MAKING PLANE RESERVATIONS
Please do not schedule your travel arrangements until after your interview is completed and you have been told you have been accepted as a participant. The facilitator team will make every effort to complete that process as quickly as possible. The earlier you register, the more possible that will be (which of course could help you save money on transportation and by getting an early registration discount).The weekend begins at 12 noon on Friday, and ends Sunday at 3 pm. Please pay particular attention to the arrival policy below before making your travel plans. Given travel time, we recommend all participants plan to arrive on Friday no later than 10 am; and plan to depart on Sunday no earlier than 6 pm . If you cannot accommodate your schedule to arrive and depart at these times, please be considerate and do not register. Late arrivals would miss important orientation information, and we ask that all participants plan to stay until the end of the weekend on Sunday to allow you sufficient time for closure. If you find that the only airline reservations you can find will require an overnight stay on either Thursday or Sunday, we are sorry, but we cannot provide overnight accommodations on Thursday or Sunday evening at the Center. If you need information about accommodations near either airport, please indicate this on your transportation form.
Arrival Policy
Safety for all participants is our utmost concern. Therefore, it is a requirement that in order to participate in the weekend, participants
must arrive at the beginning of the weekend, by 12 noon on Friday. In planning your trip, you are expected to take into consideration the
unpredictable delays that may accompany your travel. The Kempenfelt website suggests it is a 1 hr and 7 minute drive from Toronto Pierson
Airport to Kempenfelt. However, Toronto traffic tends to be very heavy this time of year as it is "cottage season" and many people travel
north of Toronto to the beaches all day on Friday and return home on Sunday afternoon. Traffic accidents that tie up the freeways are the
norm rather than the exception, so that is why we are advising you to give yourself plenty of extra travel time.
If you are an international traveler, please be mindful going through customs can take more time on arrival and also on departure. Please see the important arrival policy below. If you cannot accommodate your schedule to arrive and depart at these times, please be considerate and do not register. Late arrivals would miss important orientation information, and we ask that all participants plan to stay until the end of the weekend on Sunday to allow you sufficient time for closure. If you find that the only airline reservations you can find will require an overnight stay on either Thursday or Sunday, you can make reservations at Kempenfelt to stay in the main lodge, but you will not be able to enter our building or go to your room until Friday. You can contact Kempenfelt directly at 705-722-8080. We will post information about accommodations near either airport on the transportation forum (see transportation coordination below).
While we understand you may encounter delays for many reasons, we are unable to allow anyone to begin the weekend if your delay is greater than 2 hours. In other words, you cannot be admitted to the weekend after 2 pm for any reason. If you are experiencing a delay, we request you to call us to inform us of your arrival status. It is important to understand that in the event of your inability to attend due to late arrival, you will forfeit all monies paid for your registration. One strategy to avoid this situation is to arrive in the city of the weekend the night before, or a city near the airport. MaleSurvivor will provide you with information about budget hotels near the facility and the airport to help facilitate your stay. Your consideration of this policy will help strengthen the feeling of safety for all participants and help us to build a community.
After you have registered and been accepted for the weekend, your name and email address will be provided confidentially to our webmaster, who will provide you access to the MaleSurvivor Bulletin Board. On the board, the very last category is for Weekends of Recovery, and you will see a topic called Kempenfelt Weekend of Recovery Transportation Coordination. You will then have access once you sign in to network with others who are planning on attending the Kempenfelt Weekend so you can offer to share or give rides to those needing help in getting from the airport to the Centre. To protect your confidentiality, this part of the bulletin board will only be able to be accessed by those registered for the Kempenfelt Weekend, and by the Weekend Co-Chairs. If you share a ride, please be respectful and offer assistance with paying for gas.
Therapist Recommendation Letter:
When you register online, you will notice a link to a therapist recommendation letter when you click the tab Weekends of Recovery on the
home page; be sure to click on the Level I letter. If you register by mail, we will mail you the letter. We ask that all participants
who are currently in therapy bring this letter to your therapist prior to the weekend, and ask them to complete it with you and send it
back to us by July 10th. The information in this letter will help us to provide for any additional needs you may have for safety. It is
our intention to use this letter to help ensure your safety, and in no way is it intended to disempower you or cast doubt on your own
judgment about your readiness to participate in the weekend.
Consent Form
There is also a tab on the website under Weekends of Recovery which contains our Participant Consent Form-please download the Level I
Consent Form. We suggest you download this form and review it before you are interviewed. We ask that you bring your copy to the
weekend, where we will provide you another opportunity to ask any questions you have. All participants must sign a consent form in order
to participate in the weekend.
FRIDAY, July 15, 2011
| 10-12 | Registration and Room Check-In |
| 12-1 | Lunch |
| 1-2 | Welcome and Guidlines for Participation |
| 2-3 | Co-creating Safety Guidelines |
| 3-3:15 | Break |
| 3:15-4:15 | Introducing Ourselves |
| 4:15-4:30 | Break |
| 4:30-6 | First Small Groups |
| 6-6:30 | Break/Journaling/Reflecting/Networking |
| 6:30-7:30 | Dinner |
| 7:30-8:00 | Break/Survivor T-shirts |
| 8-9:30 | Grounding and Centering |
| 9:30- | Journaling/Reflecting/Networking/Bedtime |
Saturday, July 16, 2011
| 7-8 | Optional Walking Meditation |
| 8-9 | Breakfast |
| 9-9:15 | Check-In |
| 9:15-10 | Preparing to Tell My Story |
| 10-12 | Telling My Story-Small Groups |
| 12-12:30 | Break/Reflecting/Art |
| 12:30-1:30 | Lunch |
| 1:30-3 | Optional Hike/Survivor T-Shirts |
| 3-5 | Sculpting |
| 5:15-6:15 | Small Groups |
| 6:15-6:30 | Break |
| 6:30-7:30 | Dinner |
| 7:30-8 | Break/Journaling/Reflecting/Networking/T-shirts |
| 8-10 | Shame Busting |
| 10- | Optional Drumming Circle/Campfire |
SUNDAY, JULY 17, 2011
| 7-8 | Optional Walking Meditation |
| 8-8:45 | Breakfast |
| 9-9:15 | Check-In |
| 9:15-11 | Community Building |
| 11-11:15 | Break |
| 11:15-12:45 | Brief evaluation; last small group |
| 12:45-1 | Break |
| 1-1:45 | Lunch |
| 1:45-2 | Break |
| 2-3 | Closing/Group pictures |
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN--CLICK HERE
ANY QUESTIONS:
Questions can be directed to Howard Fradkin at 614-445-8277, ext. 11, or emailed to hfradkin@malesurvivor.org; or to Trisha Massa, MaleSurvivor Administrative Assistant, at 800-738-4181, or emailed to admin@malesurvivor.org
