Intensive Therapy Retreat in Spain
Intensive Therapy Retreat · Andalusia, Spain

Intensive Therapy Retreat in Spain

Psychotherapist-led intensive therapeutic work in Andalusia, with scheduled and private formats built for depth rather than escape.

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Scheduled five-day intensive · Six people maximum · €9,500 per person · Private formats available

Intensive psychotherapy

Not more therapy. A different way of doing the work.

Conventional therapy usually has a rhythm. You spend an hour in the room, something opens, and then you return immediately to ordinary life. Work continues. Phones ring. Responsibilities resume. By the following week, much of what surfaced has already been absorbed back into the same environment.

The Ridge works differently. It is a psychotherapist-led intensive therapy retreat in Andalusia, with Simon Hitchcock leading the therapeutic work personally. The scheduled Ridge Intensive brings that work together across five continuous days, while private formats are available where privacy, timing or more individual structure matters.

The purpose is not to suggest that an intensive replaces months or years of therapy, or that everything can be resolved in a few days. It is to create continuity, attention and distance from ordinary life so that what emerges can be followed rather than repeatedly interrupted.

For the scheduled Five-Day Ridge Intensive, that work continues after departure through a written leaving document and ninety days of direct follow-up with Simon.

Why the setting matters

Sometimes distance changes what becomes possible.

Simon Hitchcock explains why returning immediately to the same pressures, roles and routines can reinforce the patterns someone is trying to change.
From Simon You Can't Heal In The Environment That's Wounding You
A private conversation

You can begin here.

If something you've read feels familiar, you can write to Simon directly. A few words are enough to begin. You don't need to explain everything in a form.

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WHY INTENSIVE WORK

Continuity creates a different kind of therapeutic space.

The value of intensive work is not simply that there are more hours of therapy. It is what becomes possible when the work is allowed to continue without repeatedly being interrupted by a return to ordinary life.

In the scheduled Five-Day Ridge Intensive, something that emerges in an individual session can be explored again later that day, observed in a different setting and returned to the following morning. Simon remains clinically present across the programme, so the work does not repeatedly stop and restart.

The wider programme supports that process. Group work, behavioural observation, breathwork, cold exposure, horses, wilderness and physical challenge may be used where they are therapeutically relevant. They are not activities added around the therapy. They give Simon different ways of seeing how a person responds when familiar patterns are placed under pressure.

For some participants, the work involves patterns connected to unresolved trauma. For others, the presenting issue may be burnout, persistent anxiety, disconnection, performance or a long-running way of coping that no longer works.

Where privacy, timing or more individual structure matters, there are two private routes. The Seven-Day Private Intensive is centred on one person or potentially one couple, while the Private Weekend Intensive provides concentrated 1:1 work with Simon from Friday to Monday.

For people specifically looking for intensive therapeutic work without a wider participant group, there is more detail on The Ridge’s private therapy retreat approach.

See How the Five Days Work
Therapy retreat or wellness retreat

This is not a wellness retreat.

Both can involve leaving ordinary life for several days. That is where the similarity largely ends. The Ridge is built around psychotherapy and therapeutic depth rather than relaxation, general wellbeing or temporary escape.

For people whose search is broader than a particular condition or therapeutic format, there is also an overview of how The Ridge approaches the idea of a mental health retreat in Spain, and where it sits between a wellness retreat, residential treatment and intensive psychotherapy.

For some people, the reason for seeking this kind of work is burnout that has not changed through rest or time away. If that is closer to what you are experiencing, read more about The Ridge as a burnout retreat in Spain.

For others, the patterns bringing them to intensive therapy are connected to experiences from the past that continue to shape relationships, emotional responses or their sense of safety in the present. If that is closer to what you are experiencing, read more about our trauma therapy retreat in Spain.

A wellness retreat

Rest and relaxation

General wellbeing

Shared activities

A break from routine

Time away from work and ordinary life

The Ridge

Psychotherapy led personally by Simon Hitchcock

Scheduled and private intensive formats

Therapeutic work shaped around the person and what emerges

Behavioural, equine, breathwork, wilderness and physical challenge where clinically useful

Continuity across consecutive days rather than isolated weekly sessions

Written integration and follow-up structured around the format

The setting is part of the work.
Practical details

What the Ridge intensive formats include.

Clinical lead Simon Hitchcock leads the therapeutic work personally across all Ridge formats
Scheduled format The Five-Day Ridge Intensive runs for five continuous days with a maximum of six participants
Private formats The Seven-Day Private Intensive is arranged for one person or potentially one couple. The Private Weekend Intensive runs Friday to Monday and is always 1:1
Location The therapeutic work takes place at The Ridge near Pizarra, Málaga, Spain
Accommodation Nearby rural accommodation approximately one kilometre from The Ridge is included across all formats
Meals Included across all Ridge formats
Airport transfers Included from Málaga Airport on agreed arrival and departure days
Scheduled investment €9,500 per person for the Five-Day Ridge Intensive
Private investment Seven-Day and Weekend fees are discussed directly with Simon once the appropriate structure is understood
Follow-up The scheduled Five-Day Ridge Intensive includes a written leaving document and ninety days of direct follow-up with Simon. Follow-up for private formats is agreed according to the work and the structure of the intensive.
The setting

The setting is part of the work.

The therapeutic work takes place at The Ridge near Pizarra, Málaga, using the therapy spaces, horses, mountain and surrounding landscape as the work requires. Participants stay in nearby rural accommodation approximately one kilometre away, providing a separate place to rest and decompress at the end of each day while remaining close to The Ridge throughout the programme.

The location matters because the programme is designed around continuity. You do not finish a difficult session and immediately return to an office, commute or family routine. There is space for what has surfaced to remain present.

Málaga Airport also makes The Ridge accessible for people travelling from the UK, across Europe and internationally. For people considering this kind of work from elsewhere in Europe, you can also read more about the psychotherapy retreat format in Europe. Airport transfers are included on the agreed arrival and departure days.

The next scheduled Ridge Intensive is planned for late October 2026, with exact dates currently being confirmed. Future programme dates will be published as they are confirmed.

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Further information

Common questions.

What is an intensive therapy retreat?
: An intensive therapy retreat brings therapeutic work together across consecutive days rather than separating sessions by a week or more. At The Ridge, Simon Hitchcock leads the psychotherapy personally, with a scheduled Five-Day Intensive and two private formats available depending on the amount of time, privacy and individual structure required.
How is an intensive therapy retreat different from weekly therapy?
: Weekly therapy creates space between sessions. Intensive work creates continuity. At The Ridge, what emerges in one session can be followed later that day or across the following days rather than repeatedly being interrupted by a return to ordinary routines. Intensive work does not replace weekly therapy in every situation, but it creates a different therapeutic rhythm.
Is The Ridge a wellness retreat?
: No. The Ridge is built around psychotherapy and therapeutic depth rather than general wellbeing, relaxation or temporary escape. Accommodation and the setting support the work, but they are not the purpose of the intensive.
What intensive formats are available at The Ridge?
: There are three formats. The scheduled Five-Day Ridge Intensive runs with a maximum of six participants. The Seven-Day Private Intensive is arranged for one person or potentially one couple, and the Private Weekend Intensive runs from Friday to Monday and is always 1:1. Suitability and format are discussed directly with Simon before participation.
Where in Spain does the intensive take place?
: The therapeutic work takes place at The Ridge near Pizarra in Málaga, Andalusia, around forty minutes from Málaga Airport. Participants stay in nearby rural accommodation approximately one kilometre away.
Can I travel from the UK or elsewhere in Europe?
: Yes. Participants can travel from the UK, across Europe and internationally. Málaga Airport is the main arrival point, with airport transfers included on agreed arrival and departure days across the Ridge intensive formats.
Do I need a diagnosis or referral?
: No referral is required. Suitability is established directly with Simon before participation is confirmed, so the relevant question is whether intensive therapeutic work is appropriate for what is happening rather than whether someone arrives with a particular diagnosis.
What is included in the €9,500 fee?
: €9,500 is the fee for the scheduled Five-Day Ridge Intensive. It includes the pre-arrival assessment, five-day programme, accommodation, meals, agreed Málaga airport transfers, a written leaving document and ninety days of direct follow-up with Simon. Private intensive fees are discussed separately once the appropriate format and structure are understood.
What happens after I return home?
: Participants in the scheduled Five-Day Ridge Intensive leave with a written document setting out what has been understood during the work and how it can continue afterwards. Ninety days of direct follow-up with Simon support the process of carrying that work back into everyday life.
Start with a conversation

The first step is working out whether this is the right kind of work for you.

You do not need to know in advance whether the scheduled Five-Day Intensive, Seven-Day Private Intensive or Private Weekend Intensive is the right format.

The first step is simply to speak privately with Simon about what is happening, what you are hoping to change and whether this kind of intensive therapeutic work is appropriate for you.

From the Start page, you can book a private 20-minute consultation with Simon or, if you would rather write first, send a short private enquiry. Neither commits you to attending.

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