Trauma Therapy Retreat in Spain
TRAUMA THERAPY RETREAT · ANDALUSIA

Trauma Therapy Retreat in Spain

Five days of concentrated therapeutic work for patterns that did not begin with the life you are living now.

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Five days · Six people maximum · Near Málaga, Spain · 90-day follow-up

WHY INTENSIVE WORK

Understanding what happened is not always the same as changing what it still does.

Trauma does not always look like crisis. It can appear in relationships, work, anxiety, control, disconnection, anger, avoidance or the feeling that part of you is still responding to something that happened a long time ago.

The Ridge is a five-day psychotherapist-led trauma therapy retreat in Andalusia, Spain, with Simon Hitchcock leading the therapeutic work alongside a small specialist team.

For a broader overview of the intensive therapeutic approach, you can also read about our intensive therapy retreat in Spain.

You can see how the five days are structured in the Five-Day Ridge Intensive Programme.

How Simon works

Understanding the pattern is not the same as changing it.

Simon Hitchcock explains why recognising where a pattern came from does not automatically change what the body, relationships and behaviour continue to repeat.
From Simon Why Insight Isn't Enough (The Three Things That Actually Create Change)
WHY TRAUMA PATTERNS PERSIST

The response can remain long after the event has passed.

People can understand their history extremely well and still find themselves repeating the same responses.

A relationship becomes threatening when nothing threatening is happening. Control becomes difficult to relinquish. Rest feels unsafe. Conflict produces a reaction that seems disproportionate to the moment. Intimacy creates distance rather than closeness.

These responses can make considerably more sense when they are understood in the context in which they were formed.

At The Ridge, the purpose is not to spend five days repeatedly retelling the past. The work is to understand what was learned, how it continues to operate now, and what happens when those patterns are approached differently.

The continuity of five days allows the work to be followed rather than repeatedly interrupted. Something recognised in psychotherapy can be observed again in relationships, group work, behavioural patterns, physical challenge or the way the nervous system responds under pressure.

For people travelling from elsewhere in Europe for concentrated therapeutic work, you can also read more about the psychotherapy retreat format in Europe.

See How the Five Days Work
THE SETTING

Five continuous days changes the therapeutic environment.

Weekly therapy can create insight, but every session is followed by a return to normal life.

An intensive creates continuity.

For a broader overview of this therapeutic format, read more about our intensive therapy retreat in Spain.

What emerges in one conversation can be explored again later that day or the following morning. What is understood intellectually can be encountered through the body, relationships, physical challenge, the landscape and work with the horses.

The therapy room is therefore one part of the process rather than the only place therapeutic work happens.

The programme is residential, limited to six participants and led personally by Simon throughout the five days.

WHO THIS WORK MAY BE FOR

You do not need a diagnosis to recognise that something is still repeating.

Insight has not been enough You may understand what happened and still find yourself repeating the same responses.
Relationships keep activating the same patterns Closeness, conflict, trust, control or distance may repeatedly become difficult even when you understand why.
Your responses feel larger than the present moment Anxiety, anger, avoidance, disconnection or the need for control may appear disproportionate to what is happening now.
Weekly therapy has helped, but something remains You may have gained significant insight without yet changing the pattern itself.
You want concentrated therapeutic work The Ridge is for people looking for sustained psychotherapist-led work rather than a wellness break or temporary escape.
Important The Ridge is not an emergency, detox or inpatient psychiatric service.
SIMON HITCHCOCK

Trauma work grounded in more than fifteen years of clinical experience.

Simon Hitchcock is a British integrative psychotherapist with more than fifteen years of clinical experience across private practice and residential settings.

His work has included trauma, addiction, eating disorders, burnout and complex relationship patterns, alongside the development of residential therapeutic programmes and clinical teams.

His approach draws on integrative psychotherapy rather than forcing every person through a single therapeutic model. The question is not simply what happened to you. It is what your mind and body learned to do because of it, whether that response is still necessary, and what becomes possible when it no longer has to organise your life.

The therapeutic work takes place at The Ridge near Pizarra, Málaga, with participants staying in nearby rural accommodation approximately one kilometre away.

Where privacy, timing or circumstances require a different format, private therapy intensives in Spain are also available for one person or one couple.

Every person considering The Ridge speaks with Simon before participation is confirmed.

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Further information

Common questions.

What is a trauma therapy retreat?
A trauma therapy retreat provides a concentrated period of therapeutic work away from the routines and environments of everyday life. The Ridge is a five-day psychotherapist-led trauma therapy retreat in Spain, near Málaga, where the work is led personally by integrative psychotherapist Simon Hitchcock.
Is The Ridge a trauma treatment centre?
No. The Ridge is a private psychotherapist-led residential intensive rather than a hospital or inpatient psychiatric facility. Suitability is considered individually before participation is confirmed.
Who leads the trauma work at The Ridge?
The programme is led personally by British integrative psychotherapist Simon Hitchcock, who has more than fifteen years of clinical experience including work with trauma, addiction, eating disorders, burnout and complex relationship patterns.
How long is the trauma therapy retreat?
The scheduled Ridge Intensive takes place across five days. Participants stay in nearby rural accommodation approximately one kilometre from The Ridge, with accommodation and meals included. Participants also receive ninety days of post-programme support with Simon.
Where does the trauma therapy retreat take place?
The therapeutic work takes place at The Ridge near Pizarra in Málaga, Andalusia, southern Spain. Participants stay in nearby rural accommodation approximately one kilometre away, giving them a separate place to rest between the days while remaining close to The Ridge throughout the programme.
How many people attend each intensive?
Each scheduled Ridge Intensive is limited to a maximum of six participants.
Do I need a PTSD diagnosis to attend?
No. The Ridge is not built around requiring a particular diagnostic label. The important question is whether the patterns or experiences you are carrying are appropriate for the kind of intensive therapeutic work offered at The Ridge. Suitability is discussed directly with Simon before participation.
What happens after the five days?
Participants receive ninety days of post-programme WhatsApp support with Simon to help integrate the work into everyday life.
START WITH A CONVERSATION

The first question is not whether you have trauma. It is whether what happened is still organising how you live now.

Every enquiry is reviewed personally by Simon. You do not need to know whether The Ridge is right for you before getting in touch. The first conversation is there to work that out.

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