Maitri Retreat

A key component of the MA Psychology: Contemplative Psychotherapy program are the Maitri retreats. The residential retreats are currently held at Shambhala Mountain Center, a retreat center located in Red Feather Lakes, Colorado, high in the Rocky Mountains.

In their first and second year, program students spend a month in the intensive community practice of Maitri. In the third year, while the students are in internship, they spend a week. The Maitri retreats are a mix of intensive meditation practice, meditation instructions and talks, walking meditation, some days of silence and community work practice.

During the program, students are supported by an experienced staff of directors and meditation instructors. In the first year, special emphasis is placed on deepening one’s meditation practice and relationship with one’s own mind. In the second year, an increasing emphasis is placed on integrating meditation practice with clinical perspectives. In the final year of the program, students are invited to examine transitions through the study of The Tibetan Book of the Dead.

A key element of the Maitri retreats is the practice of Maitri Space Awareness. Space awareness practice is done in five differently colored rooms that intensify different emotional and psychological states. By doing space awareness practice in the supportive context of retreat, students recognize their own patterns and develop friendliness towards themselves and others. The goal is to develop relaxation and fearlessness in dealing with others.