WHAT IS BELOW THE SURFACE?

You have been in therapy. You understand your patterns with a clarity that sometimes makes it more frustrating when they repeat.

What you haven't had is time. Uninterrupted, structurally supported, professionally created space, the kind of stillness missing from your regular life. Overstimulated? We got you.

That is why Below the Surface was created. Over three days in the Catskills, two licensed therapists will guide a small group of adults through breathwork, somatic therapy, and Jungian shadow work. These three modalities work with the body and the unconscious, beyond cognitive based models.

Each day will build on the last. Each session is designed to create safety to help you open, process, and integrate each experience before you sleep.

This is not a peak experience retreat. There is no plant medicine, no catharsis for its own sake, no manufactured breakthrough designed to feel profound in the mountains and dissolve by the time you land at home.

What we are building here is capacity. A felt sense of your own interior, your nervous system, your parts, your shadow, that you can return to, work with, and build from inside your actual life.

The work we do together will not be comfortable. It will be held, paced, and clinically supported at every step. You will not be pushed beyond what you can integrate. You will be accompanied to the edge of what you have been able to reach alone and given the tools to go just a little further.

The Catskills will remove you from the noise. The structure will do the rest.

Below the Surface. Three days. Two licensed therapists. Breathwork. Somatic therapy. Shadow work.

For adults who are ready to go deeper than talk therapy can take them.

Space is intentionally limited.

STAFF

MATTHEW SMITH (facilitator)

Matthew (LSW, LCADC) is a holistic therapist, certified breathwork instructor, and community organizer. He has been in the professional helping industry for a decade. Matthew specializes in group work, leaning into the power of the collective to hold each other in a vulnerable space for the purpose of healing and growing. His mission is to provide the level of care and service that he would want his loves one to receive, showing up whole heartedly to ever group.

AIREAL WEBER (facilitator)

Aireal (LPC) is a Licensed Professional Counselor and somatic therapist with over a decade of experience specializing in trauma recovery and addiction. She is a Marine Corps veteran and PhD candidate in International Psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, where her research examines embodiment and somatic processing as therapeutic tools for trauma healing. Her work is body-based, trauma-informed, and built for people who are ready to go deeper than talk therapy can take them.

GABRIELLA LOPARDO (assistant)

Gabriella (LAC) is a therapist and certified hypnotherapist passionate about helping others heal through self-awareness, authenticity, and emotional connection. She is dedicated to creating safe spaces that support personal growth, healing, and transformation. Her work focuses on empowering clients to reconnect with themselves and create more intentional, meaningful lives.

NICOLE LUKAS (photographer)

Nicole is a holistic photographer specializing in goddess photoshoots, holistic branding, and retreat photography. Her work is centered around capturing authentic, empowering imagery that reflects the essence of your story, brand, and experience. She can’t wait to connect with you all, capture the magic, and document the transformation throughout the retreat!

MARY MORRISON (chef)

Mary Morrison, also known as Chef Mary, has been cooking for retreats, communities, and postpartum mamas for the last 9 years. On a mission to restore relationships between humans, land & food, Mary's devotion lies in remembering the ways of our ancestors, and bringing these sacred ways back into the sourcing, preparing, and sharing of nourishment.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Friday — Intention Setting

Arrival
Nourishing Dinner
Opening Circle

Saturday — The Work

3 Nourishing Meals
Somatic Therapy
Inner Child Work
Shadow Work
Silent Reflection
Cacao & Breathwork
Exlore Nature
Enjoy Amenities

Sunday — Integration

Community Breakfast
Closing Circle
Integration

Matthew Smith Wellness