Re-Treat
A journey of resilience and renewal for youth workers and professionals working with young people.
The Re-TREAT training course was designed to empower youth workers and professionals who dedicate their energy to supporting others — by helping them restore balance, reconnect with themselves, and strengthen their inner and professional resilience.
In the demanding field of youth work, burnout, emotional fatigue, and loss of motivation are common realities. Re-TREAT responded to these challenges with a holistic, experiential approach that blended graphic facilitation, outdoor experiences, mindfulness-inspired practices, and reflective methods. The training created a safe and supportive environment where participants could slow down, reconnect with their sense of purpose, and rediscover joy in their work.
A Pedagogical Approach to Well-Being
What made Re-TREAT unique was the way it embedded pedagogical and psychological expertise directly into a resilience-focused training format. The programme moved beyond theory to create lived experiences of presence, connection, and reflection.
Participants took part in practices such as resilience mapping, group coaching, and systemic reflection, supported by methods like council listening, body-based awareness exercises, storytelling, and nature walks. These approaches helped participants gain practical tools to prevent burnout, enhance emotional regulation, and strengthen both personal and organisational resilience.
EduEra’s trainers integrated tools from non-formal education, psychology, and coaching, showing how self-care can become an essential professional competence rather than a luxury.
Learning in Nature, Learning from Each Other
The retreat environment itself played a crucial role. Surrounded by nature, participants engaged in outdoor reflective practices and creative exploration through drawing, journaling, and storytelling. These activities deepened self-awareness and fostered authentic connection among participants.
The atmosphere encouraged vulnerability, openness, and learning through shared experience. By combining graphic facilitation with embodied and nature-based exercises, Re-TREAT offered a truly multi-sensory approach to personal development.
Objectives
Enhance Well-Being: Support emotional and mental resilience of youth workers and educators.
Equip with Practical Tools and Methods: Provide concrete tools for self-care, reflection, and facilitation of well-being in youth work settings.
Foster Personal Growth Through Reflection: Encourage deep introspection and awareness through guided reflective practices.
Incorporate Outdoor Practices: Use nature as a space for renewal, creativity, and reconnection.
From Reflection to Action
The programme concluded with follow-up planning, where participants designed personal and organisational resilience plans — outlining how to embed the learning into their everyday practice. Partner organisations contributed throughout the process by identifying participants’ needs during preparation and offering follow-up mentoring after the training.
Re-TREAT showed that caring for the well-being of youth workers is not an optional extra — it is the foundation of sustainable, meaningful, and human-centered youth work.
📍 Re-TREAT took place in Slovakia and was implemented by EduEra together with international partners.
📩 For future opportunities or collaboration, contact petra@eduera.sk
"The project was funded by the European Union and implemented with the support of NIVAM. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or NIVAM. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them”