CIFS Annual Retreat 2026 Melbourne — Conversations, Connection & Creativity

Finding other people who truly understand what you've been through — without having to explain the basics, justify your experience, or manage someone else's shock — is rarer than it should be.

That's what the CIFS annual retreat is for.

Weekend! Conversations, Connection & Creativity runs on 17 and 18 October 2026 in Melbourne, facilitated by qualified professionals with direct experience in religious trauma and cult recovery. This is the ninth year of the retreat, and it has consistently been one of the most valued events CIFS offers.

What the weekend involves

This is a structured but informal retreat for people who have left, or are questioning their involvement in, a high-control group or coercive relationship. It is not a therapy intensive — it's a guided, supportive space where participants connect with others who share similar experiences, explore some of the harder questions that come with recovery, and have room to process things both in conversation and creatively.

Saturday — Understanding & Awareness

The Saturday program focuses on naming and making sense of what happened.

Sessions include:

• Naming the Experience — defining what a high-control group experience actually is

• Critical Thinking — understanding social compliance and how it operates

• Trauma & the Brain — PTSD, neuroscience, grounding techniques, and post-traumatic growth

• Art Therapy — exploring what you want to carry forward, and what to leave behind

• Debrief and closing discussion

  
  

Finish time: 5:00pm, with an optional group dinner at a local restaurant at 6:30pm.

Sunday — Healing & Moving Forward

Sunday moves into the emotional and relational work of recovery.

Sessions include:

• Anger & Grief — validation and working with difficult emotions

• Who Am I Now? — claiming identity and purpose after a high-control experience

• Relationships, Boundaries & Intimacy — stabilising, and learning to trust yourself and others again

• Art Therapy — exploring self-determination

• Wrap discussion and closure

Close: 4:00pm.

Can't make the full weekend?

Saturday-only tickets are available. A full day of sessions, connection, and support — the complete Saturday program including lunch and morning and afternoon tea.

Who is facilitating?

Tore Klevjer is a counsellor, educator, consultant, and former member of a controversial group. He has worked extensively in counselling and education around religious extremism and brings an inside understanding of the cult experience that is difficult to replicate through training alone.

Renée Spencer is a PACFA-registered counsellor and art therapist, current President of CIFS, and has lived experience of coercive control and high-control groups. She brings both professional training and personal understanding to the room.

Other members of CIFS will also contribute across the weekend.

What does it cost?

	Early bird (before 15 Sept)	Standard
Full weekend (both days)	$180	$200
Saturday only	$100	$120

Registration includes lunch and morning and afternoon tea both days. Saturday dinner is optional, at your own cost.

Financial hardship: Cost should not be a barrier. CIFS has some sponsorship available — contact info@cifs.org.au to discuss.

How to register

Email info@cifs.org.au with your name, phone number, and any relevant information about your experience (the name of the group you were in and how long since you left). This information helps the facilitators prepare a safe and appropriate environment for everyone attending.

Bank transfer details: BSB 032069, Account 215882. Use your first name as the reference.

Note: Due to the nature of the group process, single-day Sunday-only attendance is not available.

Why this retreat matters

Recovery from a high-control group is not a straightforward process. It involves unlearning thought patterns that were deliberately installed, rebuilding trust in your own perception, and often grieving relationships and a sense of belonging that were real, even if the group itself was harmful.

Most people go through that process largely alone, or with support from people who care but don't really understand. Events like this retreat exist because shared experience — sitting in a room with people who have genuinely been there — can do something that individual therapy, books, and podcasts cannot fully replicate.

If you're at any stage of that process — whether you left recently or years ago, whether you're certain about what happened or still questioning — this retreat is designed with you in mind.

CIFS Annual Retreat 2026 Melbourne

CIFS Annual Retreat 2026 Melbourne Program

This event is organised by CIFS (Cult Information and Family Support Inc.), a not-for-profit organisation supporting Australians impacted by cults and coercive groups since 1996.