Home > Weekends of Recovery > 2009 Weekend of Recovery: Alta
MaleSurvivor 2009 Advanced Weekend of Recovery
"Freedom to Thrive:
Knowing and Trusting Your Inner World"
Alta Lodge, Alta, Utah (outside of Salt Lake City, Utah)
September 10-13, 2009
Quick Navigation:
Goals for the Weekend
Facilitator Team
Tentative Schedule
Is this advanced weekend for me? How Can I Prepare?
Survivors with perpetration history
Registration Costs
Scholarships
Dining
Other information about Alta Lodge
Coping with the Altitude
When to Arrive and Depart - Making Plane Reservations
Early Arrival/Late Departure
Bus, Train and Car Transportation
Arrival and Departure Policy
Therapist Recommendation Letter
This weekend is designed to help you develop and practice skills that keep the hurt boy safe and open the adult man to loving relationships. We will focus on setting intentions, staying present in the here and now, inner dialog, relating to your body, and finding your aliveness. We will incorporate mindfulness skills, body work, communing with nature, building community, music and play.
In response to alumni requests, we have expanded this weekend to begin on Friday morning at 9:30 am and to end at 2 pm on Sunday. We encourage you to arrive on Thursday, and registration will be open on Thursday evening for all participants. Special package rates will be available to all who arrive on Thursday, and will include your meals prior to the actual beginning of the weekend on Friday morning. We anticipate our earlier ending on Sunday will allow for easier travel arrangements possible on Sunday for east coast participants.
This Advanced Weekend of Recovery is only open to any alumnus of a Level One MaleSurvivor Weekend of Recovery. This is our 5th visit to Alta Lodge which tells you how much we love the facility, its extremely supportive and nurturing staff, and the gorgeous surroundings. Alta Lodge is located at 8,600 feet (2,700 meters) at the base of the Alta Ski Area in Utah's Wasatch Mountains. Alta Lodge, nestled in a quaint alpine setting at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon, offers spectacular mountain views. During September, the cottonwood and aspen trees are usually in the prime of their fall yellow plumage, adding to the beauty of this setting. Alta Lodge is part of a rare tradition of country inns where the attentiveness and warmth of family hoteliers is combined with the pleasures of excellent dining and comfortable surroundings. The atmosphere of the Alta Lodge is relaxed, intimate and informal.
- To develop an awareness of how boys would develop if their needs were provided for
- To know and appreciate your own survival strategies
- To expand your sense of internal safety to be more powerful and to move into new possibilities for cultivating your aliveness and relationships
- To practice living in the here and now
- To provide a safe place where participants can experience a sense of community, brotherhood and joy
Facilitator Team:
Weekends of Recovery are facilitated by trained psychotherapists, utilizing the same clinical boundaries and code of ethics as adopted by the American Psychological Association. The weekends are adjuncts to participants’ ongoing recovery work with individual and/or group psychotherapy, twelve step programs, and individual spiritual work, and are not meant to substitute for the participants’ local support systems that are consistent with their own recovery. Dr. Howard Fradkin, a Psychologist with over 28 years of experience working with male survivors, chairs the facilitator team. The team of facilitators includes other Psychologists, Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, Mental Health Counselors and our own Mind-Body Awareness Specialist, Paul Linden. Biographies of all staff members for this weekend can be found on the MaleSurvivor website at www.malesurvivor.org. Additional staff for the Advanced Weekend are: Jim Struve, Lee Beckstead, Lynne MacDonell, Joanna Colrain, Mikele Rauch, Ernesto Mujica, Bill Burmester, Paul Linden, Sandi Forti.
| Thursday, September 10, 2009 | |
| Check in to Alta Lodge | |
| 6pm - 7pm | Dinner for participants Thursday evening |
| 8pm - 10pm | Registration opens |
| Friday, September 11, 2009 | |
| 8am - 9am | Breakfast and registration |
| 9am - 9:30am | Break |
| 9:30am - 10:15am | Intro to Alta and the weekend |
| 10:30am - 11:30am | Safety |
| 11:45am - 12:45pm | Intro of participants |
| 1pm - 2pm | Lunch |
| 2:30pm - 4:30pm | Meeting the stages of childhood: starring the facilitator team Knowing and appreciating survival strategies |
| 4:30pm - 5pm | Break |
| 5pm - 6:15pm | Small group - developing intentions for the weekend |
| 6:15pm - 6:30pm | Break |
| 6:30pm - 7:30pm | Dinner |
| 8pm - 9:30pm | Staying safe through the night in your body |
| Saturday, September 12, 2009 | |
| 6:30am | Gather for carpool drive to Devil's Castle Look-out |
| 7am - 8am | Sitting Meditation |
| 8am - 8:45am | Breakfast |
| 9am - 9:15am | Check in |
| 9:15am | Shadow art project - Mikele and Staff Experiential safety/trust exercise |
| 11:30am - 12pm | Break |
| 12pm - 1pm | Lunch (talking and mindfulness options) |
| 1pm - 2:30pm | Embodying power - Coping with my inner mugger - Paul Linden, Sandi Forti, Howard Fradkin |
| 2:30pm - 3pm | Break |
| 3pm - 5pm | Cultivating Aliveness Breakout Sessions |
| 5:15pm - 6:15pm | Small group |
| 6:30pm - 7:30pm | Dinner |
| 8pm - 10pm | Celebrating Life Optional Outdoor pipe ceremony |
| Sunday, September 13, 2009 | |
| 7am - 8am | Optional morning meditation walk |
| 8:15am - 8:30am | Check in |
| 8:30am - 10:15am | Embodying Love: Becoming Loving and Loveable |
| 10:15am - 10:30am | Break |
| 10:30am - 11:30am | Brunch |
| 11:45am - 12:45pm | Small Group - Work |
| 1pm - 2pm | Closing |
Is this advanced weekend for me? How Can I Prepare for the Weekend?
For those contemplating this advanced weekend, we encourage you to consider what you believe are next steps you want to take in your recovery. One of our foci of the weekend is to help you develop intentions for your life, so before the weekend, you might begin to reflect inside and with those in your support system about what your intentions could be for this weekend. Oftentimes, survivors struggle to ask for the support they need, and because you’ve already been to a Weekend of Recovery, you may experience this Advanced weekend as a safer environment for you to take the emotional and/or physical risks and/or creative risks which will help you move forward. Past participants have told us that the experience of brotherhood and support they experienced at Level One grows even stronger as they get to reconnect with men from the weekend they attended and also connect with men from many other weekends. The weekend is designed to help you develop skills which will help you be safer in your body, safer in your willingness to trust others as you share and become more vulnerable, and practice skills to learn how to effectively protect yourself while creating opportunities for deeper intimacy in your life. While the weekend is designed to challenge you to take some steps out of your comfort zone, your boundaries will always be respected if you choose to opt out of any experiences we offer. Our hope is that the skills you practice here at the weekend will be transportable back to your own home and to the significant people in your life.
For those working with professionals, we recommend you discuss your planned participation in this weekend to get their feedback and suggestions for how you can benefit as much as possible from the experience while keeping yourself as safe as you need to be. As with Level One, if you are in therapy, we ask you to download the Advanced Weekend Therapist Letter of Support from the website and return it to us. If you have an already established support system of friends/family members/significant others, we also encourage you to talk with them about your participation so they can be available both before and after the retreat as needed to help you prepare and process your experiences.
If you are not in therapy, and/or do not yet have a support network, we encourage you to consider setting up an appointment with a therapist either before you come to the weekend, or after your return, and/or encourage you to explore what types of self-help groups and resources are available in your community or near by. This way you can follow up on some of the experiences and skills you learn that will help the weekend's learning stay fresh in your mind and help you apply what skills and awareness would most help your continuing recovery.
One of our staff members will be contacting you by phone when we receive your application to talk with you about your needs for the weekend and your readiness to participate. If we have any concerns about you participating, we may suggest some steps you can take to enhance your readiness for this weekend or we may ask you to wait for a future weekend while you take some additional steps we believe would be important for you to benefit from the experience.
Survivors with perpetration history:
As with Level One, we will again abide by our same policy regarding survivors with perpetration history. Any person who has been adjudicated (found guilty) of sexual perpetration would not be eligible for participation in the weekends. Because many survivors have sexually acted out in childhood, adolescence or even young adulthood, we do not wish to automatically exclude them from a Weekend of Recovery. However, to assess each participant on a case-by-case basis, we want to be able to discuss perpetration history with them and their therapist. This means that in order to assure other participants that we have their safety in mind, we want to be able to screen anyone with such a history to determine if attending a weekend is in their best interest and the best interest of all participants. We encourage all potential participants to be honest when we call you about any such incidents(ces) in your past because some participants may be unable to deal with people with such histories. In such cases, an interview with the Weekends of Recovery Chairperson will be required before you will be accepted. Even if you have already been interviewed by Howard for a previous weekend, we are requiring you to talk with Howard before participating in this Advanced Weekend.
Registration Costs
Registration includes the costs of the facilitated Weekend of Recovery program, with our 10 skilled facilitators from the MaleSurvivor Weekend of Recovery Facilitator Team, plus lodging, 6 meals, and snacks.
All package deals below include the costs of the program itself. In addition, for those arriving early on Thursday, quoted below is a FULL PACKAGE RATE which includes the extra night of lodging, plus Thursday evening meals and Friday breakfast before the weekend officially begins.
You will note there is also an option for a PARTIAL PACKAGE A and B. If you select PARTIAL PACKAGE A, that will include lodging on Thursday, no dinner on Thursday, but will include breakfast on Friday. If you select PARTIAL PACKAGE B, that will include lodging beginning on Friday, breakfast on Friday.
If you select ADVANCED WEEKEND ONLY, that will include lodging Friday and Saturday plus meals beginning Friday at lunch, ending w/Sunday brunch, and the facilitated Weekend of Recovery Program.
Bottled water, juices, tea and coffee will be available throughout the weekend. We have a variety of accommodations in the lodge. If you are not a MaleSurvivor member, we encourage you to join the organization prior to registration both to secure a significant discount and to help support the work of MaleSurvivor. Limited numbers of each type of accommodation are available, and will be distributed on a first come, first served basis.
NOTE: These are early registration costs, with all payments due by July 10, 2009. Registration after July 10th will cost an additional $75. Registration will be limited to the first 35 registrants. Below is a breakdown of the different room types and package choices. Note there are limited availability of all room types (Type A and B, 4 rooms each; Type C, 9 rooms; Type D, 12 spaces; Type E, 6 spaces)
Early Registration Costs (Paid in full by July 10th)
| Category A | Single Room, East Wing, Private Balcony and Fireplace, Corner Room | |
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | FULL PACKAGE | $900.00 |
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE A | $867.00 |
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE B | $727.00 |
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | ADVANCED WEEKEND ONLY | $717.00 |
| Non-Member | FULL PACKAGE | $950.00 |
| Non-Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE A | $917.00 |
| Non-Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE B | $777.00 |
| Non-Member | ADVANCED WEEKEND ONLY | $767.00 |
| Category B | Single Room, Middle Wing, Corner w/ sitting area | |
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | FULL PACKAGE | $825.00 |
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE A | $792.00 |
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE B | $676.00 |
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | ADVANCED WEEKEND ONLY | $666.00 |
| Non-Member | FULL PACKAGE | $875.00 |
| Non-Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE A | $842.00 |
| Non-Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE B | $726.00 |
| Non-Member | ADVANCED WEEKEND ONLY | $716.00 |
| Category C | Single Room, Standard, King Bed, East Wing | |
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | FULL PACKAGE | $775.00 |
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE A | $742.00 |
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE B | $648.00 |
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | ADVANCED WEEKEND ONLY | $638.00 |
| Non-Member | FULL PACKAGE | $825.00 |
| Non-Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE A | $792.00 |
| Non-Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE B | $698.00 |
| Non-Member | ADVANCED WEEKEND ONLY | $688.00 |
| Category D | Double Room, Standard | |
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | FULL PACKAGE | $675.00 |
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE A | $642.00 |
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE B | $595.00 |
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | ADVANCED WEEKEND ONLY | $585.00 |
| Non-Member | FULL PACKAGE | $725.00 |
| Non-Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE A | $692.00 |
| Non-Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE B | $645.00 |
| Non-Member | ADVANCED WEEKEND ONLY | $635.00 |
| Category E | Triple/Quad Dorm Room, Shared Bath | |
| (Note: E rooms can only be reserved at this time by scholarship applicants; others may put their name on a waiting list with Trisha Massa, our Administrative Assistant) | ||
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | FULL PACKAGE | $575.00 |
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE A | $542.00 |
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE B | $491.00 |
| Paid MaleSurvivor Member | ADVANCED WEEKEND ONLY | $481.00 |
| Non-Member | FULL PACKAGE | $625.00 |
| Non-Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE A | $592.00 |
| Non-Member | PARTIAL PACKAGE B | $541.00 |
| Non-Member | ADVANCED WEEKEND ONLY | $531.00 |
If you are registering AFTER July 10th: Add $75 to all costs above
NOTE: All rooms have private baths except for the dorm rooms (category E)
To register for the weekend, we ask that you complete an online registration at and/or mail in a registration form. To hold your spot for the weekend, you will be charged $150 deposit when you register online. You will have the choice on the registration form to either prepay your registration in full at the time of registration or opt for a payment plan. Prior to July 10th, if you opt for the payment plan, your total registration must be paid by July 10th and you will receive the $50 discount for early registration. In the case of you opting for the payment plan, you will provide your credit card to our confidential system, and your deposit will be charged the day you register. The system will provide a table of when the balance of your registration will be charged to your credit card. The system is set up to make equal monthly payments between now and July 10th, when your balance must be paid in full. If you desire to pay by check, please contact our Administrative Assistant, Trisha Massa, to arrange this, at ytamassa@aol.com.
REGISTRATION AFTER JULY 10th: You are subject to a $50 fee for later registration. Your credit card will be charged $150 the day you register, unless you opt to pay in full. If you choose a payment plan, then the remainder of your balance will be charged to your credit card on August 10th. Your registration will be contingent upon receipt of all registration fees by August 10th.
CANCELLATION FEES: A $50 processing fee will be charged for any cancellations up until August 10th. Any cancellation after August 10th will result in the forfeiting of any and all payments made to MaleSurvivor, unless we are able to replace you with another participant. Refunds after August 10th will only be made if and when we have received payment in full for another participant, minus the $50 processing fee.
Scholarships:
A very limited number of partial scholarships will be available for this weekend, as our scholarship program is primarily attended for men who have never attended a weekend of recovery. If you have a need for a scholarship, click on Registration, and fill in the box, “Apply for event scholarship”. There you will be directed to a form to complete, which will then be emailed by MaleSurvivor to Howard Fradkin, the Weekend Chairperson. Once your scholarship is approved, Howard will email you back with your approval and then you will be able to register. PLEASE do not register prior to receiving authorization for your requested scholarship. We encourage those requesting scholarships to apply for partial scholarships only and to commit to paying some portion of the registration yourself (or ask others to assist you in your support group). This enables MaleSurvivor to make more scholarships available to more participants. We can only provide assistance with registration costs, and cannot at this time provide any assistance with transportation costs.
Because MaleSurvivor must pay substantially more for singles and doubles, we request that those asking for a scholarship be willing to share a triple or quad room. This will enable us to spread our limited scholarship resources to more participants.
If you are in a position to assist with our scholarship fund, you can contribute through the MaleSurvivor website by donating to the Memorial Fund or on the registration form. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Dining:
Chef Paul Raddon has been preparing meals of exceptional quality for Alta Lodge guests for over thirty years. The outstanding cuisine will certainly be one highlight of your Weekend of Recovery. A special treat is in store on Sunday, when we’ll get to visit the Alta Lodge Sunday Buffet, a grand buffet featuring gourmet breakfast and lunch and dessert items! All of your food and snacks are included in your registration fees. The Chef is prepared to provide vegetarian cuisine if you request it ahead of time. Other special dietary restrictions or needs must be indicated on your registration form. Bottled water, juices, coffee and tea, half and half and soy milk will be supplied all weekend long for you.
Other information about Alta Lodge:
No alcohol or un-prescribed drugs may be brought to the weekend. There is also a no smoking policy anywhere in the Lodge - including guest rooms, out of consideration for other guests. Cigar and pipe smoking are also prohibited. Guests may smoke outside the Lodge on the sundeck.
Please bring a jacket, gloves, hat, & some warm clothes if you are sensitive to the cold. Temperatures may be as low as the 30’s at night and should be in the 50’s & 60’s during the daytime. There is always the possibility of snow in September! Average high temperature is 61, and average low is 40. Remember mountain air can feel chilly once the sun sets. Sunscreen is strongly advised - remember that sunrays are considerably more intense at mountain elevations. A hat with a brim is also very helpful to protect you from the sun.
Alta Lodge is handicap accessible, however if you have any special physical needs, please let us know at the time of registration so that we can make plans to accommodate your physical abilities.
There are some spectacular hiking trails around Alta. If you plan to participate in any hiking activities, please pack hiking boots (or shoes comfortable for easy & moderate hiking trails), a hiking stick (if you use one), & a day pack.
All bedding, towels, hair dryers, shampoo and shower gel are provided.
Coping with the Altitude:
Alta Lodge is at 8500 feet altitude. It is not uncommon for people to experience minor physical symptoms above 8000 feet. (Symptoms can include headache, loss of appetite, & fatigue.) There are no specific factors such as age, sex, or physical condition that correlate with susceptibility to the effects of altitude.
Some people get it and some people don't, and some people are simply more susceptible than others. Here’s some tips for how to deal with any effects of altitude that you may experience during the retreat:
- Stay properly hydrated. Acclimatization is often accompanied by fluid loss, so you need to drink lots of fluids to remain properly hydrated.
- Take it easy; don't over-exert yourself when you first get up to altitude. Be prepared that tasks such as climbing stairs may require more physical exertion than you’re used to for the same task at a lower elevation. Light activity during the day is better than sleeping because respiration decreases during sleep, exacerbating the symptoms.
- Avoid tobacco and alcohol and other depressant drugs including, barbiturates, tranquilizers, and sleeping pills. These depressants further decrease the respiratory drive during sleep resulting in a worsening of the symptoms. The acclimatization process is inhibited by dehydration, over-exertion, and alcohol and other depressant drugs.
- If you have any concerns about your susceptibility to the effects of altitude, please consult with your physician. Diamox (Acetazolamide) is a prescription medication that can moderate the side effects of altitude for most people. However, since it takes a while for Diamox to have an effect, it is advisable to start taking it 24 hours before you go to altitude.
When to Arrive and Depart - Making Plane Reservations
The weekend begins at 9:30 am on Friday, and ends Sunday at 2 pm. Alta Lodge is only 32 miles from the Salt Lake City International Airport, generally a 45 to 60 minute cab ride, and 40 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City. The final 8 miles of the drive is up a winding, but scenic canyon road. MaleSurvivor can arrange your transportation from Salt Lake International City Airport to the Alta Lodge through Canyon Transportation . The estimated cost is $58 per person round trip (not including gratuity). Price is subject to change. You can make your own reservation at 800-255-1841 or www.canyontransport.com/main and reservations must be made at least 24 hours in advance. Rental car information is available at www.slcairport.com/transport/rentalcars. Once you register, we will send you a transportation form to fill out, and then we will do our best to provide free transportation to the center for anyone who requests it. Fifteen airlines offer service to Salt Lake City International Airport: AeroMexico, America West, America West Express, American, Atlantic Southeast, Comair, Continental, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Northwest, Salmon Air, SkyWest, Southwest, United and United Express.
Given travel time, we recommend all participants plan to arrive on Thursday; and plan to depart on Sunday no earlier than 4:30 pm from Salt Lake City. Please be sure to review our arrival policy below before making your travel plans. If you cannot accommodate your schedule to arrive and depart at these times, please be considerate and do not register. We also ask that all participants plan to stay until the end of the weekend on Sunday to allow you sufficient time for closure.
Early Arrival/Late Departure:
Because this is an Advanced Weekend, and because we are starting early on Friday, we encourage you to book a room at Alta Lodge prior to the start of the weekend, and you may also plan on staying over after the weekend. Your fees for the weekend will include early arrival on Thursday and meals. If you stay over on Sunday, you will be responsible for taking care of any expenses incurred during this time. Please note the facilitators will not be available to help on Thursday as we will be busy planning for the weekend. If you stay over on Sunday, prices per room are : Standard room, $94 plus tax; Middle Wing Corner, $116 plus tax; East Wing Corner $140 plus tax. Dinner cost for Sunday at the lodge would be $24; breakfast would be $8, plus tax and gratuity. There are other dining options in the area, although be area they are somewhat limited as ski season is weeks after our visit to the lodge. Contact reservations at 801-742-3500.
Bus, Train and Car Transportation
Salt Lake City is serviced by train on Amtrak (www.amtrak.com/destinations/index.html). Buses are provided by Greyhound (www.greyhound.com) Salt Lake City is accessed via I-80 (east-west) and I-15 (north-south)
Arrival and Departure Policy:
Safety for all participants is our utmost concern. Therefore, it is a requirement that in order to participate in the weekend, participants must arrive at the beginning of the weekend, at our meeting room Our Lady of the Snows, at 9:30 am on Friday. The absolute deadline is 10:30 am on Friday, when the safety exercise begins. In planning your trip, you are expected to take into consideration the unpredictable delays that may accompany your travel. While we understand you may encounter delays for many reasons, we are unable to allow anyone to begin the weekend if you arrive later than 10:30 am on Friday. In other words, you cannot be admitted to the
weekend after 10:30 am for any reason. If you are experiencing a delay, we request you to call us to inform us of your arrival status. It is important to understand that in the event of your inability to attend due to late arrival, you will forfeit all monies paid for your registration. One strategy to avoid this situation is to arrive in the city of the weekend the night before, and stay at Alta or some other hotel in the Salt Lake City area. Your consideration of this policy will help strengthen the feeling of safety for all participants and help us to build a community.
Regarding departure, we also request that if you are planning on attending the weekend, you plan to stay until the end at 2 pm. As you know from Level One, the end of the weekend is as important as the beginning, and for some participants, we know saying goodbye may be one of those growth areas you are more uncomfortable with. So if at all possible, please arrange your transportation accordingly so you and all of us can benefit from your participation the entire weekend.
Therapist Recommendation Letter:
When you register online and click on Weekends of Recovery, you will notice a link that says therapist letter of support. Be sure you click on the Advanced Weekend letter of support, and not the Level I letter. We ask that all participants who are currently in therapy bring this letter to your therapist prior to the weekend, and ask them to complete it with you and send it back to us by September 8th. The information in this letter will help us to provide for any additional needs you may have for safety. It is our intention to use this letter to help ensure your safety, and in no way is it intended to disempower you or cast doubt on your own judgment about your readiness to participate in the weekend.
ANY QUESTIONS:
Questions can be directed to Howard Fradkin at 614-445-8277, ext. 11, 800-285-9397, or emailed to hfradkin@malesurvivor.org ; or to Trisha Massa, MaleSurvivor Administrative Assistant, at 800-738-4181, or emailed to admin@malesurvivor.org
