PATTI

I fell in love with Spain when I lived in Barcelona for two years in my twenties and fell in love with the Camino when I first walked a portion of it in 2012. In 2018 I realized a decades-long dream of bringing together my desire for meaningful work and my desire to return to Spain when I co-led the first “Finding Your Way” pilgrimage retreat for women on the French Way. In 2019, I led the second one with Reina on the Portuguese Way.

I have been a psychotherapist in private practice in Davis and Berkeley, California, for over 30 years, helping women and men find undiscovered strength and wisdom as they open to increasingly deeper parts of themselves. I have also been a teacher, teaching writing at the University of California Davis, relational psychotherapy at The Women’s Therapy Center in Berkeley, CA., and Jungian and Feminist psychotherapy at New College in San Francisco.

Although my first love affair with Spain in the 1970’s was centered around Barcelona and Cataluña, in the last 7 years I have found myself returning over and over to Galicia and the Camino de Santiago, drawn to the natural beauty, fascinating history, ancient spirituality and music of that region.

About the same time that I first walked on the Camino, I also began studying the Medieval harp and have been especially drawn to the Medieval music of northern Spain.

JOZEFFA

In 2019, the year before COVID, a friend showed me Patti’s flyer and told me that Patti was organizing a group of a dozen women to walk a portion of the Camino together. We both signed up right away. It turned out to be such a positive experience that I swore, when it was over, that I would do it again.

Because of COVID, the next Camino wasn’t until 2023, and this time I signed up without my friend. During the months before departure my anxiety grew, thinking that I was going to face this alone. I almost backed out. But as soon as I joined the group again in Spain, I immediately felt a relieving sense of belonging. My anxiety lifted and I was happy. The experience was magic once again.

In retrospect, the anxiety and the challenges I faced as I anticipated this Camino helped me to grow in ways that I wouldn’t have expected, always using one step in front of the other as my mantra.

I have been a psychotherapist in Sacramento, CA, since 1990. Over these years I have become aware of the value of experiential therapies and of how somatic, sand tray, EMDR and Gestalt therapies can help people gain a more spacious sense of themselves and the world. Also a certified EFT therapist, I help couples recognize negative cycles and find ways to share their vulnerabilities with each other.

This is the first time that I am helping to organize a Camino with Patti. It is an honor and pleasure to be joining together with her to help make this experience all it can be for all the women who will be joining us.

REINA (mas abajo la biografía en español)

From a young age, Santiago de Compostela held a profound appeal for me; mymother is from there, and I spent every summer of my childhood and youth in Galicia. Though my roots are Galician, I grew up and was educated in Brussels, where I began my professional career working for the European Commission and other international organizations.

In 1998, before settling permanently in Galicia, I spent two years in Haiti. It was there that I first encountered the healing power of art. Since then, I have developed a practice that weaves together Gestalt therapy, expressive arts,and Forest Therapy (Shinrin-yoku).

Since 2002, I have facilitated workshops in creativity, self-awareness, and personal and transpersonal development for both individuals and groups.Having co-led the Finding Your Way Camino pilgrimage retreats in 2019 and2023, I now offer a dedicated edition of the program, which I facilitate independently. Today, I am continuing to accompany individuals and groups in the reintegration of their creativity and deeper resources and the acceptance of internal contradictions all of which lead to better intrapersonal, interpersonal,and transpersonal relationships and a better quality of life.

Galician nature, mythology and culture are some of the reasons why I still live in Galicia. Living in Santiago allows me to be in touch with these things in my daily life, as well as to meet pilgrims from all over the world.

Desde muy pequeña, Santiago de Compostela me atraía profundamente; mi madre es originaria de esta región y allí pasé todos los veranos de mi infancia y juventud. Aunque parte de mis raíces sonespañolas, crecí y estudié en Bruselas, donde comencé mi carrera profesional en la ComisiónEuropea y otras organizaciones internacionales.

En 1998, antes de instalarme definitivamente en Galicia, pasé dos años en Haití. Fue allí donde descubrí por primera vez el poder terapéutico del arte. Desde entonces, he desarrollado una práctica que combina la terapia Gestalt, las artes expresivas y la silvoterapia (o «baño de bosque»).

Desde 2002, imparto talleres sobre creatividad, conciencia de una misma y desarrollo personal y transpersonal, tanto para individuos como para grupos. Tras haber codirigido los retiros de peregrinación «Finding Your Way Camino» en 2019 y 2023, ahora ofrezco una edición especial de este programa, que acompaño de forma independiente.

Hoy en día, acompaño a mujeres en transición y grupos en la reintegración de su creatividad y susrecursos profundos, así como en la aceptación de sus contradicciones internas, lo que permite mejorar las relaciones intrapersonales, interpersonales y transpersonales, así como la calidad de vida.

La naturaleza, la mitología y la cultura gallegas son algunas de las razones por las que sigo viviendo aquí. Vivir en Santiago de Compostela me permite estar en contacto con estos elementos en mi vida cotidiana y encontrarme con peregrinos del mundo entero.