BilateralDepth™ Integration Retreat in 2028
Reset with a Journey Through Cambodia
Our retreats offer immersive experiences that bring together creative exploration, embodied practice, cultural engagement, and depth-oriented perspectives. Each offering is designed as a structured yet spacious container for transformation, where insight is lived, felt, and integrated.
Are you ready for depth engagement in inner and outer landscapes?
This journey may be especially supportive for:
JOIN US IN CAMBODIA
DATES: January 3 to 11, 2028.
WHERE: A Journey Through Cambodia: Phnom Penh — Siem Reap — Angkor Wat.
Facilitated by Dtr. Cat Smith and Ankea Phem.
Now open for applications. Early bird pricing available through July 1, 2028.
ABOUT THIS RETREAT
Experience Intentional Travel
Cambodia is a land shaped by profound beauty, rupture, and resilience. This retreat offers a carefully held container for engaging that complexity through a depth psychological lens and ethical cultural immersion. It is an invitation to witness history, psyche, and place in an embodied relationship.
This is not a standard retreat or a curated tour. It sits at the intersection of intentional travel and facilitated inner work, where cultural immersion and psychological integration are woven together in a living process over time. Each element is offered within a carefully held container designed to support integration rather than accumulation of experience.
THE JOURNEY
Two Regions, One Arc.
The retreat is structured as a guided arc through two primary regions, each with its own character and purpose within the larger journey.
A Note on Cambodia: Cambodia is a place of extraordinary beauty and profound contrasts. It is home to Angkor Wat, one of the world’s great cultural and spiritual sites, while also carrying the legacy of the Khmer Rouge genocide. Alongside this history is the resilience, creativity, and warmth of Cambodian life today. We approach this journey with curiosity, respect, and care—making space for beauty and grief, history and contemporary life, without reducing Cambodia to any one story.
01 Phnom Penh Witnessing and Orientation
We begin in Phnom Penh with an introduction to Cambodia’s modern history. Visits to Tuol Sleng (S-21) and the Killing Fields are approached with care, reflection, and time to process what we encounter. These are not simply historical sites, but places that bring us into direct contact with Cambodia’s history, memory, and the complexity of human experience.
02 Siem Reap and Angkor Sacred Architecture and Living Systems
In Siem Reap, we stay at Navutu, a retreat setting for rest, reflection, and creative exploration. At Angkor, we move through ancient temples, sacred spaces, and centuries of history, experiencing the landscape through architecture, story, symbolism, and imagination.
MEET THE RETREAT FACILITATORS
Dr. Catherine Smith
LCSW, PhD
Dr. Cat Smith is a NYC-based psychotherapist with 15+ years of experience in trauma, blending Jungian depth psychology with neuroscience-informed methods. She is the creator of the BilateralDepth™ Method.
Ankea Phem
MS, MA
Ankea Phem is a Family and Systemic Constellation Facilitator, somatic practice practitioner, and social and mental health professional based in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
"Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable."
MARY OLIVER, EVIDENCE
THE DETAILS
EARLY BIRD PRICING
Payment in full by July 1, 2028
Private room: $4,500 per person
Shared room with companion: $3,500 per person
STANDARD PRICING
Private room: $4,800 per person
Shared room with companion: $3,800 per person
THE RETREAT FEE INCLUDES:
NOT INCLUDED: Airfare, visa fees, airport transfers, required travel insurance, and optional private sessions with retreat facilitators.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this retreat about?
This is a creative, experiential journey through Cambodia—an opportunity to engage with the land, people, culture, history, and your own imagination. The retreat combines cultural experiences, creative workshops, movement, reflection, and plenty of time to enjoy being somewhere extraordinary.
Do I need to be an artist or have a creative practice?
Not at all. Creativity is approached broadly and playfully. You do not need artistic experience or any particular skill—just curiosity and a willingness to experiment.
What are the workshops like?
Workshops are experiential, creative, and designed to be enjoyable. Depending on the day, we may work with imagery, movement, writing, storytelling, symbolism, sensory experience, or what we encounter as we travel.
Do I have to participate in everything?
No. The retreat is intentionally flexible. Join the experiences that interest you, take an afternoon off, explore independently, rest by the pool, or follow your own curiosity.
How will we engage with Cambodia?
We want to experience Cambodia as more than a backdrop for a retreat. Our time together includes opportunities to encounter local culture, food, art, history, landscapes, and communities with curiosity and respect.
Will there be free time?
Absolutely. Free time is part of the experience. Explore Siem Reap, visit a café or market, book a massage, relax at the hotel, or simply leave some space in the day for the unexpected.
How will Cambodia’s difficult history be approached?
Cambodia’s history is part of understanding the place we are visiting. Experiences in Phnom Penh, including Tuol Sleng (S-21) and the Killing Fields, are approached with care and respect, with space afterward to reflect and process in whatever way feels right for you.
How active is the retreat?
You can make it as active or relaxed as you like. There will be walking, temple exploration, movement, cultural excursions, and opportunities for yoga, balanced with rest and independent time.
Can I arrive early or stay longer?
Absolutely. You are welcome to extend your travels before or after the retreat and make Cambodia part of a larger journey.