For those who have only held other people’s hearts, it’s time to look inward and show your own — Trust Circle “Mind-Projection Retreat”
There are people who quietly absorb others’ crumbling stories several times a day. They are counselors and counseling teachers who take in their clients’ pain and draw clinical meaning from it. But where can someone find comfort for their own burnout left behind after the label of “expert”? Starting from that long-standing question, a self-care spot—an “Invitational Retreat for Mind-Projection” for counselors and counseling teachers—will be held in Hapjeong, Seoul, in August for a 1-night, 2-day schedule.
Even the people who’ve always been there need rest
The retreat is being planned by a counselor who has worked in the counseling field for 22 years. He says that while he has grown used to holding his clients, he has not been able to set his own burnout down comfortably anywhere. Even within the boundaries of colleagues, academic conferences, and schools, he says it has always been cautious to reveal his own vulnerability.
Then he came across Trust Circle. In a time where nothing has to be proven, the experience of resting deeply and facing himself in calm quiet gave him the strength to return to the counseling field. His desire to share that time with fellow colleagues who were in the same place led to this retreat.
A place to stay alongside, not to fix
The Trust Circle (Circle of Trust) is the foundation of the Mind-Projection Retreat, a method proposed by Parker Palmer, an American educational philosopher. The core is to welcome people as whole beings already, without seeing them as targets to be fixed. Participants pause on fixing and rescue, as well as advice and correcting. They meet one another with wholehearted listening and careful silence. Even familiar habits of trying to comfort quickly or offering solutions are left behind here.
Facilitators remain not as leaders who lead from the front, but as companions who walk the entire retreat journey equally together. In keeping with Trust Circle tradition, the facilitator’s name is not separately disclosed in the 안내문. In that silence, people who have practiced this method for a long time quietly stand by alongside the participants.
Stop filling up, and make space for one night
The retreat differs in tone from group counseling for self-exploration or educational programs. Because it does not force change, it is closer to a space that helps people return to their true selves. In a quiet room, participants face poetry, reading materials, and reflective questions, with time set aside for pausing to listen to the voice within. In the circle where people listen and speak without judgment, participants experience having their own stories accepted as they are. They also meet moments here where each other’s differences become a mirror that reflects the truth of “me,” not a source of conflict.
The invitation is clear. It is for people who, in clinical settings, feel deep burnout and need rest desperately—and for those who want to return the empathetic energy they have been directing toward clients back to themselves. This space is also open to those who want to put down, even if only for a while, the gaze of colleagues or the role of “professional,” and who want to be received in their most vulnerable form. It is also open to those who long for a quiet, private night, free from the pressure to keep filling up.
Schedule details
Date and time August 28, 2026 (Fri) 5:00 p.m. to August 29 (Sat) 4:00 p.m., 1 night and 2 days
Location Jeonjin Sang Spiritual Center (No. 33, Tojeong-ro 2-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul), a spiritual space in the heart of the city
Who should apply Counselors, counseling teachers, and workers related to mental health
Capacity 13 people
Fee 300,000 won (private-room lodging, 3 meals, and all materials included)
Application After filling out the “Self Mind-Projection” application form, submit it by email (innerteacher@naver.com)
Application deadline July 26, 2026 (Sun)
Contact Maeum-ui Seed (Mind’s Seed) 02-756-5669
Two days designed for those who have taken care of other people’s hearts for a long time—stepping away for a moment from the bustling world and reconnecting with yourself again. Soul care for counselors and counseling teachers awaits quietly in Hapjeong in August.