Open House Weekend

Led by Valentina Gambino

Description: An uplifting Vinyasa Yoga Flow designed to support the mental, physical, and energetic body. The practice begins with a soft, intuitive flow to gently warm and open the body, then transitions into three to five restorative postures that invite deep grounding and ease. The session concludes with an extended yoga nidra and an unhurried savasana, followed by a brief guided journaling practice to support integration, reflection, and a fuller sense of landing within yourself.

Facilitator Bio: With a Bachelor’s degree from Johnson & Wales University and several transformative experiences teaching yoga across Europe, Valentina is deeply connected to the art of mindfulness and movement. Practicing and teaching yoga continually inspires and motivates her, reinforcing her belief in its power to support healing, transformation, and overall well-being. Her goal is to guide others in discovering their own inner light and experiencing the transformative power of breath and physical movement.

Led by David Arfa

Description: Stories shape every aspect of our lives, including how we experience grief. This training introduces grief-informed care as a humanizing paradigm for grief support, while offering a selection of experiential activities participants can use with clients.

Participants will be invited to reflect on the death of one significant person as they explore their own grief journey. Through guided story prompts, we will notice our personal responses to grief and how it seeks expression through the mind and body. The training also emphasizes shared reflection and the practice of listening deeply—cultivating presence without reacting, analyzing, or trying to fix.

Facilitator Bio:  David is a grief counselor and director of bereavement services for Baystate Hospice.  He retrained as a spiritual counselor 10 years ago and has served in community hospitals, behavioral health hospitals and elder care facilities as a hospital chaplain supporting people of all backgrounds.  It was here he developed specialties in grief support, trauma informed care, addiction and spirituality, moral injury/ resilience and exploring personal theology through narrative.   

David is also a storyteller and educator who is rooted in Judaism’s storytelling heritage and ancient environmental wisdom. David has produced two award winning CD’s and has a full-length storytelling performance, "The Jar of Tears: A Memorial for the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto", which won the Charles Hildebrandt Holocaust Studies Award for its “artistic excellence, depth of vision and technical mastery”. Rabbi Shapiro wrote and buried sermons from within the Ghetto. He did not survive the war, and yet his writings, described by scholars as a theology of weeping, were found by construction workers after the war. This performance reimagines his sermons as letters written in his diary. To find out more about his storytelling performances and educational programs please visit, www.maggiddavid.net

Led by Ravensong Retreats: Inbal Dagan & Desiree Dennis 

Description:  Inbal Dagan & Desiree Dennis will be facilitating a nurturing singing circle with a focus on the transmutation of grief to gratitude through tender self-care & community connection. In a singing circle, songs are shared that are simple, easy to learn, and then sung all together... sometimes with layering harmonies and different parts.  Songs will be repeated for several minutes in a mantra-like style (similar to artists like Ahlay Blakely, Beautiful Chorus or MaMuse) to allow everyone to get in the flow together. Improvisation is welcome throughout! Inbal & Desiree look forward to sharing this experience with the Orange Door community! 

Facilitator Bio: Inbal Dagan & Desiree Dennis, co-founders of Ravensong Retreats, are thrilled to be facilitating nurturing community singing circles at Orange Door Collaborative. Inbal is a yoga teacher, occupational therapist, Reiki practitioner & craniosacral body worker. She has a passion for supporting others in their journey of healing & embodiment through exploring the magic of being more attuned with their own nervous system. Desiree is a spirit medium, Reiki Master, and life-long musician who has facilitated spiritual workshops around the country.

Led by  Dr. Naomi Azar, PhD & Alison Rhodes, PhD, LICSW

Description: Join us for an informal lunch conversation about Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP).  Over lunch, we’ll explore together:

• What KAP is and how it can support healing and growth in the outpatient clinical setting.

• The opportunities, benefits, and challenges of this work.

• Different structures of KAP (individual, group, retreat) and what they offer.

• Considerations around client fit—who KAP may be most supportive for, and who it may not be appropriate for.

This is a space for open, collegial dialogue. Whether you’re curious, already familiar, or considering how KAP might fit into your practice or client referrals, we welcome your questions and perspectives.

Note: We will have snacks available but we recommend that you bring your own lunch (note that Orange Door is located close to Whole Foods as well as many great cafes!) 

Facilitator Bio:  Alison Rhodes, PhD, LICSW is an experienced KAP practitioner who offers individual sessions, as well as small group and retreat-based KAP.

Naomi is a trauma therapist certified in EMDR and Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy. 

With a rich background, including a postdoctoral fellowship at the esteemed Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute, Naomi has dedicated her career to understanding and healing the deep psychological impacts of trauma. 

She values an open and collaborative approach to the profound work of healing the effects of traumatic stress, building resilience in the face of adversity, and helping people find a sense of calm and strength in their own skins.

Led by Allison Talis

Description: A guided improvisational movement practice that engages somatic awareness to facilitate personal growth, emotional well-being, and collective healing. Welcoming participants of all experience levels, bodies and identities. We dance to expand and evolve our embodiment. We dance to release stored tension, emotions and patterns. We dance to integrate our experiences and we dance to remember who we really are.

We enter in a cycle of movement that begins slow, builds in intensity, peaks, lightens, and then settles. Through verbal instructions, participants are invited to explore, in their own bodies way – a variety of movement patterns, physical inquiries, and focal points. The journey is curated to an intentional and eclectic world music soundscape.

It is an alive journey where you might sweat (though you are always in control of your rhythm and pace).This class allows you to engage with the wisdom of your own body, to take you on a journey. This is a trauma-informed practice and container. This is a no eye contact practice (unless instructed- and even then, always just an invitation- not required)

There is wild and real wisdom living in our bones- we follow that wisdom.

Soul Dance is a practice, where the more we do it regularly, the more we learn about ourselves, our patterns, our truths and the fluctuations of our minds and emotions. We learn to be with, to surf, to express, to clear the way all while being in Community.

Facilitator Bio: Allison is a somatic therapist and the creator of Soul Dance and Emotion in Motion, out of twenty-five years of study, training, and practice in the performing and healing arts. In her role as the National Healing & Wellness Practitioner for the Joyful Heart Foundation, she developed and led programs, workshops, and therapeutic retreats for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse—as well as for the healers working on the frontlines of trauma. She was the Founder of Creative Seeds, a non-profit organization, which focused on working with communities through creative arts immersion projects and initiatives in both South Africa and the United States.

Allison is also a yoga teacher with specialized training in yoga for trauma. She is a certified Historical Trauma Specialist and Certified Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapist. She taught at Sonic Yoga in New York City, Bhakti Yoga Shala in Los Angeles, BODY of Santa Fe, and was the resident yoga teacher for the Santa Fe Opera and Align Brooklyn. Certifications include Kundalini Yoga Therapy, Level 1, Trauma Resiliency Model, Yoga for Trauma, Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapist. She holds a Master’s Degree in Theatre with a focus on addressing Historical Trauma and Collective Healing.

Allison was named one of the 2015 United States Presidential Scholars’ most influential teachers by the United States Secretary Department of Education. She served as the Department Head of Movement, Dance, and Devising, where she also taught movement at the Professional Performing Arts School of New York City. She is a Theater Director and has directed at numerous theaters in New York City, regionally, and internationally. She received mentorship as an Assistant Director at the Steppenwolf Theatre. She was an ongoing Resident Director with New York University’s First Look Theatre Company, a member of the Lincoln Center Theatre Directors’ Lab, and a 2004 SSDC Traube Fellowship nominee.

Allison has studied, trained, certified, practiced, and walked many paths and methodologies in the creative arts, mental health, and spiritual realms.

Led by Sharon McGrath

Description: This guided breathwork class uses a simple two breath breathing pattern, similar to holotropic breathing, to open the body's energy centers and pathways and quiet the busy mind. Through intentional breath, students are guided into a deep meditative state where stored tension, emotions, trauma, and stress can be released, creating more clarity, healing and renewal. Benefits: releases stress, anxiety, and stored emotional energy. Increases vitality and enhances overall energy flow.

Facilitator Bio: Sharon McGrath is a yoga teacher, Breathwork Facilitator, and Energy Healing Practitioner dedicated to helping others reconnect with their bodies, release stored tension and trauma, awaken inner vitality, and promote self-healing. Her healing journey began in 2002 when a physical therapist recommended Bikram Yoga to support her recovery from a running injury. What began as a way to heal plantar fasciitis soon became a lifelong practice, bringing her renewed energy, flexibility, resilience, and joy. Over the years, Sharon has cultivated a consistent and devoted yoga practice, completing trainings in Bikram Yoga, Inferno Hot Pilates (Level 1 and 2), yin, restorative, yoga nidra, and vinyasa. In 2024, Sharon expanded her work beyond yoga to include somatic and energetic healing practices. She completed David Elliot’s Breathwork Healer Training at the Omega Institute in New York, and also completed Reiki I training and attunement, and is currently enrolled in a year-long Somatic Energy Healing training with Dr. John Amaral. These modalities complement her yoga foundation, allowing her to guide students into deeper states of release, connection, and transformation. Sharon believes these practices are for every body. Whether in the hot room, a restorative yoga class, or a breathwork journey, she creates space for students to meet themselves with compassion and courage. Her teaching is grounded in presence, authenticity, and a deep respect for the body’s innate ability to heal. Her mission is simple yet profound: to help others reconnect with themselves, restore balance, and live with greater energy, clarity, and joy.

Led by Dr. Naomi Azar

Description: The pace of change in our world—and in the mental health field—continues to accelerate. As the stress carried by our clients (and ourselves) rises, many of us are left wondering: do we keep working in our silos, or do we pause, connect, and imagine new ways forward together?

The Ideas Lab & Social Hour is an open, welcoming space designed for mental health professionals to gather, reflect, and exchange ideas in an informal, supportive setting. This is not a polished presentation or a pitch session—it’s an invitation to bring your half-baked idea, your middle-of-the-night vision, your mid-session revelation, or even your honest gripes. Questions like “Is what I’m offering clients actually working?” are not only welcome—they’re encouraged.

Together, we’ll share struggles, fears, curiosities, and creative sparks, while listening deeply to one another’s perspectives. Participants will also have the opportunity to hear about emerging innovations and alternative models of mental health care being explored in other communities, offering fresh inspiration and context.

Part conversation circle, part brainstorming lab, and part social hour, this workshop aims to foster connection, mutual support, and collective imagination. Come as you are, leave feeling more engaged, more connected, and—hopefully—re-energized and inspired about what might be possible in your work.

Facilitator Bio: Naomi is a trauma therapist certified in EMDR and Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy. 

With a rich background, including a postdoctoral fellowship at the esteemed Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute, Naomi has dedicated her career to understanding and healing the deep psychological impacts of trauma. 

She values an open and collaborative approach to the profound work of healing the effects of traumatic stress, building resilience in the face of adversity, and helping people find a sense of calm and strength in their own skins.

Led by Sela Aaron

Description: This restorative sound bath offers an immersive soundscape designed to support nervous system regulation, release muscular tension, and invite deep rest. Participants will be guided into a state of relaxation through carefully curated tones and vibrations that encourage the body to soften and the mind to settle.

As the soundscape unfolds, there is space to access a sense of inner calm while also feeling held by the shared presence of community. This workshop emphasizes restoration, gentle attunement, and quiet integration—an opportunity to pause, receive, and reconnect with a felt sense of peace and balance.

Facilitator Bio: Sela has deepened her studies through advanced training in breathwork, ayurvedic medicine and meditation. With her background in working with children, Sela brings warmth and lightheartedness to her teaching.