Dahshur Drama Therapy Retreat: Five days of Inner Inquiry and Embodied Connection
Led by Benjamin Rivers, PhD
Assisted by Dahlyia Sabbour
1-6 December,2025 | Ardi Retreat Centre, Dahshur, Egypt
Set on the edge of the Nile Valley, next to the ancient Dahshur pyramids, this five-day residential retreat offers a space for deep inner exploration and creative renewal.
Drawing on the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model and grounded in the embodied practices of Drama Therapy, Psychodrama, and Roy Hart voice work, this retreat invites you into a process of reconnection — with your inner world and with the shared humanity that lives between us.
Through movement, voice, story, and improvised enactment, we explore the many parts within us — those that protect, those that hold pain, and our deeper core that carries the capacity for healing and wholeness. Each day offers guided experiential sessions, space for reflection, and the nourishment of a supportive, non-judgmental group.
Now in its second decade, this retreat has become a trusted space for meaningful inner work — whether you come with a background in therapy or the arts, or simply a desire to understand yourself more deeply.
Come as you are. Leave with a richer sense of yourself and your place within the wider world to which we all belong.
DATES
Start: 4pm 1st December
End: 5pm 6th December
COST
Single room: €598 EUR
Per person in a shared double room: €454 EUR
Per person in a shared triple room: €400 EUR
This fee includes 5 nights of accommodation, 3 meals per day, and the workshop. (If Egyptian nationals cannot pay in foreign currency, please contact
YXJkaSAhIGRhaHNodXIgfCBnbWFpbCAhIGNvbQ==. Non-Egyptians should pay in EUR.)
VENUE
Ardi is a retreat centre for healing, restoration and holistic education located in front of the Dahshur pyramids, Egypt.
LANGUAGE
The language of delivery will be English. Translation will not be provided.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
For the benefit of group process, punctuality and full attendance is required. We therefore ask you to apply only if you can commit to arriving on time and staying onsite for the duration of the entire retreat. Child care arrangements, work related meetings, medical appointments, etc. must be organised before or after the retreat dates.
APPLICATION PROCESS
STEP 1: Applicants must complete the following online application form before July 31st:
https://forms.gle/ukdKphQW9S9Ab1FH7
STEP 2: Selections will be announced on, or before August 15th.
STEP 3: Selected applicants can finalise their registration by paying the program fee. Payment details will be provided upon acceptance into the retreat.
PAYMENT AND CANCELLATION POLICY
> Once accepted into the training, a non-refundable and non-transferable deposit of €100 (or 6000 EGP) is required within five days of receiving your acceptance email. This deposit is required to secure your place in the training.
> Full payment must be made by 1 September 2025.
> If you need to withdraw from the training, please notify us in writing at
YXJkaSAhIGRhaHNodXIgfCBnbWFpbCAhIGNvbQ==.
> Full refunds (minus the deposit) are available for cancellations made by 15 September 2025.
> Partial refunds of 50% (minus the deposit) are available for cancellations made by 15 October 2025.
> Unfortunately, no refunds can be offered for cancellations made after 20 October 2025.
>Please note: All refunds are subject to a €20 EUR processing fee.
FACILITATOR BIOS
Benjamin Rivers, PhD is a psychotherapist and applied theatre practitioner with over 20 years of experience. He has taught and practiced in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and North America, working extensively with individuals and communities impacted by trauma and adversity. Benjamin is a Registered Drama Therapist (RDT) and Board Certified Trainer (BCT) with the North American Drama Therapy Association. He is also an Accredited Clinical Social Worker, a Certified Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapist and an IFSI Approved Clinical Consultant. For more information, please visit www.benjaminrivers.org.
Dahlyia Sabbour is an Egyptian actor, acting coach, and therapeutic drama practitioner with over 20 years’ experience in Cairo and beyond. Trained in educational drama at NYU, she pioneered Theatre of the Oppressed in Egypt in 2002 and is a certified psychodrama practitioner through the Therapeutic Spiral Institute. Dahlyia is also Level 1 certified in Internal Family Systems (IFS), trained by Dr. Richard Schwartz. She leads individual IFS sessions and group-based theatre processes, including Playback Theatre and Forum Theatre. Find her work on Facebook: Dahlyia’s Drama and Instagram: @dahlyiasdrama.
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