Please note: this blog is no longer being updated so we do not guarantee the accuracy of any information below.
Looking for debriefing resources for you and/or your family as you make the transition back to the USA? Here are list of some of the different debriefing options. This list is primarily focused on locations for debriefing in the states:
Debriefing and Expat Reentry Resources:
It’s always hard to recommend resources of this nature…because the world is big…and it’s hard to be acquainted with everything. So…I’ve broken this list into two sections:
{Places I or someone I trust has had first hand experience with}
Debriefing and Renewal (DAR) Week at Mission Training International in Colorado. A one week debriefing and renewal week for those who have served overseas. Helpful to attend several months after you return.
Potter’s Inn at Aspen Ridge Provides soul care and spiritual formation opportunities for leaders in marketplace and ministry. Located in Colorado.
Alongside Inc. A counseling and retreat ministry for missionaries and pastors who need to be renewed. Located in Michigan.
THRIVE: offers retreats for missionary women and those leaving the field. You can attend a THRIVE retreat for up to a year after transitioning back to the USA….they are not just for people still living on the field. Typically there is a retreat in the US in the summer each year.
Godspeed Missionary Care (Formerly Missionary Resource Connection): Provides assistance and connections to missionaries in the Columbia, South Carolina area.
Directory of International Therapists: This site provides an increasingly comprehensive online global listing of professional mental health therapists who are familiar with the TCK and international expatriate experiences.
{Places We’ve Heard of that you Can Also Check Out}
ELIM Retreat Ministries: ELIM Retreat Ministries provides renewal and debriefing retreats for global workers.
Fairhaven Ministries: A retreat and counseling center for Christian workers.
Godspeed: counseling for international mission workers who are hampered by emotional, situational or physical stresses.
Life Impact: Retreat centers and debriefing in many locations.
The Rest Initiative: located in Florida. They have links to some good online assessments about stress, compassion fatigue, burnout, and stress here.
Train International: offer reentry retreats.
In Atlanta, New Song.
What resources have we left out that we should add to our list?
Ruthie, were you at Debriefing and Renewal in Colorado Springs eight years ago? I believe it was December when we were there and I think we might’ve been there with you.
I just found your blog this morning and it is so echoes our experiences and the long hard road that reentry has been. Thank you for starting this blog it is greatly appreciated and will be a place of healing for many.
Jeri, Yes…I think we were there together. Small world. That seems like such a long time ago. Send me an email at ruthie (at) rockyreentry (dot) com if you want to catch up.
Heartstream Resources in Pennsylvania is a fantastic program. They offer two-weeks of caring for all of your needs with many resources, classes, group-therapy, and individual therapy. They have been helping missionaries for more than 20 years, and the founders served overseas for more than 30 years prior to that.
http://www.heartstreamresources.org/
Thanks Katie for sharing this resource.
Thank you Katie for sharing this information.
I love this! (& your whole blog!) I have spent some time off & on the mission field over the past 6 years. I am now going to grad school for counseling. My dream is to counsel missionaries on the field and have retreats like these. Finding your website has been encouraging and inspirational! Thank you for your hard work in this area.
Thanks Grace for your kind words and for caring for those on and off the field.
A resource you may wish to add to your list: https://www.interactionintl.org/reentry.asp
I’d like to introduce you to an organisation in Ireland that offers support for development workers returning from overseas. Among other services they offer Coming Home Weekends and Debriefing Days. Their website is http://www.comhlamh.org or email ruth@comhlamh.org for assistance. I wish you well in your work. MT
To help with that transition, Ron and Bonnie have done several things growing out of their experiences in about 35 reentry retreats including more than 350 missionaries.
I am just a bit late on this.. my husband and I returned to the USA Sept 2012 after 10 years in the Philippine jungle… and have really struggled. God has us in a wonderful church family who supported us for all those years but they don’t understand why coming ‘home’ is so difficult. I need a practical help just now as we are trying to furnish our home as we came back with nothing. I need a shipper for 8 chairs from RI to WV if you have any idea how we can find a trustworthy company? We can afford the chairs but not sure if we can the shipping. 🙁 There is no rush on the items and we have no idea how to deal with this practical need since we’ve returned.. we would know just what to do in the PI’s 🙂
Do you have your favorite books listed somewhere on Re-entry?