BRITISH PAIN SOCIETY ANNUAL SUMMER RETREAT 29th June - 2nd July 2025: "WOMEN AND PAIN"
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
The Philosophy and Ethics Special Interest Group of the British Pain Society invite you to take part in the BPS Summer Retreat in 2025 in the heart of the Lake District. Our theme this time is "Women and Pain". We consist of a group of clinicians as well as pain patients who are interested in looking at the wider issues regarding pain and each year we hold a meeting at Rydal Hall in Cumbria.
Rydal Hall is a Grade 2 listed mansion surrounded by gardens and parkland not far from Ambleside. In 2025, we will be arriving late afternoon on Sunday 29th June in time for dinner at 6.30pm and leave after lunch on Wednesday, 2nd July.
The programme spans 2 and a half days, consisting of Tai-Chi in the garden before breakfast (optional!), then 2 talks in the morning, followed by lunch and then 2 hours of time off to walk, swim in Rydal Water or just do nothing. We always hope the speakers will come for the whole time to join in all the discussion . Also, partners are welcome.
There's one more talk in the afternoon followed by dinner at 6.30. Some people go off to the Badger pub in the evening. It is always very relaxed. We leave after lunch on the 3rd day.
As always, the main approach is based on compassion in healthcare. Most Delegates book accommodation in the hall but there is also space in the grounds for camping enthusiasts as well as the option of glamping. You will mingle with a wide range of people including pain specialists, physios, GPs, nurses, psychologists, anaesthetists as well as people who may have lived experience of pain. Most people come away with new ideas and viewpoints as well as feeling relaxed and replenished.
Please find the provisional programme* here.
Please find the speakers here.
Registration available soon.
*Provisional programme may be subject to changes and some information about the speakers.
Rydal Hall
FEEDBACK from past editions:
“The welcome was genuine and the social time was a key part of the retreat - we ate, walked, talked, did Tai Chi and swam together - and the conversations between sessions were as valuable and illuminating as the scheduled sessions.”
“This was a meeting unlike any other I have been to and a memory I am still feeding off and learning from. What better way to nudge the brain into action than starting the day swimming with ducks and colleagues surrounded by hills?”
“As a physiotherapist, I felt included, respected and welcomed which doesn’t always happen at medical conferences. It was a wonderfully empowering experience to be in a room with people with a lived experience of persistent pain, medics and psychotherapists and others, sharing their experience, knowledge and wisdom generously and listening deeply to the perspective of others. I came back to practice feeling rejuvenated and ready to implement change.”
“Each speaker was inspiring, spoke from their heart and drew on their own lived experiences of working with people experiencing pain and/or their own pain experiences.”