Become the Leader of Your Inner World, Not a Prisoner to It

Something is not quite right. You already know it.

You have become the nice guy, and it is wearing you down: 

You learned early to keep the peace, to need nothing, and to put everyone else first. Underneath the agreeable surface, your real wishes and desires stay hidden. Over time, that hiding turns into resentment and passive aggression, and you lose touch with what you actually want

Your inner critic sets the tone of your days:

There is a voice in your head that drives you with shame, fear, and anger. It may have moved you through school, work, and life so far, but fuel like that burns a man out. You can feel that it is not sustainable.

You shut down when it matters most:

When emotions rise, something in you goes quiet. Your partner asks what is wrong and you honestly do not know. There is a numbness where connection used to be, and it is costing you the relationships you care about.

Part of you is still fighting an old war:

A loyal soldier in you has been standing guard since childhood, protecting you from pain that has long since passed. The vigilance, the worry, the need to keep everything safe and certain. It once protected you. Now it holds you back.

This isn't for you if:

• You are looking for a quick fix or surface level tools. This is eight weeks of steady, honest inner work.
• You are not able to show up consistently. The group meets every Monday evening, and the work builds week by week. We know life happens you can miss up to two groups and Mike can fill you in along the way but it recommended that all groups be met. 
• You want to keep everything in your head and purely theoretical. We use meditation, somatic work, and group process, not just talk.
• You are in acute crisis and need individualized clinical care right now. If that is you, we will gladly point you toward the right support.

This is perfect for you if:

• You are ready to look at what is running your life beneath the surface, and you want a clear path through it.
• You can commit to Monday evenings this fall and value a brotherhood of men who will walk it with you.
• You are willing to work with your body, your emotions, and honest conversation with other men.
• You are functioning on the outside but feel stuck or shut down on the inside, and you know there is more to life than this.

What's Included

Fall Men’s Group: Working With Our Inner World is an eight-week, in-person men’s group held at Wellness Beyond Words at Evan’s Creek Lodge in Southfield, MI, every Monday evening from 7 to 9pm, September 28 through November 16. The group centers on parts work: identifying the protective characters that make up your psyche (the loyal soldier, the inner worrier, the nice guy, the imposter, the inner critic) and learning to understand, befriend, and unburden them so they return energy and peace to your life.

Each session includes:

• Guided meditation to access and work with your inner world
• Somatic, body-based work that moves beyond talk and into real change
• Individual and group process work alongside a committed brotherhood of men
• Integration practices so each week’s work takes root in your daily life

Also included:

• The first group of a three-part series. Continue into nervous system work in the winter and attachment and inner child work in the spring, or join this cohort on its own
• A standing invitation to the ongoing alumni community after the group ends

Your Facilitator

Mike Lamerato is a licensed therapist and the founder of Metro-Detroit Men's Therapy. He brings his insight, grounding and years of men's group facilitation to every retreat. Noticing how helpful having a men's group was for himself, he is honored to be able to host and hold the space for other men to take a break and take some time for themselves.