Navigating Perimenopause and Menopause: A Retreat in France

Perimenopause and menopause involve a significant developmental transition, not only hormonally but emotionally and psychologically as well. Many women notice changes in sleep, energy, mood, cognition, and stress tolerance, alongside deeper questions about identity, purpose, and pacing.

These menopausal changes, sometimes experienced as menopause brain fog or emotional reactivity, can feel unsettling or lead to self-doubt, particularly during periods of sustained stress or transition. For many women, they are recognised as early signs of menopause, even when cycles are still present or symptoms feel inconsistent. 

This retreat offers space, guidance, and practical tools to understand these shifts more clearly. Through reflective sessions, experiential exercises, and gentle conversation, you will explore how your body and nervous system are responding, and begin working with these changes rather than against them, with greater understanding and self-compassion.

Dr. Duncan will join the retreat for a virtual seminar to offer clear, evidence-based guidance on women’s health, including hormonal changes and the role of hormone therapy in whole-body health during midlife and beyond, with time for thoughtful, open Q&A.

About Laura Duncan, MD

Laura Duncan, MD, MPH, MSCP is a board-certified internist with over 20 years of experience in direct patient care, specializing in chronic disease management, women’s health, and shared decision-making. She earned her medical degree from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and completed her Internal Medicine residency at Harvard Medical School’s Cambridge Health Alliance.

Dr. Duncan has served diverse populations in both inpatient and outpatient settings, including work with the Indian Health Service on the Navajo Nation in Arizona and in rural Utah, where she was also Medical Director of an Elderly Care Center.

She is the founder of Reclaim Menopause, PLLC, a practice dedicated to helping women across New Hampshire and Vermont navigate midlife transitions and reduce long-term health risks associated with hormonal decline.

This retreat is guided by people who understand both the science of change and the lived experience of moving through it.

Seoka Salstrom, PhD, is a clinical psychologist with over twenty years of experience supporting women through periods of transition. Her work draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and neuroscience-informed approaches to help people build self-trust, emotional flexibility, and clarity during times of uncertainty. Seoka brings depth, steadiness, and warmth to the retreat space, holding conversations that are thoughtful, humane, and grounded in evidence.

She is supported by Sarah Newell, who offers consistent group care throughout the retreat. Sarah helps attend to the practical and relational aspects of the experience, ensuring that participants feel supported, oriented, and at ease as the group unfolds.

We are also in the process of confirming the participation of Laura Duncan, MD, a physician with expertise in women’s health and hormonal transitions. Laura is expected to join the retreat to share medical insight on perimenopause and menopause, including dedicated sessions for education and open Q&A, bringing clarity to the physical changes many women experience during this stage of life.

Together, the team creates a space that is psychologically safe, intellectually grounded, and deeply respectful of each woman’s experience. This is not about being led or fixed, but about being supported as you learn to listen more carefully to yourself.

Together, we explore:

• understanding who you are beyond long-held roles and expectations

• emotional literacy and nervous system regulation during hormonal change

• self-compassion as a powerful antidote to shame and burnout

• boundaries, energy, and redefining success on your own terms

• sleep support and evidence-based approaches to insomnia

• reconnecting with vitality, play, and enjoyment, even in small bursts

• listening to your body as a source of wisdom, not something to override

• meeting uncertainty, fear, and possibility with grounded courage

These themes are approached gently and practically. Nothing is forced, and there is no expectation to share more than feels comfortable. The work unfolds at your pace, in a space designed for honesty, care, and genuine reconnection.

This retreat is designed for women in their forties and fifties who feel that life is changing in ways that are hard to name but impossible to ignore.

You may be navigating perimenopause or menopause, noticing shifts in energy or sleep, questioning long-held expectations, or sensing a desire for a different rhythm, direction, or way of living. You may feel both relief and uncertainty as familiar roles loosen.

You do not need to identify with any single label to find this retreat meaningful. This space is for women who simply feel the pull to pause, listen inward, and understand what this stage of life is asking of them.

• you are navigating perimenopause or menopausal change

• your energy, sleep, or emotional rhythm has shifted

• your sense of identity feels in transition

• you are experiencing burnout, fatigue, or emotional depletion

• you want a women’s wellness retreat that goes beyond surface-level wellness

• you crave reflection, depth, and honest conversation

• you value evidence-informed guidance held with warmth

• you want time in nature without pressure to perform

• you are ready to redefine success on your own terms

This retreat offers a rhythm that supports reflection without overwhelm. The days are structured enough to hold you, yet spacious enough for you to move at your own pace.

You will experience:

• ACT-based workshops and experiential sessions

• guided reflection, guided meditation and journalling

• gentle, attuned morning movement designed with each woman’s experience in mind

• meaningful, supportive group conversations

• time outdoors for grounding and perspective

• opportunities for play, enjoyment, and rest

• optional massage and body treatments, yoga, and easy hiking

The experience follows a carefully designed, flexible flow rooted in neuroscience.

Deep Rest · Exploration · Integration

Frequent breaks, optional movement, and time in nature are woven throughout to support balance and nervous system regulation.

By the end of the retreat, you will have created space to hear yourself more clearly and understand what this stage of life is asking of you.

The retreat does not promise grand transformation.
It offers something quieter and more sustainable.

You will leave with:

• a clearer sense of who you are beyond long-held roles

• emotional tools to support perimenopause and menopause transitions

• reduced shame and self-criticism around fatigue and burnout

• improved understanding of sleep, stress, and energy

• renewed confidence in your inner knowing

• a calmer inner rhythm and more spacious perspective

• meaningful connection with women on similar paths

• practical ways to continue this reflective work at home

This lasting shift is supported by the retreat’s neuroscience-informed phases of Deep Rest, Exploration, and Integration.

Held at Château de Puissentut in Homps, France, the retreat takes place in a beautifully restored medieval château surrounded by rolling hills, gardens, and open countryside.

The setting offers both connection and solitude. A space to gather and space to retreat inward.

You will have access to:

• peaceful communal areas for reflection and conversation

• gardens, woodland paths, and countryside walks

• a pool (weather dependent) and areas for rest and relaxation

• quiet indoor and outdoor spaces for journalling or contemplation

• comfortable accommodation designed for deep rest

Everything about the environment is chosen to support calm, clarity, and reconnection.