Referrals to Women's Healing Sanctuary
Women’s Healing Sanctuary is a not-for-profit retreat in Port Stephens, NSW. We offer a calm, trauma-aware space for women who need time to rest and recover, often alongside the support they receive from clinicians, counsellors, GPs, and community workers.
We are not a clinical, therapeutic, or crisis service. We sit within a broader care pathway, never instead of it.
The Sanctuary
What the Sanctuary offers your client
The Sanctuary sits on six secluded acres in Port Stephens. We host a small number of women at any one time, keeping the environment quiet, private, and low-demand. Stays include all meals, with the option to dine privately or with other guests.
There is no set program. Women choose how to spend their time — rest, time in nature, gentle connection, or simply space to breathe. This is a place to pause, not a place to perform.
For women carrying grief, burnout, or exhaustion, that can be enough.
Suitability
Who the Sanctuary suits, and who it does not
The Sanctuary may suit women who are stable enough for a calm, unstructured setting and would benefit from rest and quiet. This often includes women navigating grief, burnout, emotional exhaustion, life transition, or recovery after a difficult period.
The Sanctuary is not appropriate for women in acute crisis, women requiring medical or psychiatric supervision, or women needing emergency accommodation. We do not provide therapy, counselling, clinical care, or crisis response.
If your client needs that level of support, the Sanctuary is not the right fit right now. We are comfortable saying so, and we would rather have that conversation early.
Our approach
Safety, dignity, and the woman's choice
Every step of the referral and stay is shaped by the woman herself. We will not accept a referral without her knowledge and consent. Communication stays gentle and unhurried so she can move at her own pace.
The Sanctuary is trauma-aware in how it holds space, language, and expectations. We are clear that this is hospitality and rest, not treatment. Her existing care team remains her primary support throughout.
Use the enquiry form or contact us directly to talk through whether the Sanctuary might suit your client. A short conversation is the easiest starting point.
Your client is part of the conversation from the start. We need her to know about the referral and to want to explore it before anything progresses.
We will check that the Sanctuary is a calm fit for where she is right now. If it is not the right time, we will say so honestly.
Once she is comfortable, we work directly with her on timing, arrival, and anything that would help her feel settled on the day.
1
Get in touch
Use the enquiry form or contact us directly to talk through whether the Sanctuary might suit your client. A short conversation is the easiest starting point.
2
Confirm consent
Your client is part of the conversation from the start. We need her to know about the referral and to want to explore it before anything progresses.
3
Talk through suitability
We will check that the Sanctuary is a calm fit for where she is right now. If it is not the right time, we will say so honestly.
4
Plan the stay
Once she is comfortable, we work directly with her on timing, arrival, and anything that would help her feel settled on the day.
Access and cost
A note on access and cost
Women’s Healing Sanctuary is a registered Australian charity with Deductible Gift Recipient status. We operate a blended model of paid and supported stays so that cost is not the only barrier for women who would benefit from time here.
If cost is a concern for your client, please mention it when you enquire and we will talk through what may be possible.
Get in touch
Start a conversation
If you are weighing up whether the Sanctuary might suit a woman in your care, please get in touch. We will keep it simple, respect her pace, and be honest about whether we are the right fit.