ABOUT US
Get in TouchWhy Wander With Us...
Wanderess exists to support women in restoring their emotional, creative, and psychological wellbeing through a unique Women’s Retreats Membership model. We blend somatic therapy, nervous-system science, Jungian archetypes/psychiatry, creative expression, and culturally rooted spiritual practice — offering both deep immersion and long-term integration so that insight becomes embodiment and transformation becomes sustainable.
We believe transformation starts with safety and understanding. If you’d like to learn more, you can book a call at any time — including a free nervous system analysis to support your decision-making. 🫶
Retreats, Reimagined
Wanderess is redefining women’s retreats through a model that unites evidence-based somatics, polyvagal-informed nervous system work, creative arts practices, and traditional spiritual wisdom. Unlike short-term retreats that end when the suitcase closes, our membership provides six months of therapeutic coaching, community, and integration support — ensuring that what begins in Bali, or Italy, or somewhere else continues to evolve, emerge, and integrate in daily life.
Led by academic-practitioner-therapists Dr. Ellie Chadwick and Karma Tucker, Wanderess creates trauma-informed, culturally grounded, scientifically rigorous spaces where women can reconnect with their bodies, reclaim their identity, and reignite their creative and emotional vitality.
Our Founder
Dr. Ellie Chadwick is an interdisciplinary scholar-practitioner whose work bridges the worlds of academia, performing arts, and embodied therapeutic practice. With over 15 years of experience directing international performance projects, and a decade of conducting academic research, teaching in universities, and designing transformative learning experiences, Ellie brings a depth of expertise to her work with women’s empowerment and creative healing.
Ellie holds a PhD in performance studies, with research expertise in ritual theatre, archetypal storytelling, and the role of the arts in collective wellbeing. She is the author of Historically-Responsive Storytelling: How Western Theatre is Rediscovering its Roots (2023), a book that explores how contemporary performance and society is seeking reconnection with ancient, culturally grounded modes of meaning-making.
Her unique methodology—Historically-Responsive Storytelling—weaves together deep historical awareness, intercultural sensitivity, and a commitment to social and embodied justice. This approach understands that stories, bodies, and identities do not exist in isolation: they are shaped by history, community, culture, and context. At the core of her work is the understanding that the arts are powerful forces for change—and that through creativity, we can heal, reclaim, and reimagine our lives.
Ellie has worked internationally, having created and directed projects in Europe, Borneo, Bali, and Shanghai, collaborating with artists, academics, and communities across diverse cultural settings. Since 2016, she has led international retreats and residencies that offer more than rest or inspiration—they are immersive, academically informed and artistically grounded spaces for deep transformation. Each experience is crafted through an integration of scholarly research, embodied performance, cultural heritage, and therapeutic practice.
With Wanderess Ellie has created an arena for women to explore the full complexity of their stories—through body, voice, history, and art. More than a retreat space, Wanderess is an evolving community, a dynamic therapeutic container, and a ritual theatre of change—where each woman is invited to study herself as both subject and storyteller, and to step into her story as the author, the director, and the lead character.
The Power of the Arts
At Wanderess, we believe that the arts are a sacred force for deep healing, transformation, and communal connection. Rooted in Jungian philosophy and enriched by diverse cultural heritages, our approach views creativity as an essential tool for exploring the unconscious and unlocking hidden potentials. The arts allow us to explore the unconscious, connect with archetypes, and engage with the symbolic language of our inner worlds, unlocking hidden truths and potentials within ourselves.
At Wanderess, we believe that we are all creators—of our realities, our stories, and our lives. By tapping into the transformative feminine life-force energy that exists within us all, and balancing it with the masculine, we open the door to endless possibilities for growth and evolution. The exploration of archetypes—such as the Warrior, the Queen, the Wild Woman, and the Priestess—serves as a powerful catalyst to unlock deeper understanding, healing, and empowerment.
Our mission is to ignite the transformative creative power within every woman, guiding her through a journey of self-discovery, connection, and empowerment. Influenced by Dr. Chadwick’s expertise in Jungian philosophy and storytelling, our process helps women heal past traumas, reclaim lost parts of themselves, and create expansive possibilities for their lives.
We understand storytelling and artistic expression as both an ancient and a scientifically-researched present-day tool for personal empowerment and healing. In exploring the different roles and archetypes we subconsciously play, we can reshape our identities and step into the heroine’s journey, transforming our lives in real, meaningful ways.
Through various forms of storytelling and somatic/artistic expression, combined with tools based in scientific knowledge of the nervous system and brain, our creative and spiritual retreats empower women to reclaim their narratives, embody their inner archetypes, and use these tools to rewrite their personal stories and gain full freedom of expression. At the heart of our vision is a world where women are empowered to fully embrace their inner Wanderess, take control of creating their own reality, and thrive in every aspect of their lives.