What if you had a virtual home base that actually made your REAL life fuller and more peaceful?
Introducing Camp Gaia
Camp Gaia is an online membership for people who want to feel more fully alive and nourished— personally and collectively— so we can tap into more joy and keep fighting for the better world we ALL deserve.
Let me be completely honest here—
When you can go be out in the woods with your people, by all means, DO THAT.
(And heads up - Camp Gaia is primarily not an in-person or outdoors thing, though we hope to incorporate pieces of that in the future- see the FAQ section toward the bottom of the page for more on this!)
But of course, going away for a weekend off the grid is just not accessible for many of us a lot of the time. Which is why we put our heads together to dream up…
What would be an offering that could reach people wherever they are in the world and serve as a home base to nourish their mind, body, spirit,* relationships, and collective care/activism engagement?
A space that isn’t a one-and-done “course” to complete, but an ongoing stream of replenishment, where there’s no such thing as “behind”?
*“spirit” may be the word for some folks— “inner life” or “interconnectedness” might be the word for others. We work a lot with religious trauma and welcome members of all spiritual backgrounds AND those who are atheist and woo-averse.
INTRODUCING
Camp Gaia
the membership for folks who are deeply committed to individual AND collective well-being
What’s Included:
1) Practices & Tools for Your Self-Care & Growth
Weekly audio pep talk to support your energy, mindset, and nervous system in this nervous-INDUCING world 🤪
Weekly mindfulness/meditation practice - a wide variety of practices including breathwork, seasonal practices, hypnosis, mindful walking, and more
Monthly yoga/gentle movement class to tend to your animal body and explore joyful movement
Monthly Go Deeper video lesson - on some of our favorite skills and concepts that make a big impact for our clients and ourselves
Other surprise goodies - occasionally we will just want to make something and share it, whether that's a recipe, a live online workshop, a group hike in Nashville, or something else special just for our campers! -- and we're open to requests!
2) Coaching & Support
Monthly live Group Coaching call facilitated by Val - if you can't make it live, you can submit a question in advance and watch the replay -- one group coaching call with Val would normally cost $75, so the membership is more than worth the price for this alone!
Monthly live Coworking call to log on and get shit done (spend that time however you want! folding laundry, writing letters, reading, etc.)
3) Community
Private community chat space where you can connect with fellow growth-minded, compassionate humans, hosted on a dedicated lovely app called Heartbeat, NOT in a Facebook group 🙅♀️ -- engagement in the community (like anything else in the membership) is optional, but we're hopeful to grow this element!
Monthly live Community Connection call (lightly guided/structured to support our neurodiverse campers!) hosted by a Gaia Center team member -- we're testing this out currently to see if folks actually want it... TBD! 🤗
But WTF exactly is a “membership” anyway?
So glad you asked! Camp Gaia is…
your virtual home base for your ongoing growth and healing— accessible anytime, anywhere
not a course, so there is no such thing as “behind”— use only the pieces that resonate with you, at your own pace
curated by a skilled team of therapists/coaches from The Gaia Center (priced at a fraction of the value of our expertise)
And the real beauty of it?
YOU get to decide how you engage.
Some members will love the community element and only dabble in the self-care content, and others might not not engage much in the community or coaching, but are always eager for the next movement or mindflness practice to drop.
And that’s not even considering the monthly group coaching call, which is worth the price of the membership itself. (ONE of our group therapy sessions costs more than double the price of a whole month of membership— and of course group therapy is incredibly valuable in its own right, but just sayin’, we are doing this for a LOW rate given our team’s expertise. 🤓)
Hey, I’m Val—
I’m the founder of The Gaia Center for Embodied Healing in Nashville (a psychotherapy practice) and the Lead Counselor 🤓 here at Camp Gaia. I’ve always been a personal development junkie, and ever since I stepped into my first Social Justice class in my MSW back in 2010, I’ve had a passion for figuring out how to bridge individual and collective healing. Frankly, I can’t stand personal growth content that seems oblivious to the immense suffering in the world— at best, the “manifesting love, light, and abundance for all!” ethos is really no different from the philosophy of trickle down economics (AKA doesn’t work) or ✨thoughts and prayers.✨ At worst, there’s a disturbing appeal to wealth and opulence that makes me feel ill when I consider the conditions most of humanity lives in.
Well damn, I guess I could have just said “hey I’m Val, the resident buzzkill!” 😝 Okay really though — my POINT is that I think there’s a way to do it differently, and I don’t see a whole lot of online personal growth spaces doing it. I’m not here to judge people who are going after financial success— I just think there are already plenty of spaces dedicated to that work, and very few that are exploring how we can integrate our personal healing and growth with collective healing and growth.
Last thing— I’ve had a few start-and-stop attempts at creating things online in the past, and I learned something very important from those: 1) If it pulls my attention away from my core mission (“Grow Within, Heal Together”), I can’t give it the time and energy it would need to succeed. 2) Stop trying to do shit alone. 🫣 Why it took me so long to realize I could create THIS thing and do it WITH my Gaia team, I don’t know— but I am so thrilled they’re on board, and you’ll be learning more about them shortly!
Choose your membership option:
total value of over $150/month ($1,800/year)
We offer 3 tiers of pricing to make the membership more accessible. Please only choose the Supported option if you have significant financial limitations. If you are able to comfortably choose the Sustainer option, you make it possible for us to continue expanding accessibility— thank you!
Why join annually? This option is designed for folks who want to root into the work — and help sustain a values-aligned healing space over time. (Read more in the FAQ!)
Is Camp Gaia for you?
We’re not trying to be all things to all people. Here’s a bit about who this membership is designed for— and who may prefer to pass on it.
Camp Gaia is perfect for you if…
you view your personal growth as something dynamic, ongoing, and worthy of support
you’re a therapy poster child or self-help nerd
you give a shit about people and issues both within and outside your own community
you want more connection with growth-and-activism-minded folks
It’s probably NOT a fit for you if…
you’d rather eat cardboard than read a self-help book
you feel content with the level of connection and community you have
you think the orange man is a good leader (just sayin’)
you like a course that you can complete once and be done with
Meet Your Camp Counselors 🏕️💞
We are a pretty damn cool group of humans if I say so myself. 💁♀️
You’ll get to know a lot of these folks when they create lessons and host coworking and coaching inside the membership, but here are just a bit about us as a whole for now:
Camp Gaia is created by the team at The Gaia Center for Embodied Healing — a group of therapists, educators, and facilitators committed to trauma-informed, somatic, relational, and values-aligned care.
Our work is shaped by clinical training, lived experience, and a shared commitment to naming context — power, culture, identity, and the realities of living in a world that asks too much of our bodies and hearts.
This space is held by real (TBH, weird-ass 😜) humans — thoughtful, imperfect, and deeply invested in doing this work with integrity. You don’t have to know anyone else at the campsite to belong. The fire is crackling, the s’mores supplies are ready, and there’s space for you just as you are.
The Ground We Stand On
We want to name the literal ground beneath this work.
The Gaia Center is based in Nashville, Tennessee in the U.S. — land that is the ancestral home of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Shawnee, and Yuchi peoples, among others. This land was taken through violence, forced removal, and broken treaties, and those histories are ongoing. They continue to shape who has access, safety, and belonging today. A land acknowledgment is not a checkbox or an endpoint. It’s a reminder that all healing work happens inside history, power, and relationship — and that responsibility and repair are ongoing.
Then there’s the metaphorical ground we stand on with Camp Gaia.
Camp Gaia is rooted in the belief that distress is not just individual — it’s shaped by relationships, systems, culture, and collective trauma. We don’t believe neutrality is possible in healing spaces, and we don’t believe people need to be fixed in order to belong.
This space is grounded in:
Trauma-informed, somatic, and relational approaches
Queer-, trans-, and body-affirming care
Explicit attention to power, context, and collective harm
Consent, choice, and nervous-system safety
Depth without dogma, and care without extraction
We don’t rush toward resolution or promise transformation on a timeline. We don’t bypass pain or spiritualize suffering. Instead, we practice staying — with ourselves, with each other, and with the complexity of being human in this world.
Camp Gaia isn’t about self-optimization or fixing what’s broken. It’s about learning how to live — in your body, in relationship, and in alignment with your values — without betraying yourself or disappearing into survival mode.
You don’t have to agree with everything here to belong. But we are clear about where we stand — because clarity is part of safety.
Choose your membership option:
total value of over $150/month ($1,800/year)
We offer 3 tiers of pricing to make the membership more accessible. Please only choose the Supported option if you have significant financial limitations. If you are able to comfortably choose the Sustainer option, you make it possible for us to continue expanding accessibility— thank you!
Why join annually? This option isdesignedfor folks who want to root into the work — and help sustain a values-aligned healing space over time. (Read more in the FAQ!)
we 🧡 our campers & clients
"I love the Camp Gaia community! I feel like I am able to share and ask for general advice and be met with compassion and curiosity. I am confident the materials Gaia produces are trustworthy methods of regulation and relief!"
-- J.C., a Camp Gaia member
“I love that the membership provides accountability and opportunities to connect and grow together, based on each of our own unique availability. There’s no pressure, unlike other communities. I can come and go as I please, yet always know there’s a ton of value whenever I’m ready to hop back in.
I think your offerings are unique because you have both the therapy foundation along with the coaching experience, so you’re really the best of both worlds and I can trust your insights more than the usual run-of-the-mill chick who decided to start calling herself a coach online.
I think people want to put in a little work for a few months and then think they’re “fixed” and stop practicing the tools and mindset that makes up personal development. Without the regular awareness of this stuff, it’s so easy to fall back into our old negative patterns. Personal development is just as important as any real medication that we could be taking for our mental health.”
— Regan, a member of Val’s previous membership
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Mostly, no. But I can't resist a great theme, y'all— especially when it lends itself to fun metaphors & visuals. 🌳🏕️🐻🦊🤗
I wanted to create something online so that anyone can be a part of it, no matter where in the world they are.
That being said, the "Camp" theme also aligns with our ethos at The Gaia Center— we hold an ecopsychological, systemic view of the mental health and the world, and honor our deep need to connect with the Earth (our larger body!).
Especially if we really grow the Nashville-based community of campers, I can absolutely see us doing occasional hikes or other outside time together, and maybe even someday an overnight retreat that actually involve camping* and that further-away folks could potentially travel in for!
*(but also cabins, because I know some of y'all will want a REAL bed. 😂)
-
Although it’s created by a team of therapist/coaches, Camp Gaia is not therapy, and it’s not a replacement for therapy. It’s a guided, educational, and experiential community space designed to support nervous system healing, embodiment, growth, and collective care — especially for people who are hella good at overthinking. 🙋♀️
That being said, Camp Gaia is a beautiful complement to therapy if you’re doing that and could definitely help you get even more out of that work!
If you’re looking for 1-on-1 support, we may add some optional coaching upgrades to the membership in the future. In the meantime, reach out at our Contact page and if we aren’t the right place to support you, we’ll make sure to help you find someone who is.
-
The monthly option exists because we believe access and flexibility matter.
The annual option exists for people who feel a deeper yes — not just to the content, but to the container and what it stands for.Choosing the annual option is for folks who:
Want to root into a community over time, not just drop in
Feel called toward sustained individual and collective healing
Value continuity, rhythm, and relationship over constant decision-making
Want to financially support an organization that is explicitly values-aligned
While the annual discount and bonuses do sweeten the pot 🍯, many people choose the annual option because it’s a practice of commitment — to themselves, to community, and to resourcing work that names power, context, and care rather than extracting from them.
Your annual support helps us:
Continue to walk our talk with The Gaia Center’s core mission and commitment to decolonial, liberatory wellness
Pay clinicians, educators, and facilitators fairly
Keep Camp Gaia accessible beyond traditional therapy models
Continue to expand our recurring donations to nonprofits who are doing important work
This isn’t about locking yourself in.
It’s about saying, “This kind of space matters to me, and I want to help sustain it.” -
Camp Gaia is intentionally low-pressure and non-performative.
You can watch/listen to offerings of your choice at your own pace, engage in coaching live or via replay (or not at all!), and participate quietly or actively — both are welcome!
This is designed to support the other good things in your life, not compete with them.
Camp Gaia is very much Choose Your Own Adventure-coded.
-
Camp Gaia is built with flexibility and consent in mind.
There’s no requirement to speak on camera, participate live, share personally, or “keep up” with the content or anyone else.
You are trusted to engage in ways that work for your capacity.
-
Yes — explicitly and non-negotiably.
Just like The Gaia Center, Camp Gaia is grounded in:
Queer- and trans-affirming care
Anti-oppressive, trauma-informed frameworks
A belief that identity safety is part of nervous-system safety
We don’t treat neutrality as a virtue.
-
Camp Gaia is a month-to-month membership, and you can cancel anytime. There are no contracts, no hoops to jump through, and no “please email us and explain yourself” energy.
You are only committing to the time that you have agreed to/paid for— for instance, once your monthly payment has processed, you’ll continue to have access for the next month and can cancel so you aren’t rebilled.
If at any point this no longer feels like the right container for you, you can step away easily — with our respect. The cancellation process will be very clear in the Onboarding once you’re inside.
Folks who decide to join as an annual member will continue to have access until their next annual billing date, and can cancel before then if they don’t want to renew.
Due to the nature of content and services being delivered, refunds are not possible. Please reach out to us if you have extenuating circumstances and we can discuss.
Full Terms of Service
You made it all the way down here.
That usually means something in you is listening.
Camp Gaia is for people who are tired of managing themselves through life — and are curious about what it might feel like to actually live in their bodies, their relationships, and their values.
There’s no rush.
No fixing.
Just a space to be met, exactly as you are.
If this feels like a place you could exhale, you’re welcome to step in.