DOCUMENTARIES
In the Shelter of Trees
One Woman’s Journey in Developing the Ideal Therapy Retreat for Healing Emotional Trauma
JoAnne is working with her producer/director/film partner, Duane Lamar, to produce a documentary series about creating The Center for Creative Healing at Border Mountain. Duane has vast experience in script writing, producing and filming and JoAnne has deep experience in the emotional healing arts, writing, and film making.
It is JoAnne’s and Duane’s dream to produce a documentary series that captures the imaginations of viewers and leads them to look deeper into their own lives and relationships. It is their hope that those who need them will access the tools for healing that they see demonstrated in the film. And that it will reconnect all viewers to the value of our natural world and its very specific healing effect on all of us, so they will be inspired to protect it through climate change awareness and support.
This three-part documentary series follows JoAnne Chitwood, a hospice nurse and trauma counselor, as she and her dedicated staff create a place of deep healing for those suffering from emotional trauma and depression using the most basic elements of nature and proven-to-be-effective, evidence-based techniques in holistic healing.
We learn of JoAnne’s journey from the beginning of her dream of a retreat center and the tragedy that derailed her progress for decades. We see the heartbreak that follows her beloved brother’s death, followed by deep healing in her relationship with her father, who becomes her greatest supporter. The story involves dreams and visions, setbacks and struggle, and an all-consuming belief that this is what she is called to do in her life.
We see JoAnne preparing for retreats while searching for the healing place she sees in her heart.
A place that serves as a cocoon of safety for everyone who comes for healing.
Not just any property will do. JoAnne and the team search for just the right setting to create that safe and nourishing space for her healing retreats.
They find several properties that could provide everything she has been looking for, but each one sells or is taken off the market before she can make an offer.
Not giving up hope, they continue their search for the right property…
It must have at least 100 acres of forest, pasture and trails, as well as the ideal place to build the horse facilities JoAnne needs to practice her equine therapy program with her clients.
A Sacred Space
Once the property is secured, JoAnne invites Dr Marco Neiri from Italy to come in to test the trees for healing properties. He meets with Dr Qing Li, a forest therapy pioneer from Japan.
Dr Nieri and Dr Li use a Lecher antenna to determine the bioenergetic area extending from the trunks of the biggest trees on the wellness trails.
He talks with JoAnne about how to mindfully take in the energy of the various species of trees.
Equine Therapy
Horses provide a powerful experience in the healing of emotional trauma. We accompany JoAnne as she works with equine therapy experts to choose the horses to be used in the program.
She consults with experts in equine therapy from around the world and invites them to visit the property.
We follow them as they ride together property, the ”horse whisperers” provide her with valuable insights for The Center for Creative Healing’s equine therapy program.
Art Therapy
A fully equipped art studio provides a place for JoAnne to work with clients using her unique IFS-informed approach to art therapy. demonstrates the power of art to heal. She connects with specialists in art therapy to glean advice on the best way to set up the art-making space and how to lead clients into places of deeper healing through art.
Internal Family Systems Therapy
In addition to forest, equine, and art therapy, JoAnne and her team work to create a nourishing space for retreat attendees to experience time-honored interventions in music, sound, and movement.
Internal Family Systems therapy is at the heart of every intervention.
JoAnne talks to experts in the IFS field, drawing from their stories and experience for inspiration for The Center for Creative Healing’s program.
Healthy Food
Mouth watering, healthy food is full of life-giving, healing properties. JoAnne invites a well-known nutrition expert to visit The Center.
He gives valuable advice on creating menus that will satisfy, nourish, and inspire attendees to take care of their bodies through healthy eating.
JoAnne talks with Dr. Gary Salyer, Attachment Theory expert and author of Safe to Love Again, for direction in creating an atmosphere that provides for the four feelings of safety that he writes about in his book.
These four feelings that create a sense of safety are:
- Welcomed with joy
- Cherished and protected
- Empowered with choice
- Worthy and nourished
The Healing Power of Water
A lovely serene pool provides the ideal spot for water therapy to soothe and loosen the stiff muscles that come with the body’s response to emotional trauma.
Labyrinths
JoAnne brings in a specialist who has designed labyrinths for many retreat centers, to explain the significance of this special, contemplative walking path.
The Rubber Hits the Road
Once all the elements are in place and ready, we will follow a group of clients who will go through a 10-day immersion in the three elements of the program.
- IFS Informed Forest Therapy
- IFS Informed Equine Therapy
- IFS Informed Art Therapy
JoAnne will interview them at the end of the program to hear how their retreat experiences impacted their lives, and which interventions they found to be the most effective in addressing emotional trauma issues
Who We Are
JoAnne Chitwood RN, Border Mountain CEO and Director, is a hospice nurse, grief and trauma counselor, film-maker, author, and artist. She has written more than a dozen books and created educational films for hospice that have been used all over the world since 1997.
Her most recent books are Living in Color, Please Help Me Die Well, and Journey of the Heart. Over the past three decades she has facilitated many healing groups using therapeutic writing, art, and storytelling.
The Center for Creative Healing is the fulfillment of a life-long dream of hers: to employ a stunning natural environment to create the safest, most soul-nourishing program for people to process and heal emotional trauma using proven techniques in art therapy, equine therapy, and forest therapy.
Duane Lamar is a television and film producer, director, and script writer with a vast amount of experience in all facets of documentary film making. As COO of Border Mountain, Duane plays an integral role in all aspects of the company’s managerial decisions and creative strategies.
And, as executive producer of the video and film department, Duane will produce and direct the company’s documentary and film projects, and its YouTube and social media video content. In addition, he will also collaborate on the creation of brochures and promotional materials, its online content, and its business plan.
Promise Productions, Inc.
JoAnne has been creating books and training materials for hospice and grief classes through her publishing company, Promise Productions, Inc. , her book and educational materials production company since 2013 and, before that, through Promise Publications from 1997 to 2013. Her non-profit company, Border Mountain, Inc. produces the documentaries and provides for the actual healing retreats taking place at The Center for Creative Healing and JoAnne’s speaking engagements in churches and other organizations.
Sponsorship funds for The Center for Creative Healing will be received through Promise Productions, Inc. and will be used to create the grounds for The Center for Creative Healing. Building projects will include the log lodge, cabins for clients, the garden pool/greenhouse, the art studio, a covered riding arena with stalls, the labyrinth, groomed trails for forest therapy, and a sound garden with chimes.
Donations
Border Mountain is a 501c3 Non-profit Organization.
All donations to the film, In The Shelter of Trees or to The Center for Creative Healing retreats, are fully tax-deductible.
Mountain of Grace
One Woman's Journey from Heartache to Healing
Many of you have asked for the backstory on Border Mountain, so here it is! Mountain of Grace is the dramatic story of JoAnne's journey from heartache and tragedy to deep healing and purpose in the formation of Border Mountain.