Transformational Program Design
27th October- 1st December 2025, via Zoom
Design retreats and programs that are truly life-changing
Design Retreats that are truly life-changing
Most facilitators can create a schedule. Few can design an experience that transforms people at their core.
This 6-week online training gives you the frameworks, templates, and secrets behind 1,500+ retreats and circles I’ve led across 20+ countries. You’ll walk away with a retreat blueprint that is uniquely yours—and the skill to craft programs where participants leave saying:
“That was beyond anything I could have imagined.”
Cohort size is limited to 18. Enrolment is now open.
Sign Up Here
"No human escapes change: everything in life is constantly in motion.
We are always passing from one life phase to the next.
That's how we grow.
What matters is how we meet these transitions and support people through them."
Nele Vandersmissen
Who This Training is For:
This program is for facilitators who want to go beyond “nice experiences” and design retreats that truly transform lives.
It’s a fit if you are:
- A coach, healer, creative, or facilitator ready to bring your work to life through retreats
- Already leading retreats but craving a proven structure and more confidence in your design
- Dreaming of hosting your first retreat and wanting to do it right from the start
- Ready to create unforgettable experiences that your participants will talk about for years
Circle Facilitation is highly recommended as a complementary skillset—but it’s not mandatory.
Not for: people with no experience holding groups. (You’ll need some background in facilitation—whether circles, yoga, coaching, or workshops.)
Join Nele Vandersmissen for a transformative 6-week online training that equips you with all the essential tools to design life-changing retreats and group programs.
Get ready to unlock a powerful upgrade in your personal leadership in the process.
This immersive program features live group calls, engaging home-study videos, and an in-depth design manual packed with ready-to-use templates and practical resources.
What you'll walk away with:
By the end of this 6-week training, you won’t just know about transformational program design—you’ll have the tools, structure, and confidence to deliver it.
You will:
- Design your own retreat program (minimum: a full-day experience) that’s received direct 1:1 feedback from me
- Gain unshakable confidence in your ability to create retreats where people say: “This changed my life”
- Master a flexible framework—tested across 1,500+ programs—that works every time, whether for retreats or online group experiences
- Create a unique delivery system that highlights your specific gifts—yoga, breathwork, somatic work, coaching, or creativity
- Build your toolkit with templates, structures, and design maps you can return to again and again
- Expand your network by connecting with a select group of peers walking the same path
Get personalised answers to your questions, with hot seat coaching and tailored feedback
Whether you’re a community leader, coach, breathwork facilitator, manager, or teacher, this training will profoundly transform your leadership.
If you’ve been feeling a calling to lead transformational programs for groups, this is foundational work.
The Blueprint
A design framework that’s both ancient and modern
At the heart of this training is a universal transformation Blueprint—a spiral-shaped map of transformational design that integrates the best of both worlds:
- The timeless practices humans have always used to create meaning and transformation
- The adaptability to meet the needs of our time, our culture, and your unique gifts
Unlike most retreat frameworks—which are linear—this approach marries structure and flow, masculine and feminine, known and unknown.
You’ll have both a solid foundation that always works and the freedom to adapt to the field and design something uniquely yours.
The Six Pillars of the Training.
This training is built on six essential pillars. Together, they form the backbone of transformational program design and facilitation. Each one is an essential element in creating life-changing experiences that will stand the test of time.
Transformation
Learn how to design for true transformation—not just “good experiences.” Using the Map of Transformation, you’ll create safety, community, liminal space and trauma-informed practice, whilst incorporating ritual and storytelling. These are the alchemical ingredients that turn a program into a life-changing experience.
Connection & Community
Transformation doesn’t happen in isolation. Learn to design for belonging and becoming—spaces where people feel deeply seen while stepping into more of themselves. This invisible architecture of trust is what makes breakthroughs possible.
It takes a village and we'll tell you how to create one.
Servant Leadership
Step into the art of servant leadership. Cultivate the inner qualities and practical skills to design and guide with confidence, humility, and integrity. Lead from your own genius while drawing out the gifts in others—always in service of the greater good.
We'll explore leadership strengths and edges and explore helpful tools.
Ritual
Rituals root change in the body. You’ll learn how to design simple yet powerful rituals that mark thresholds, honour transitions, create meaning and anchor transformation. Through the use of symbol, myth, and clear intention, you’ll discover how to create timeless moments that connect past, present and future.
Nature-based design
Reconnect with the natural intelligence of design that lives in all of us. Work with nature as co-facilitator—not as backdrop but as an active partner. Learn animistic principles, reciprocity, and ways to ground and amplify your programs through the more-than-human world.
Structure
At the core of this training is a repeatable framework that works in any scenario. The Blueprint provides a safe container within which all the elements of transformation can merge and create magic.
The Curriculum
Over 6 weeks, we’ll move through every step of transformational program design in an organic way.
You’ll receive 5 core modules—each with their own sub-modules, practices, and plug-and-play templates—plus 5 live gatherings to explore your leadership, refine your design, and bring your unique gifts to life.
During the online videos, you’ll receive all the theory and ready-to-use templates you need to design rituals, practices, and your full retreat runsheet.
In the live sessions, we’ll focus on your personal leadership style and how to weave your essence, story, and strengths into your program. There will be space for Q&A, design labs, and shared reflection each week.
In Week 5, you’ll create your own retreat design using the Transformational Blueprint, receive 1:1 feedback, and graduate with a fully developed, ready-to-run program.
Module 1
Transformation + Intent
Explore the timeless principles of transformation—liminal space, psychological safety, group dynamics, and the art of reading the field. Learn to formulate and communicate clear intent, whether co-designing with others or creating something entirely your own. We’ll cover the foundations of servant leadership, the history of group transformation, and what truly separates “nice” retreats from life-changing ones. You’ll leave with clarity on your unique audience and how to design for them with purpose.
Includes the Transformation Glossary.
Module 2
Transformational
Blueprint
Discover the universal stages of transformation—initiation, liminality, and integration—and how to weave them seamlessly into your program. We’ll unpack the essential elements of design, exploring how to work with past, present, and future to shape a cohesive arc. This is where you’ll learn the anatomy of transformational experiences and how to structure your retreat for depth, safety, and flow.
Includes the Blueprint of Transformation
Module 3
The Power of Community
You'll learn the secrets to building genuine community and how to design across the three layers of connection—personal, interpersonal, and transpersonal. You’ll explore the invisible architecture of safety—trauma-informed practice, boundaries, agreements, and energetic upkeep. Learn to create, read and adapt to a group field while guiding participants through edges and breakthroughs.
Includes the Container Checklist, Enrollment examples + Games and Ice-Breakers
Module 4
Ritual & Ritual Theatre
Rituals root change in the body. Learn to design simple yet powerful rituals grounded in ancient wisdom and embodied symbolism. We’ll work with myth, rhythm, and theatre to create experiences that move participants beyond words and into the sacred. You’ll discover how to design moments that anchor transformation and make your retreats unforgettable.
Includes the Ritual Design Template + three adaptable plug-and-play rituals.
Module 5
Vision, Celebration & Integration
Every transformation needs honouring. This final module explores how to design the closing arc of your retreat—celebration, reflection, and future focus. Help participants gain clarity on the path ahead. Learn to weave closure and integration practices that help participants carry their transformation home. We’ll harvest the group’s collective wisdom and create meaningful ways to inspire lasting change and commitment.
Includes a Vision Template + Integration Best Practices
“In a world moving faster than ever, the real mastery lies in slowing down enough to design for what matters most—
human connection, meaning, and transformation.
These are the skills of our time.”
Nele Vandersmissen
How it Works
- 5 weeks of live teaching (120 min/week, starting 27 October 2025)
- Platform: Zoom + Kajabi (lifetime access to recordings + resources)
- Assessment: submit your retreat program for personalised approval
- Private Coaching Call (after Week 4): bespoke guidance on your design
- Certification: Certified in Transformational Program Design
This isn’t theory—it’s implementation. You’ll graduate with a ready-to-run retreat program.
Sign Up Here
The Ripple Effect?
People in your retreats will get to:
-
Experience a retreat arc that feels intentional, powerful, and unforgettable
-
Step into a field designed for true transformation rather than “just a nice weekend”
-
Feel safe, seen, and held within a carefully crafted container
-
Journey through the universal stages of transformation—separation, liminality, and integration
-
Be moved by story, ritual, and symbolic moments that stay with them long after they leave
-
Encounter breakthroughs through carefully woven liminal space and emergent design
-
Connect more deeply to themselves, others, and the natural world
-
Reclaim parts of themselves that were forgotten, hidden, or held back
-
Leave with clarity, insight, and practices that ripple into their everyday life
-
Be inspired by the magic of group resonance and collective meaning-making
-
Celebrate vulnerability and the freedom it brings when honoured in community
-
Walk away saying: “That was beyond anything I could have imagined.”
Hi! I'm Nele.
I will be your teacher and guide.
I’m the founder of Wondr, where I reimagine how we gather, create meaning, and navigate uncertainty through transformational design. Circle practice and rites of passage have shaped my life so profoundly that sharing them with others has become my calling.
Over the past decade, I’ve:
-
Designed and facilitated 1,500+ retreats, circles, and programs across 20+ countries
-
Spent 4 years as a lead facilitator at the Rites of Passage Institute
-
Trained 500+ facilitators in Circle Practices and Rites of Passage frameworks
-
Been trusted by organisations including Woolworths, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Fonterra, and GumGum to design and deliver transformational programs
From boardrooms to riversides, from corporate teams to community circles, I’ve seen again and again how well-designed experiences change lives.
My mission is to train facilitators to become acupuncture points of transformation in their communities—so this work ripples outward into the world, creating connection, meaning, and lasting change.
"Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing,
there is a field. I will meet you there"
Rumi
What Others
Have Experienced
BE INSPIRED
" I loved the way this training was designed—immersive, practical, and full of moments that brought the theory to life. It gave me a whole new lens on how to structure and guide retreats that truly transform people.
Nele is exceptional at what she does. Her presence, clarity, and ability to weave deep insight with real-world application make the learning experience powerful and inspiring.
If you’re thinking about joining any of Nele’s trainings at Wondr, don’t hesitate. You’ll walk away with tools that last a lifetime—and the confidence to create experiences that truly change lives."
Paula P
" What I loved most was the lack of fluff — everything was clear, grounded, and deeply human. The teachings encouraged vulnerability, real connection, and meaningful sharing.
This experience helped me uncover and refine my natural abilities, giving me the confidence and tools to step into my next chapter with purpose. Being part of a community of people committed to creating change in the world was truly inspiring.
It reminded me that I am part of the change I want to see — and it’s time to bring that to life. The flow and structure of the experience were fantastic."
Rich L
Simplified with Multiple Payment Plans
Frequently Asked Questions
ALL YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED HERE
