Today we’d like to introduce you to Jody Cross.
Hi Jody, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve been a psychotherapist for many years, leading a private practice as well as intensive therapeutic programs for individuals and couples. Much of that work involves helping people navigate trauma, relationship challenges, and major life transitions. I continue to love that work, and it remains the foundation of everything I do.
Years ago, while I was a single mother raising my young daughter and navigating breast cancer, someone introduced me to a guest ranch tucked into the hills of Hidalgo, Mexico. I wasn’t looking for a business idea, I was simply looking for a place where we could both exhale. What I found was much more than a beautiful destination. For the first time, I experienced what it felt like to be genuinely cared for through a thoughtfully designed environment and extraordinary hospitality. As we stepped away from the demands of daily life and settled into a different rhythm, we felt rejuvenated, inspired, and more connected. I left realizing that the environment itself wasn’t simply the backdrop, it was part of what made that connection possible.
As a therapist, that experience stayed with me. I realized that while deep therapeutic work is sometimes exactly what’s needed, there are other seasons when we don’t need another hour in the therapy room, we need an experience that allows us to live differently. To practice presence, live authentically, experience relational safety that naturally leads to a felt sense of connection and joy – one of the central tasks of being human.
That understanding eventually became Epona Retreats, and this year we’re celebrating 11 years of creating immersive, international wellness retreats.
Insight is important, but we become different not only by understanding ourselves, we become different by having new experiences of ourselves in relationship with others, in safe community, and outside the routines that keep us on autopilot.
Whether I’m working with someone in my therapy practice, leading a multi-day intensive, or hosting a retreat in Morocco, my hope is the same: to create the conditions where people can experience themselves and others in deeply meaningful ways that create more capacity for safety, connection, and joy.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Like most businesses, there have certainly been practical challenges, from navigating a global pandemic to the unpredictability of international travel and all of the logistics that come with leading retreats around the world.
But the greatest challenge has been protecting the integrity of the vision.
From the beginning, I never wanted Epona Retreats to be about checking destinations off a bucket list or creating beautiful photos for social media. The location matters deeply, but only because it becomes part of the experience. Every retreat is thoughtfully designed, from the people we partner with, to the pace of the week, to the balance between meaningful conversations, cultural immersion, rest, and adventure.
I’ve also learned that the right people matter more than a full retreat. Because these experiences are so small and relational, every person contributes to the culture of the group. I’m looking for people who are curious, open, and willing to genuinely engage with themselves, one another, and the experience. The retreats aren’t for everyone, and I’ve become comfortable with that. Protecting the integrity of the experience has always been more important to me than simply filling every spot.
Ironically, that has been one of my greatest lessons as an entrepreneur: building something meaningful isn’t just about growth. It’s about having the courage to stay true to your values, trust your vision, and believe that the right people will find you.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
People often ask whether I see myself as a psychotherapist, an intensive therapist, or a retreat leader. The truth is, I see those as different delivery systems for the same work.
At the heart of everything I do is creating experiences that intentionally cultivate the conditions where people can experience greater authenticity, relational safety, meaningful connection, and ultimately, a greater sense of joy and happiness. Lasting transformation happens not simply through insight, but through lived experience.
As a therapist, I specialize in helping individuals and couples navigate trauma, relationship challenges, and life’s inevitable seasons and transitions for couples and individuals. Through Epona Retreats, I work with people who are functioning well but want to live more intentionally, more vibrantly, and connect deeply with other cultures of the world.
Whether someone joins me in a therapy session on Zoom, a multi-day couple’s intensive, or a retreat in Morocco or Portugal, my work is the same: thoughtfully designing experiences that hold people in a way that invites new ways of being, in real time, in relationship. The setting changes, but the purpose does not.
If there’s one thing that sets my work apart, it’s that I don’t see healing, growth, and connection as ideas to understand. I see them as experiences to co-create. My role is to thoughtfully cultivate the behavioral, relational, and environmental conditions where those experiences become possible. Everything else grows from there.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Looking back, I think I was always a seeker. I was naturally curious, loved being outdoors, and was happiest around animals. I was also quite shy and spent a lot of time observing. Even as a child, I found myself wondering about people, especially the people closest to me.
I grew up in a family that was often confusing, and scary, to me. I didn’t understand why people who loved one another could also hurt one another so deeply, or why so much went unsaid. I remember thinking that if everyone could just talk honestly, there would be less confusion, less anger, and less heartache.
I didn’t know then that those questions would eventually become my life’s work, but the thread is easy to see now. I’ve always been drawn to understanding people, not just why we struggle, but what helps us feel safe enough to be ourselves, communicate honestly, and experience genuine connection.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jodycrosstherapy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jody_cross_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jody.cross.927
