If antidepressants & talk therapy work so well, why do so many of us feel depressed?
Because meds and talking about how we feel only scratches the surface. For many of us, they don't solve the underlying problems that cause us to feel depressed.At Ditch the Black Dog, you’re encouraged to explore every aspect of your being – your heart, body, mind, Soul & Spirit – including your ancestry, culture, environment and even your work!
Inside this space we fill the gaps that medication & therapy never reach so you can feel healthy, happy and whole.
The Ditch the Black Dog Virtual Retreat opens its doors for the very first time on the Autumn Equinox — 23rd September 2026.
Join the Waitlist and be first through the door.
Take the first step on your journey to ditching the black dog of depression today*
*⚠️ CRITICAL: DITCH THE BLACK DOG DOES NOT OFFER A CRISIS SERVICE
If you are in immediate danger, feeling unsafe, or need to vent through an acute crisis, please reach out to professional, trained support immediately. You matter, and you deserve dedicated care. Find a helpline no matter where you are here: https://findahelpline.com/
I’ll be here waiting to help you when you’re ready.
Hi, I’m aria….
…and the most important thing you need to know about me is that I’m not your typical mental wellness mentor.
I create safe, inclusive, experiential spaces for wounded Souls to find support when traditional therapy and medication aren’t available, don’t work well enough by themselves, or aren’t working for you at all.
I’m very spiritual, but you wont find me telling you to think positive, practice gratitude, and be all about the love and light.
You need someone who isn’t afraid to get into the darkness with you – but then asks some different questions to help you see how to get back out into the light.
Rather than “how do you feel about that?” I want to know “what does happiness feel like to you and how do we get you back there?”
My approach to ditching the black dog of depression is a little different!
I became a complementary therapist because of my own battles with the black dog and through that journey I discovered something that changed everything.
The Gaian Path.
The Gaian Path is a holistic track, rooted in neuroscience based tools and techniques, practical lifestyle changes and the power of community and social activism. So far, so good, right?
But this is where you might find me a little weird.
Stay with me!
The Gaian Path also incorporates a generous sprinkle of Gaian Magick…
The Gaian Path includes beautiful tools such as full moon release ceremonies, tarot for self-discovery, and rituals rooted in ancient earth wisdom that help you get in touch with your intuition and reconnect with your Soul.
These magickal elements aren’t just nice extras.
They’re the secret sauce that helps you process what you can’t put into words and reconnect with something bigger than the depression you feel.
Somewhere beneath the feelings of depression, burnout, overwhelm, exhaustion and numbness, there’s a version of you that loved to laugh, created things that lit you up, trusted your instincts and revelled in the magick of being alive.
That version of you is still there, just waiting to be rediscovered.
Through a unique blend of neuroscience, practical lifestyle changes, ancient earth magick and sacred activism, you’ll finally get tools that reach every part of you – mind, body, Soul and Spirit.
Your mind feels calmer.
Your body gets nourishment.
Your Soul finds its purpose.
Your Spirit is reignited.
This isn’t about casting spells and hoping for the best.
It’s about reconnecting with something bigger than the depression you feel and remembering that you’re not broken, hopeless or helpless.
You’re just crushed under the weight of everything you’ve been carrying all by yourself for so long.
I’ll show you how to start letting go of the baggage you’ve been hauling around, so you can feel healthy, happy and whole again.
Just to be clear, I’m not a doctor or psychiatrist and I don’t prescribe medication. That’s what your GP and mental health team are for.
What I am is a certified coach and counsellor, nature therapist, forest bathing leader, equine facilitated learning practitioner and advanced hypnotherapist, with nearly two decades of experience working with people recovering from depression.
I work alongside your medical team, not instead of them.
Think of me as the missing piece.
The support that fills the gaps conventional medicine leaves behind.
Let me show you how following the Gaian Path can help support you on your journey to feeling healthy, happy and whole again.
After the hell you’ve been through, isn’t it time you got to create the happy life you desire and deserve?
Here's How I Can Help You to Tame Your Black Dog
Introducing the Ditch the Black Dog Virtual Retreat
When you’re battling depression, finding effective support can feel impossible.
Maybe you've been waiting months for an appointment with a therapist, and you want to start helping yourself in the meantime.
Maybe you get an hour of therapy a week, with no additional support in between and you wish there was something you could do to help you get through to the next session.
If you've been lucky enough to access traditional therapy, maybe it hasn't worked the way you hoped. Or your allocated sessions ended just as you were starting to open up, leaving you feeling lost and alone.
Perhaps you clawed your way out of one dark episode of depression, only to find the black dog trying to creep back in and you want tools to help you stop it in its tracks.
Or have you received treatment in hospital and although you're not depressed anymore, you're struggling to put the pieces of your life back together by yourself?
Enough already!
It's time to end the cycle of suffering.
I created the Ditch the Black Dog Virtual Retreat as a solution to the problems I encountered when I needed help with depression.
Inside, I'll introduce you to the Gaian Path and you can choose how you want to follow it back to happiness.
Join the Ditch the Black Dog of Depression Virtual Retreat
I've included all the things I needed when I felt like my life wasn't worth waking up for, including practical support with societal and cultural causes of depression.
The Ditch the Black Dog Virtual Retreat is always open for you. It's there for you at the times your therapist isn't.
There's something helpful, no matter what you might be struggling with - sleep, work, money, love or rebuilding your life after the heartbreak of broken dreams.
You'll find support, practical tools and therapeutic experiences, combined with a generous sprinkle of Gaian Magick, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week - even at 4am when everything feels darkest.
Take a look - it might be exactly what you need to support you on your journey to rediscovering what makes you happy.
The Ditch the Black Dog Virtual Retreat opens September 23rd 2026. In the meantime, I’ll be running some taster sessions, plus you’ll have the chance to join at a very low founder member price.
Want in? Click the button to find out more and join the waitlist!
What can you do whilst you wait for the Ditch the Black Dog Virtual Retreat to open?
It's ok, I've got you! You can find out more and get a taste of what the retreat has to offer inside my FREE Black Dog Café community.
You don't have to battle the Black Dog of depression alone!
The Black Dog Café is a FREE, off-Facebook sanctuary for depressed souls who're done pretending they’re fine.
No pressure. No platitudes. Definitely no toxic positivity.
Just connection, compassion, and a generous serving of nature's magick to help you feel supported as you get back to feeling more you.
Don't bother getting out of your PJ's - just grab a coffee, tea or yummy hot chocolate and come on over. It's always open, even at 4 am when the black dog bites hardest.
You don’t have to battle depression alone. I'm saving a space for you! ☕
The café is a safe space where we gather to support each other so that the Black Dog no longer bothers us but just sits quietly whilst we focus on creating a life worth waking up again for.
Do you fancy ditching the black dog of depression here with me in Spain?
From the September Equinox to the Summer Solstice in June every year, I offer a variety of sacred circles, live events and retreats.
They take place in the great outdoors.
There’s nothing quite like
🌲 breathing in the rejuvenating fresh air in the forest,
⛰️ energy healing sessions in the mountains,
🐎 animal assisted therapy sessions with cats, dogs, birds and horses.
🌅 watching the sun set over the Mediterranean Sea
🌙 or watching the moon rise in sacred circle…
…to help you heal and thrive!
If you’re interested in finding out more about my retreats and live events, and how to book, please click the button!
What do people say about working with aria?
Here are some blog posts that explain a little bit more about my work and how it can help you.
I have comments turned off on my posts. If you’d like to talk about anything you read here, please come over to the Black Dog Café, a safe space for you to ask questions and join the conversation.
Prefer to listen? Subscribe to the Ditch the Black Dog Podcast
About aria aian
Maria Gaian knows first-hand the weight of lifelong depression - and the freedom of taming her own 'black dog'.
After over a decade of intensive study and research, Maria discovered that many sufferers don’t fully recover because traditional treatments only focus on managing or even masking depression, not healing its root cause.
She believes that depression isn’t a standalone illness - it’s often a symptom of deeper issues that need attention such as environmental, societal, cultural, and capitalist pressures.
Maria created The Gaian Path™, a holistic and deeply personal approach that not only supports individual healing but also addresses the external factors that often contribute to mental distress.
After overcoming her own struggles, she made it her mission to show other wounded Souls the path she followed that helped her to feel healthy, happy, and whole.
What do people say about working with aria?
This is typically the space where most peopIe ask you to sign up for their newsletter.
But I know that when you're feeling depressed the last thing you need is loads of emails you'll never read clogging up your inbox.
Yes, you need tips, tools, and suggestions, but you also need to feel seen and heard by people who understand you.
This is my invitation to you to come join me in the Black Dog Café for a chat. All you have to do is bring yourself and your favourite drink!
The café is a little bit different than the typical online groups you might have seen before, and it's perfectly ok if you only want to lurk at first!
