ABOUT CRAIG & MOLLY DICKSON │Founders - Alaya Ascend
When Failure Isn't An Option, You Develop Systems That Work
FROM TRAGEDY TO TRANSFORMATION
After losing my brother and too many close friends to suicide, I could have chosen a dark path.
Instead, I chose to build systematic approaches to living, thinking and feeling well, first for myself, then for thousands of others.
I’m Craig Dickson, founder of Alaya Ascend. This is the story of how personal tragedy became the catalyst for creating Australia’s only mountain sanctuary using the ME-WE approach to couple restoration.
THE FOUNDATION: FAILING FORWARD
I failed school.
Not because I couldn’t learn, but because the traditional system didn’t work for how my brain worked.
What changed? I discovered that transformation requires systematic conditions, not willpower alone. When failure wasn’t an option, I developed what I call “the conditions of success”—evidence-based approaches that helped me earn four degrees: two Masters (Applied Positive Psychology and Guidance & Counselling) plus undergraduate degrees in Education and Psychology.
Those same systematic approaches now help exhausted couples restore their relationships at Alaya Ascend.
Success leaves clues. So does sustainable transformation.
Not because I’m special. Because I learned early that the right conditions make transformation inevitable, not exceptional.
THE PARTNER: MOLLY'S HEART
My wife Molly is the heart of Alaya Ascend.
While I bring the systematic approach and psychological framework, Molly brings decades of hospitality expertise and genuine care that makes every couple feel like family.
Guests don’t mention my degrees in their reviews. They mention how Molly made them feel welcome. How she remembered their names. How the small touches—champagne on arrival, thoughtful provisions, knowing when to give space—created the safety needed for transformation.
We’ve been married 20 years. We know what it takes to maintain partnership through life’s challenges. That lived experience informs everything we do here.
THE DISCOVERY: YEAR THREE
Around year three, I noticed a pattern that changed everything: individual restoration happened before relationship reconnection. Every single time.
This observation became the ME-WE approach. Over 13 years and 4,000+ guests, this pattern has repeated consistently. (You can read the full story on our homepage.)
“Real change doesn’t require force. It requires the right environment, the right system and the courage to let go of who you used to be.”
THE MISSION: PROACTIVE RESTORATION
Most couples wait 6 years after problems start before seeking help. By then, they need crisis intervention.
Our mission is different: systematic restoration before problems require therapy.
Not reactive. Proactive.
Not fixing what’s broken. Creating conditions where natural reconnection emerges.
We’re not therapists. We’re not running couples workshops. We’re environmental psychologists creating the conditions where exhausted nervous systems can restore, allowing natural relationship reconnection to follow.
The physical ascent to our mountain sanctuary mirrors the psychological ascent through restoration to reconnection to revitalization.
THE COMMITMENT: OUR FAMILY
Molly and I live on the property with our two daughters, Scarlett and Indigo.
This isn’t an investment we manage remotely. It’s our life’s work.
When you arrive Friday evening exhausted and leave Monday restored, you’re not just guests—you’re part of the Alaya Ascend family.
This is why we keep capacity at 4 rooms. We could scale to 20+ rooms and maximize revenue. But you can’t provide genuine care to 20 couples. You can’t create sanctuary when the property feels like a resort.
We chose transformation over scale.
We know your names before you arrive. We understand why you’re here. We can adjust support based on where you are in your restoration journey.
Scale was the easy choice. Intimacy was the right choice.
THE CREDENTIALS: WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERS
The Formal Background:
Two Masters degrees (Applied Positive Psychology and Guidance & Counselling). 25+ years helping tens of thousands across mining, education and healthcare. 13+ years retreat operation with 2,000+ couples. 400+ five-star reviews.
What Actually Matters:
The reviews don’t mention my degrees. They mention how I helped them remember who they are beneath the exhaustion. How their energy and relationship shifted in 72 hours when months of trying hadn’t worked.
WHY WE DO THIS
After surviving what I survived, creating conditions where others could rise above their struggles became my life’s work.
Not by fixing them. Not through therapy or intervention. But by creating the environment where transformation happens naturally when exhaustion lifts.
You deserve a relationship that energizes you, not depletes you.
Reconnection shouldn’t require crisis intervention—it should be systematic restoration before problems deepen.
The ME-WE approach works: when two restored individuals share space in a healing environment, natural reconnection emerges.
Over 2,000+ couples have experienced this at Alaya Ascend. Most arrive as roommates coordinating logistics. Most leave as partners making plans together.
The transformation isn’t forced. It’s invited through the right conditions.
READY TO EXPERIENCE THE ME-WE APPROACH?
After surviving what I survived, creating conditions where others could rise above their struggles became my life’s work.
Not by fixing them. Not through therapy or intervention. But by creating the environment where transformation happens naturally when exhaustion lifts.
You deserve a relationship that energizes you, not depletes you.
Reconnection shouldn’t require crisis intervention—it should be systematic restoration before problems deepen.
The ME-WE approach works: when two restored individuals share space in a healing environment, natural reconnection emerges.
Over 2,000+ couples have experienced this at Alaya Ascend. Most arrive as roommates coordinating logistics. Most leave as partners making plans together.
The transformation isn’t forced. It’s invited through the right conditions.
Ready to Begin Your Ascent?
“The heart ascends to Alaya, a sublime state where the soul is lifted above the dust of the world.” – Rumi
Your transformation doesn’t start when you arrive. It starts the moment you decide that you’re worth investing in, that your relationships matter enough to prioritize, and that your life’s work deserves to be sustainable and joyful.
You’re choosing to Ascend.