EXCLUSIVE: Beckley Retreats Kicks Off 2024 With New Program For Personal Discovery & Transformation

Beckley Retreats, a science-backed psilocybin retreats and holistic wellbeing company, is officially launching its Signature Program for Personal Discovery and Transformation, “an 11-week curriculum of preparation and integration support to help guests achieve the most significant benefit from their six-day psilocybin retreats” in Jamaica and the Netherlands.

Under the umbrella of Amanda Feilding’s Beckley Foundation family of brands, Beckley Retreats has access to modern psychedelic science, implementing this research into its programming and protocols and collaborating in research and datasets toward helping set a precedent and best practices for the modern use of psychedelics.

Beckley Waves is one of its major partners, with both companies currently working closely to design innovative research approaches for the non-medical applications of these compounds and practices.

The Comprehensive Program

The new program consists of four weeks of remote, guided preparation before participants travel to Jamaica or the Netherlands for their psilocybin retreat, plus six weeks of virtual post-retreat integration. 

Other activities include cohort community building, app-based skills development and online group meditations and gatherings.

Beckley Retreats exclusively shared with Benzinga some of the details of the program. 

The structure is the same for both Jamaica and the Netherlands with cohorts of 15-20 participants. Each retreat participant goes through the program with her/his unique cohort. Once the 11-week program is completed, virtual gatherings will also be offered to retreat alumni. 

During the preparation phase, retreat participants have one 1:1 session with a retreat facilitator and two facilitated group prep sessions with their retreat cohort. They also have access to comprehensive, structured weekly preparation content and activities in Beckley Retreats’ app. 

Post retreat, or integration phase-participants have four facilitated group sessions and access to comprehensive integration content and activities in the app across six weeks. 

Additional private 1:1 coaching support is available to participants at any point during the preparation and integration stages.

Skill-building, inner resourcing, and community are emphasized throughout the program — across the domains of body, mind, heart, & spirit — to enable participants to maximize the benefits of the psychedelic experience & encourage sustained shifts in mindset & habits.

CEO Neil Markey told Benzinga that for the curriculum’s design, the team examined clinical and academic research and interviewed experts in psychedelic facilitation and integration; mindfulness practices and breathwork; integrative health; nature-based, somatic and trauma-informed approaches; psychotherapy and DEIB and safety/harm reduction. They also consideried best practices in group facilitation, adult learning and the science of habit formation. 

Research shows that psychedelic journeys in group settings may promote a feeling of “communitas” – a greater sense of connection, shared humanity, and dissolution of hierarchies and social roles. The benefits of a collective setting are one of many predictors of long-term outcomes in well-being after a psychedelic experience.

Regarding availability, Markey said the 11-week program is standard for all programs.

"Participants are highly encouraged to participate in the preparation and integration programs. We believe, and the research has shown, that comprehensive preparation and integration are essential for having a positive in-person retreat experience. Our program is designed for safety and to provide our participants with the tools to make lasting change in their lives,” Markey said. 

With an all-inclusive cost modality, programs start at $4,800 for a shared room.

Photo courtesy of Beckley Retreats, Jamaica.