The magic of mushrooms

In an effort to take wellness to the next level, several retreats are now incorporating psychedelic substances into their practices, but what does the process actually look like? Lollie Hancock finds out

Once a taboo subject, the wellness world has seen a sharp increase in conversations surrounding the use of drugs and natural psychedelics, such as ketamine and psilocybin (also known as magic mushrooms), as a tool for helping with depression, relaxation, mental health and more.

When Amazon Prime Video released Nine Perfect Strangers, an adaption of Liane Moriarty’s best-selling book of the same name, in 2021, it opened a Pandora’s box of conversation surrounding the impact of drugs when used safely and as part of a bigger wellness programme.

Now, consumers can do a simple Google search and be met with dozens of retreats in locations such as Amsterdam, Jamaica, Thailand and Costa Rica, with “ceremonies” scheduled alongside yoga classes, breathwork sessions, massages and more, but are there real benefits from this new wave of wellness?

The mushroom effect

North African and European cave paintings from 9,000 BC indicate possible early use of magic mushrooms, which, according to advisory service Talk to Frank, can lead to euphoric, energised and excited feelings, as well as a risk of paranoia, anxiety and panic.

However, recent studies highlighted possible medical benefits for those who ingest the substance, with potential benefits including long-term relief for depression and anxiety, alcohol addiction, and other psychiatric disorders. In 2023, Australia became the first country to legalise the use of psychedelics for mental health conditions, with MDMA now available to prescribe for those with posttraumatic stress disorder, and magic mushrooms for depression that has resisted other treatments. Canada and the US also have clinical trials underway.

To find out more about this new wave of wellness, we spoke to retreat organisers Silo Wellness and The Journeymen Collective to gain insight into what goes on during a psychedelic retreat.

Case Study: Silo Wellness

Silo Wellness, which was founded in 2018 by Mike Arnold, offers its guests a four-night, five-day stay in Jamaica starting from US$6,500 (£5,166) per person for single occupancy – or US$6,000 (£4,768) double, complete with two psilocybinbased sessions on days two and four.

“Our retreats are aimed towards people who have been struggling with mental or behavioural health diagnosis or major life changes, and those who are in need of an interpersonal change,” explains Josh Wilson, Silo Wellness Psilocybin Retreat’s customer success manager. “We chose to use psilocybin due to its ease of use, multisensory experience and the minimal negative responses it can cause.”

Silo Wellness offers its guests the ingredient in the form of psilocybin-infused chocolate or tea, using mushrooms which are grown locally to the retreat. “Our mushrooms are grown, processed and tested in Jamaica,” explains Wilson. “All of our psilocybinbased ground mushrooms and products are certified lab tested within three weeks of use before being stored accordingly to protect the strength and quality of the mushroom products.”

Unlike more conventional wellness retreats, a stay with Silo begins months in advance, with guests required to disclose their medical history and previous diagnoses, any medication or supplements that they are currently taking, and their purpose for taking the journey.

Before the retreat

Ahead of attending the retreat, guests have three preparation calls with the Silo Wellness team. “During the second preparation call, Dr Bhatt [the retreat’s intake coordinator] reviews the chemistry, history and research currently available,” explains Wilson. This is to give Silo’s guests scientific insight into the substance they’re about to ingest.

When it comes to how guests approach the retreat mentally, Wilson explains, “We encourage our guests to move into the experience with their own intentions in mind,” adding, “all are individual in nature, all are private.”

With a maximum ratio of one staff member for every four guests, and no more than 14 guests at a time, Silo aims to ensure each individual is given the time and attention they need on their journey.

During the retreat

The retreat kicks off with a group meeting and evening meal to help guests settle into their surroundings and prepare for the days ahead. “Days two and four include yoga and meditation, group and individual meetings with the Silo Wellness team, with the dosing session around lunch, and a buffet dinner,” explains Wilson.

To support guests through their journey, day three allows time for a one-to-one meeting with one of Silo’s experts to reflect on and review the previous day, and ensure the guest is ready for a second round of psilocybin on day four. This also gives the opportunity for the team to assess the dosage given to their clients and adapt accordingly.

“We have found that the ability to modify the session within the experience is key to the participants,” explains Wilson. “This includes individual dosing requirements, up-doses, and a format of administration that allows us to include both fast and slow onset psilocybinrelated products.”

The retreat starts every day with yoga and meditation, with massages also available during the five days, and guests welcome to take part in the other experiences offered at Coral Cove Wellness Resort (which hosts the retreat in Little Bay, Jamaica) at the end of their stay with Silo.

Aftercare

While television has depicted substance use as lifechanging, Wilson says the reality of life after psilocybin looks different for everyone. “Some people’s ‘change’ is not visible. However, guests generally leave with a positive sense of self, a newfound certainty of who they are and are in the process of becoming, content knowing they took a huge step forward in their personal health journey and hesitantly excited for what is to come,” he adds.

The team helps support the transition back to day-to-day life after the retreat, with a further three calls to check in on guests. As for those who wish to return, the retreat has a strict six-month break policy to allow all the effects of the psilocybin to come to a close before taking more.

“The neuroplasticity and other cognitive changes may still be in the process of unfolding prior to that, meaning we would be creating a reliance on the molecule versus doing the work necessary to receive the full benefit of the medicine,” explains Wilson.

Case Study: The Journeymen Collective

Founded by couple Robert Grover and Gary Logan in 2018, The Journeymen Collective works with smaller groups of between one and four people at its retreat centre in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. “We have worked with more guests than that, but we believe personalised, focused, and bespoke attention is what people are yearning for,” says Grover.

The duo launched the retreats following their own wellness journeys, with Grover starting to work with a spiritual teacher in 2003 before coaching others in 2015. “A lovely individual came into our life and introduced us to the ‘medicine man’ that we worked with,” reflects Grover. “I went on my first journey with him as a solo client, and came back from that journey feeling that I had found my joy again. I had rekindled a deep desire to have high-level conscious conversations with people.

“I was devoted and committed to bringing that same experience to my clients and was set to train with the medicine man – at the time I didn’t tell Gary any of this.”

Following in his partner’s footsteps, Logan decided to take a journey too. “My mother passed away, I was going through grief and depression, and had a bit of a loss of direction for my life,” explains Logan. “I thought maybe I should embark on this journey… so I gifted it to myself for my birthday. Sure enough, I experienced a lot of expansion and growth over those few days.”

The couple’s individual experiences led to them wanting to create a safe environment for others to grow and learn as they did. “We both sat down after Gary’s experience and decided to combine 40-plus years of Gary’s personal professional development, with 25-plus years of my personal professional development, metaphysical and spiritual teachings, and weave everything together to create The Journeymen Collective,” explains Grover.

Before the retreat

The Journeymen Collective, which describes itself as a journey centre rather than a retreat, has an intensive preparation programme for those starting a four-month journey. Prospective clients are asked to submit an application, followed by between two or three “discovery calls” with the team to understand what the client wants to achieve, and their intentions for the journey.

“This is where we look at overall wellness,” explains Grover. “After someone has come through the discovery process and we have invited them into a journey with us, whereby we believe there’s a mutually beneficial fit, there are three phases: the preparation phase, the intensive immersive process and the integration phase.”

Ahead of their journey, guests undergo at least four weeks of preparation. “We meet online, and there’s about four hours of video content during that time as well to help people prepare so that they’re ready to come into the immersive intensive experience when they’re with us in person, which is phase two,” says Grover.

During the retreat

On the first day of their journey, guests settle into the location before a lesson on the Alexander Technique, a method of rediscovering natural balance and poise through thinking in activity.

“The technique gets guests to embody themselves, and to actually sense how the holding is affecting their whole humanism,” explains Logan. “They learn how to let go of the stress or tension that’s being held, and, with that knowledge, when they embark on a journey, they have some sort of awareness of how to let go of the holding pattern within the body so they can relax and release and rest into the journey process.”

Following the lesson, the first “ceremony” takes place. “That’s when the integration starts, so there have been a lot of integration conversations around our dining table, where we help people create context around what they have seen in their journey,” says Grover. “We’re witnessing a lot of people coming to us in their 40s, 50s and 60s, with a lot of baggage that they have yet to deal with.”

Grover explains that the mushrooms help to decompose old energies and old stories connected to what has happened in people’s lives. “It’s not about forgetting what has taken place but it’s removing any negative emotional, mental stories connected to those life experiences,” he says.

Part of the journey is allowing guests to make decisions for themselves and listen to their bodies, even when it comes to dosage. “Each dosage is tailored to the individual and we empower our clients to actually make the decision for themselves,” explains Grover, adding, “We’re never ever telling people how much ‘medicine’ they need to take. We provide a range of what we sense is the best way forward.”

The mushroom is taken in its whole form at The Journeymen Collective, as Grover explains, “Typically, we serve that with chocolate because there’s a synergy between the cacao and the mushrooms that makes the medicine more bioavailable, so it is taken up by the body more quickly.”

Other activities include hiking, journaling and meditation, and clients can self-lead yoga sessions or spend time in the saltwater pool. The team also allows downtime to rest. “There’s a lot of resting because there’s been an unfurling of the old self and embodiment of the new,” explains Grover. “We help people really embody and be grounded in their transcendental experience.”

Aftercare

For guests, the journey continues well beyond the flight home, as The Journeymen Collective finishes with a further four weeks’ integration, including weekly calls and video contact to support clients, followed by a fortnightly meeting for a further two months.

As for the transformation, Grover shares that, “Our guests move from discontent and being constantly irritated to being very peaceful and content. They’re able to recognise when they enter the hyper-mental activity that a lot of high achievers have, and they’re able to allow the mind to stop so they can tap into a deeper intelligence within themselves, which then gets expressed into their life, their love, and their business. They have a deeper connection with self, which allows for deeper conscious conversations with people.”

Logan adds, “Their awareness of their inner and outer world is connected, so there’s no disconnect [between mind and body] and they’re not just in their head anymore.

I always say: Think with the heart. Love with the mind.”