PT400 – Neil Markey – Beckley Retreats: Combining Modern Science, Tradition, and Holistic Wellness
Mar 21, 2023
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Neil Markey, Co-Founder of Beckley Retreats, discusses the holistic wellness approach at their retreats. The importance of preparation, psilocybin experiences, and integration work is highlighted. Success stories show how materialism can hinder real relationships. Beckley Retreats is involved in studies on using psilocybin for trauma and leadership development.
Beckley Retreats focus on holistic wellness with psilocybin, emphasizing pre-retreat prep, immersion experiences, and post-retreat integration.
Success stories highlight how psychedelic-assisted therapy can transform relationships, contentment, and perspectives for positive change.
Expert facilitators with diverse backgrounds create a unique and supportive environment for transformative psychedelic experiences.
Deep dives
Psychedelic Informed Practitioner Training Program
A comprehensive 12-month certificate training program for psychedelic informed practitioners has been developed to address the increasing demand for qualified psychedelic guides, therapists, and practitioners. Participants who have undergone the program have reported transformational experiences and acquired the necessary tools to establish new careers within a supportive community of psychedelic practitioners. The program includes weekly lectures by industry experts and immersive in-person retreats held in various locations like Jamaica, Costa Rica, Colorado, and Amsterdam.
Neil Marky's Journey into Psychedelics
Neil Marky, the CEO of Beckley Retreats, shares his impactful journey into the psychedelic space from his background as an army ranger to his involvement with meditation. He highlights the profound effects of meditation and ceremonial use of psilocybin, emphasizing the complementary nature of psychedelics and meditation in promoting well-being. Neil discusses the importance of foundational practices like meditation alongside the potentiality and expansion offered by psychedelics, underscoring the need for a comprehensive approach to mental health and well-being.
Beckley Retreats' Approach and Success Stories
Beckley Retreats offers comprehensive well-being programs with psilocybin in Jamaica and the Netherlands, emphasizing a non-medical and group-focused approach for personal growth and creativity. The programs include digital preparation, immersive group experiences, and integration sessions, all aimed at creating a supportive environment for transformative experiences. Success stories from clients include profound shifts in relationships, personal contentment, intergroup dynamics, and perspectives, highlighting the potential for psychedelic-assisted therapy to catalyze positive change.
Expert Facilitators with Diverse Backgrounds
The retreat program features expert facilitators with diverse backgrounds, including individuals experienced in psychotherapy and those with extensive experience in facilitating ceremonies involving substances like ayahuasca and psilocybin. Some team members have undergone integrative health programs and engaged in clinical trials, bringing a valuable toolkit to the program. The emphasis is on creating a well-rounded team to provide a valuable and unique experience, balancing clinical expertise with group ceremony and ritual experience.
Holistic Approach to Retreat Design
The retreat adopts a holistic approach to design, considering factors such as the timing of psychedelic sessions to prioritize participant well-being and rest. Choosing to administer substances like psilocybin midday allows participants to sleep better at night to ensure they are well-rested for subsequent days. Additionally, the retreat offers mindful, plant-based organic meals with options for different dietary preferences to ensure participants feel comfortable and cared for, enhancing their healing experience.
In this episode, Joe interviews the Co-Founder and CEO of Beckley Retreats, Neil Markey.
Markey describes Beckley Retreats as comprehensive well-being programs, and talks about the importance of holistic wellness – that, while the retreats are centered around two group psilocybin experiences, the true benefits come from complementary factors: the four weeks of online prep and community building before the retreat, the six days in Jamaica surrounding the experiences, the six weeks of integration work after, and the depth of connections people find in the new community they may not have realized they needed so badly. He breaks down the details of the retreats and what they look for in facilitators, and tells a few success stories that really highlight how trauma, opposing ideas, and an infatuation with material objects and amassing wealth can all get in the way of real relationships and meaning.
Beckley Retreats is currently working on two new projects: an observational study with Heroic Hearts and Imperial College London on using psilocybin for-traumatic brain injury, and a study with Bennet Zelner and the University of Maryland to bring executives through a retreat to see how it affects leadership and decision-making: can they prove that these types of experiences lead to more heart-centered leaders?
www.psychedelicstoday.com
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