Trauma Therapy Retreats: From Surviving PTSD to Thriving

Trauma is a reality in many of our lives. It affects our long-term mental, physical, emotional, and social well-being. While you may generally associate trauma with specific events such as military combat, violence, major accidents or sexual assault, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can also arise through prolonged traumatic exposure, such as an abusive childhood. Regardless of its source, the symptoms can be debilitating. Feelings of overwhelmed helplessness, nightmares, or flashbacks that leave you feeling as if you’re in a state of constant danger shouldn't have to be your day-to-day.

According to a study by the World Health Organization, an estimated 3.6 percent of the world population experiences PTSD in a given year. In the U.S., about 8 percent of women and 4 percent of men experience at least one trauma in their lives, with many cases of PTSD being resistant to traditional medication and therapy treatments.

If you’ve tried weekly psychotherapy sessions or other mental health services and found that they did little to address your needs, it may be time for something different.

One approach to dealing with your trauma could be a therapy retreat for PTSD. Time doesn’t heal all wounds and to move forward, we have to process the root cause of our pain in order to guide ourselves to a place of healing. Standard psychotherapy sessions rarely provide enough time to transition mentally and emotionally into a place where you are open for healing before your hour is up for the week and you are back in the regular world. Trauma therapy retreats offer a solution by setting aside a dedicated and prolonged period to focus on your recovery, free from the distractions and responsibilities of your daily life in a safe and supportive environment. An intensive therapy retreat offers relief, healing, and long-term efficacy in days, not years.

Whether you’re navigating the aftermath of a frightening experience or seeking to break free from trauma, PTSD therapy retreats are inclusive spaces where you can find support, relief, and community.

MycoMeditations has a decade of experience providing powerful trauma-healing sessions in a safe environment created by a knowledgeable team of therapists, facilitators, and guides to promote life-changing transformations. Your sessions are held in serene locations where lush greenery meets white sands and blue seas, either alone or in a group setting. The program at our healing retreat includes a blend of individual sessions and group therapy to help you to implement coping mechanisms once the retreat has ended.

Based on client survey data collected over two years, our therapy retreats for PTSD can offer significant and long-lasting benefits for 12 months following your experience. One month after their retreat, guests at MycoMeditations who suffered from PTSD at baseline (average PCL-5 score = 43.04) saw a large reduction in self-reported PTSD symptoms post-treatment (average PCL-5 score = 17.90). At three months post-retreat, MycoMeditations guests showed a 52.7% reduction in symptoms between baseline (43.0) and three months post-retreat (20.4). Our PTSD sufferers confirmed the reduction in symptoms continued at six months post-retreat with 48.8%, and one year post-retreat with 46.1%.

How do we do it?

Our week-long therapy retreat for PTSD combines three powerful high-dose psilocybin-assisted sessions with integration and the expertise to work with you through any intense experiences or emotions that arise.

You’re probably wondering, "How can magic mushrooms help me to overcome trauma?"

Research is demonstrating that psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic found in magic mushrooms, is a promising treatment for conditions ranging from PTSD to depression. The results have been so promising that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated psilocybin therapy as a “breakthrough therapy” – a priority status given to new drugs with the potential to address unmet medical needs.

MycoMeditations psilocybin healing retreats in Jamaica have helped over 2,000 guests by administering over 6,000 doses of psilocybin. The preparation starts weeks before you come to the retreat with an extensive application and screening process to maintain the highest of safety standards and ensure these treatments are right for you. The typical retreat week is eight days, with three dosing days followed by group and one-on-one therapeutic discussions. Once you begin to process what's been lurking beneath the surface, we’ll help take you from immediate relief to laying the foundation for new behaviors and a more fulfilling life.

People who suffer from PTSD often show heightened activity in the amygdala, a part of the brain connected to memory, emotions, and learning. The amygdala activates the “fight or flight” response when we are faced with dangerous situations or when we feel unsafe. That activity makes it harder to process traumatic memories. Psilocybin can decrease the activity in the amygdala during emotional processing and when responding to an active threat, which helps to process traumatic memories, reduce anxiety, and alleviate aggressive responses.

Psilocybin essentially helps our brain “reboot the system” and establish new, healthy connections between neurons. These new connections are a critical part of the healing process, which allows you and your brain to learn and adapt.

Our former guests have shown a large reduction in PTSD symptoms following their time at our therapy retreats, including:

• Releasing control and facing fears
• Gaining insight and comfort
• Fostering deep connections
• Immediate sense of relief

Philip, who suffered from depression, anxiety, and PTSD due to childhood trauma, reported that after the MycoMeditations retreat he “woke up with the most clarity and closure.”

“I was able to go to war, die, be reborn and complete. Only then could I see how much love I had all around me at home that my grief and anger wouldn’t allow me to feel,” he said. “I’m not anxious at all, I’m happy, I’m at peace. I feel like my whole life has been underwater and I’ve finally broken through the surface and can breathe.”

Your well-being is our top priority from the moment you fill out your application. At MycoMeditations, we first complete an initial assessment to get to know you and identify if moving forward with psilocybin-assisted therapy would be the best approach for your particular case.

We accept a maximum of 12 guests per retreat to ensure there are skilled team members for every attendee, ready to assist and answer any questions. Our approach to determining your psilocybin doses is case-by-case, as the needs of each guest are unique. We offer three increasingly high doses of psilocybin, personally tailored to you to achieve the optimal healing effect.

Each session is focused on you with our trained therapy team there to support you. Psilocybin can be an experience that induces some challenges that need to be worked through. If you feel stuck and need somebody to process with, our team is there to guide you.

It’s difficult to work with trauma. We understand that any recall of a traumatic time in your life may trigger your threat detection system, making you hyper-alert and anxious. It's possible that you will want to isolate and completely withdraw, removing yourself from the situation and these triggers.

Our primary goal is to create a safe environment that allows your body and nervous system to relax, along with the proper guidance from our team on how to navigate the process of undoing trauma. As the retreat week progresses, the combination of powerful psilocybin sessions and a combination of group and individual therapy will allow you to address the root causes of trauma. Following this kind of experience, you can move forward in life with greater healing and a renewed feeling of wholeness.

Apply for a MycoMeditations retreat today.

Or watch this video to learn more about MycoMeditations from our CEO & Head Facilitator, Justin Townsend.