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Beckley Retreats: A Deeper Look at Legal Psychedelic Therapy
Modern life is busy. Rushed off our feet and caught in a whirlwind of thoughts, it’s easy to feel cast adrift, drowning in the daily worries and frets of our lives.
The storm of modern life has driven an increasing movement towards healthier, wellness-based lifestyles, and weary travelers are seeking harbor at wellness retreats as a way to relax, recharge and reconnect. Some feel ready to take the retreat experience a step further — and add psychedelic medicine therapy to their wellness journeys.
One such program is Beckley Retreats, which provides travelers with the opportunity to slow down, breathe and connect more deeply with themselves.
States of Mind takes a deeper look at one of the industry’s leading psychedelic therapy providers, speaking with a Beckley team member to get a more in-depth view of their therapeutic philosophy and process.
Psychedelic Therapy, Built on a Foundation of Research
Beckley Retreats was co-founded by Amanda Feilding, a psychedelic medicine legend, and founder of The Beckley Foundation. Fielding and the Beckley Foundation have facilitated groundbreaking psychedelic research since 1998 with institutions such as Imperial College London, investigating the effects of psychedelic compounds on the brain. Sadly, Amanda Fielding recently passed away, leaving behind a decades-long legacy of advocacy and education.
Increasing research has shown that these compounds create a window of neuroplasticity in the brain that may support wellness by enabling us to break out of old, unhelpful thinking and behavioral patterns, and build new, healthier ones.
Lead Facilitator at Beckley Retreats, Ben Sheinwald, says that the genesis of the Beckley Foundation was born from Amanda’s vision of needing the most rigorous scientific research and evidence to demonstrate the efficacy of these compounds.
“We stand on the shoulders of the scientific research that has demonstrated the efficacy of psychedelics and in our case, magic mushrooms, to support the movement of change and wellbeing in human beings” says Sheinwald.
“An area where the science is interesting is in the oft-mentioned process of neuroplasticity which magic mushrooms seems to create a fertile window in which it is easier, in some cases, to begin to create new new habits and hence new neural pathways, that can forge new connections in our brain, which relate to our identity and sense of self.”
Supported by this science, Beckley’s integration focuses both on working with and supporting people emotionally and psychologically.
“We are encouraging and supporting each other along the way, as well as giving space to and allowing the unfolding of the emotional, psychological and spiritual processes,” he adds.
“Another thing is that many of the great scientists have a mystic quality to them. There is reverence to the natural world and an attitude of potential, wonder and awe to observe, explore and learn from our surroundings.
“I would say we carry this attitude in our work and we are continually re-iterating the program and evolving how we work.”
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Healing Through Integration
Bringing together this scientific knowledge with traditional wisdom, Beckley Retreats takes a three-pronged approach to its programs; prepare, immerse, and integrate.
Initially, participants are supported with four-weeks of virtual preparation that provides group support, one-on-one support, and an app with guided experiences, activities and educational resources.
This preparation helps participants prepare their mind and body, and connect with themselves and their intentions, before embarking on their psychedelic experience.
An opportunity to dive deeper into the self and what changes we want to create in our lives, this preparatory phase invites a mindful and embodied approach to the process.
At the retreats, participants take part in activities such as breathwork, meditation, and groupwork as well as their ceremonies.
Seeking to help people recharge, participants are encouraged to take part in a digital detox while at the retreat, immersing themselves in the surrounding nature.
You don’t take a magic mushroom and suddenly everything changes overnight. It is an opportunity to explore yourself … to meet yourself … and what you do in that space is down to you … and what you do afterwards is also down to you.
Supported with further virtual group calls, one-on-one support and resources, participants are guided through an integrative process over a number of weeks that harnesses mindfulness, connection and creativity to understand insights and take action.
Integration is an important part of Beckley’ program, as, Shielwald emphasizes, it is not just about the psychedelic experience itself, but the entire process of the program. He explains that integration is about building a bridge from the psychedelic experience into our everyday lives.
Sheinwald highlights that there is now growing evidence in the research that supports the benefits of ongoing professional support, such as coaching or integration groups, to yield greater benefits by continuing to work with the processes as they unfold, as well as working on the practical level to support new habit formation, and seeding and growing new ideas and experiences of self.
“This is why we have the integration program,” says Sheinwald.
“What Beckley is really about is the process of transformation, and we are doing this and encouraging this through a myriad of processes.
“What is most important is the active engagement of the participant. It is the participants that make the retreat pivotal in their life or not, it is their efforts, their work, their tenacity and courage that brings the goodies into their lives.”
Psychedelic Therapy, Ancient Ceremonies
For centuries, traditional practices across the globe have harnessed psychedelic compounds in religious or cultural ceremonies.
Honouring these ancestral traditions, Beckley facilitates a legal setting for a psychedelic experience, where participants are supported and guided throughout their journey.
Bringing together this long-held wisdom and scientific knowledge, the retreat ceremonies are designed to respect and honour these traditional uses.
Combining music, breathwork, grounding and expert guidance, Shienwald explains that the ceremonies aim to acknowledge these traditional practices.
“We practice an honouring of where things come from and give reverence to this. What this means in practice is that Beckley holds an expectation that facilitators receive permission from the custodians of these ways, to share these practices and this knowledge with others,” says Shienwald.
Sheinwald explains that, for these facilitators, it is also important to be in “right relationship” with such communities and lands, with Beckley aiming to practice an honouring and acknowledgment of “those who have dedicated their lives to pass down and transmit ways and practices for the wellbeing of humankind.”
“What this means practically with Beckley is that we have been a part of some gatherings around amplifying indigenous voices and wisdom keepers, by engaging with and sending our facilitators and team members,” says Sheinwald.
“We participated in Indigenous Action, a gathering in 2025, supporting amplifying indigenous voices and among our team attending was Micah Tafari, who represents the indigenous Rastafarian community from Jamaica.”
Beckley CEO Neil Markey also joined, says Sheinwald. Beckley also has an active relationship with Chakruna, an organisation that supports amplifying indigenous voices and perspectives in the world of plant medicine.
“In Jamaica, we have a relationship with the local community in Trelawny where we have a partnership with Unity Primary School, supporting them with educational materials as well as our local facilitators visiting and supporting,” he adds. “We also raise funds for the school’s needs.”
Supporting Last Therapeutic Change
Beckley’s retreats utilize body and nervous system work, such as yoga and breathwork, alongside the integration process.
These tools can help support participants beyond the retreats and in their everyday life.
Shienwald explains that many participants join the Beckley Retreat programmes as they are feeling stuck in their lives.
“The retreats can create clear water in which we can swim, in which we can do something different, which is a key part of the process” says Shielwald.
The programmes help support participants through each stage of the process to ensure they feel safe, prepared and curious about exploring themselves.
The principle stems from the idea of “set and setting” in psychedelic research, which suggests that both people’s inner state of mind and their environment play a role in the psychedelic experience.
“We really are paying attention to each phase which leads into the next,” says Shienwald.
“The preparation phase leads into the retreat, where we support people to arrive feeling as prepared as they can be. It’s about paying attention to set and setting; the mindset that we have coming in, and also the setting of the space that we’re doing the work in and our relationships within that space.
“We support these connections in the preparation phase when we are doing the group calls.”
Shienwald emphasises that work is needed after a psychedelic experience to gain insight from and take action to create meaningful change.
“We can consciously think about how we want to live our lives. The retreats are about the process of transformation. It takes time for things to really happen naturally and in their own natural rhythm,” says Shienwald.
“You don’t take a magic mushroom and suddenly everything changes overnight.
“It is an opportunity in which to explore yourself, in which to meet yourself, and what you do in that space is down to you, and what you do afterwards is also down to you.”
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Expert Board Member
It is nearly impossible to divorce plant medicines from the indigenous traditions that they emerged from. Many practitioners today recognize and do their best to straddle the line between Western clinical research and traditional indigenous ceremony. The practitioners that I admire and look up to straddle this line effectively and offer a blend of both worlds to set their clients up for success.
