Application Considerations | Beckley Retreats

Read this before you apply.

Beckley does not diagnose, make medical recommendations or offer treatment. Neither the application nor the program is designed to do any of those things. For your safety and the safety of the group, we may decide that it is not advisable for you to take part.

This page sets out what we screen for, so you know the answer before you apply. It is here to help you understand the risks of taking part in a Beckley Retreats program. It is not enough on its own to decide whether taking part is safe for you. Only you and your own doctor can make that decision.

Every applicant has a suitability call with our team before approval. It is not optional.

Who the program is for

People who have built a full life, and something in it has gone flat or stuck and has not shifted on its own. They want clarity about what is next, and a real reset rather than more of the same. Most of our guests are in their 40s through 70s: founders, executives, physicians, therapists, attorneys. What they share is a considered approach, and a preference for structure and science over anything that asks them to take it on faith.

The program suits people seeking:

Clarity about what is next, and a reset that lasts
A deeper connection with self, nature and purpose
Better relationships
A spark in creativity
The whole program, not only the retreat: four weeks of preparation, four or five nights on retreat and six weeks of integration. Preparation and integration are online and at your own pace, one to two hours a week, built for the busy professionals most of our guests are.

What to expect from psilocybin

Psilocybin is not without risk. Nausea, vomiting and headaches are possible. For a few hours it raises blood pressure and heart rate and changes perception, thought and the sense of self. Experiences vary: mostly physical, mostly visual, mostly emotional, a sense of connection beyond yourself, or, more often, some combination. We cannot promise what kind of experience you will have.

Some conditions make the experience less safe, and we review these one guest at a time. In general, we advise against taking part if you have had major surgery or a hospital stay in the last six to twelve months.

We are not able to accept guests who

Have active substance use or addiction issues
Are actively experiencing severe trauma response symptoms
Are currently taking mood stabilizers or antipsychotic medications
Only want the retreat, without the preparation and integration around it
Are pregnant, or planning to become pregnant before their retreat dates
Are extremely physically ill or frail

Psychiatric conditions

We also cannot accept guests with certain psychiatric conditions, including but not limited to: bipolar disorder, a family history of bipolar disorder, or a predisposition to manic episodes; active or recent suicidal thoughts or attempts; a recent psychiatric hospitalization; psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, a psychotic break, or a family history of or predisposition to psychosis; personality disorders; and dissociative disorders.

Why. Psilocybin changes perception, including hallucinations and illusions, the content of thought, including unusual ideas or delusions, and the sense of self, including derealization and depersonalization. For most people these effects are predictable and pass within a few hours. For people with certain psychiatric conditions they can be prolonged or unusually intense, and for people with a family history of psychosis or mania, psychoactive substances such as cannabis and psilocybin can trigger a psychotic or manic episode. That is a risk we will not take with a guest or a group.

On a case by case basis we may accept guests with depression, anxiety disorders and PTSD. Tell us on the application so the suitability call can take it into account. If you work with a therapist, tell them you are applying.

Physical conditions

Some physical conditions prevent taking part. At this time we do not accept guests who are, or have been, diagnosed with:

Epilepsy or a similar brain condition
A brain tumor
A history of stroke or aneurysm
Certain cardiac issues: uncontrolled high blood pressure, a heart attack within the last year, unstable heart failure, an aortic aneurysm, or Long QT Syndrome (see Heart conditions and stroke, below)
Liver damage such as cirrhosis
Kidney failure, such as chronic kidney disease at stage 4 or end stage renal disease
Insulin-dependent diabetes that is not managed with a pump
A recent cancer diagnosis, or current chemotherapy or radiation
AIDS with a CD4 count below 200

Medications we cannot work with

Mood stabilizers and antipsychotic medications
Amiodarone, diltiazem, sotalol, quinidine, procainamide, dofetilide or ibutilide
The immunosuppressant mycophenolate

Heart conditions and stroke

If you have a diagnosed heart condition, seek out and rely on the advice of a healthcare provider you trust. Psilocybin can cause unpredictable rises in blood pressure and a particular irregular heart rhythm, so the cardiac list is firm. We cannot accept guests with uncontrolled high blood pressure, a heart attack within the last year, unstable heart failure, an aortic aneurysm or Long QT Syndrome. We also cannot accept guests with a history of any type of stroke.

We require written clearance from your primary care provider or a cardiologist if you have had a heart attack that needed open heart surgery or a bypass at any time, a heart failure diagnosis, an irregular heart rhythm including atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, ventricular tachycardia or Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, or a pacemaker or implantable defibrillator. Diagnosed high blood pressure is usually workable if it is controlled on medication that you keep taking on retreat.

Ask your provider to weigh in on the risks of taking part in a psilocybin session and, if they clear you to take part, follow every precaution they suggest.

Other conditions: proceed with care

Some conditions and medications make it clearly inadvisable to take part. Others raise the risk without ruling you out. The conditions and medications below do not prevent you from taking part, but if any apply to you we ask you to seek out and rely on the advice of a healthcare provider you trust, discuss the risks with them, and take part at your own risk.

Aromatase inhibitors and estrogen blockers, often prescribed after breast cancer, may interact with psilocybin.
Antiretroviral medications for HIV, and immunosuppressants for autoimmune conditions or after an organ transplant, interact with many other medications and compounds. Discuss the psilocybin session with your prescriber.
Estrogen-based contraceptives: tell us on the application and discuss the psilocybin session with your prescriber.
If you have severe migraines or regularly take triptans as a rescue medication, discuss taking part with your neurologist or primary care provider.
If you have asthma or another respiratory condition, have a plan in case anxiety or breathwork practices trigger an acute episode.
If you have type 2 diabetes, take precautions against low blood sugar during the psilocybin sessions.

Prescription antidepressants (SSRIs, SNRIs and similar)

Many people who are interested in our programs take a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) to maintain their quality of life and functioning. Beckley does not provide medical treatment, and the program is not intended to address any condition for which you may have been prescribed them.

Some medications, including SSRIs and SNRIs, may mean the program is not the right fit, or not yet. Apply anyway and tell us. The suitability call is where we work that out together, alongside your prescriber. These medications act on the same serotonin system as psilocybin, so taking both makes the experience harder to predict and usually less intense. Common examples: sertraline, fluoxetine, escitalopram, venlafaxine, duloxetine, vortioxetine, buspirone.

What we usually ask is that guests are at least three months clear of SSRIs, SNRIs and other mood-altering medication before the retreat, with the knowledge and support of the physician who prescribed them. Guests on a very low dose may be considered case by case. We do not give medication advice: any change to a prescription is a decision between you and your prescriber.

Some guests are conditionally approved: they consult their prescriber, then have a second suitability call at least six weeks before the retreat. If we cannot approve after both steps, the payment is refunded in full or transferred at no charge.

Aged 65 and over

We do not discriminate on the basis of age. Psilocybin alters perception, mood, attention and the sense of time and space for a few hours, and can bring passing feelings of dissociation. That carries a general risk of a fall or injury, which age-related conditions such as arthritis and osteoporosis can heighten. If you live with a condition that affects balance, strength or vision, or you have a recent injury, seek out and rely on the advice of your own doctor before applying, and tell us on the application.

How screening works

The application takes about seven minutes, online and confidential. It was written with physician, psychiatrist and psychotherapist input, and it asks about your history, your medications and what brings you, with your consent. Every applicant then has a suitability call with our team. It is a chance to go through your history, answer questions and make sure the program is a fit, for you and for the group you will sit with. It is not a tool for diagnosis. The answer is yes, not yet, or no, said plainly. Approval never commits you to attend.

Application considerations.