Questions people ask before they apply.

Apply online. It takes about seven minutes and is confidential. Our team replies within three to five business days, and every applicant then has a suitability call with us. The call is not optional: it is where we go through your history together, answer your questions and make sure the program is a fit, for you and for the group you will sit with. Approval does not commit you to attend. You choose your retreat after you are approved.

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People at a crossroads rather than in crisis. They 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. If that sounds like you, the page for senior professionals at a crossroads goes further.

It is not therapy, and it is not a replacement for it. Many of our guests have done years of good work in therapy and come because they want something experiential rather than another conversation: a structured psilocybin session, held by an experienced team, with weeks of preparation before and integration after. We do not diagnose or treat anything. If you work with a therapist, tell them you are applying. Many guests bring what came up on retreat back into that work, and it tends to deepen it.

That description is the most common one we hear. High-functioning, always on, ruminating at 3am, effective at work and flat everywhere else. The program is built for exactly that person: a structured reset, with the tools to make it hold afterwards. We are careful with our claims. Beckley does not treat insomnia, anxiety or any condition, and if you have a diagnosis, tell us on the application so the suitability call can take it into account.

A crossroads is exactly when most people come, and a big transition often lowers the guard enough to do real work. Acute crisis is different. If you are in the middle of something you cannot yet stand outside of, the answer may be not yet, and we will say so. Tell us what has happened on the application. The suitability call is where we decide together, and approval never commits you to attend. Some guests approve now and travel when the ground has settled.

Some psychiatric and physical conditions, some medications, and a few other circumstances mean the program is not right, or not right yet. The application was written with physician, psychiatrist and psychotherapist input and asks about these with your consent. The full list is on our application considerations page, and a plain-language summary is on who should not attend.

The suitability call is where we work it out together. When the answer is no, we say so plainly. It is an act of care, not a rejection, and the screening protects the group as much as it protects you. Beckley does not diagnose, make medical recommendations or offer treatment. We screen so that everyone in the room can take part safely.

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.

What we usually ask: 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. The reason is practical. 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.

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

Your application and everything you tell us on the suitability call are confidential and are used only to make sure the program is a fit. Groups are small, up to 18 guests, and what is shared in the room stays there. We never publish a guest's name, photo or story without their written consent. Private rooms are available at every venue, and most guests choose one. If discretion matters to you for professional reasons, say so on the application and we will talk it through.

Since 2020 more than 1,200 guests have come through the program. Our Net Promoter Score is 91, 98 percent say they would recommend the program to family and friends, and 88 percent call it one of the most meaningful experiences of their lives. There are more than 140 public Google reviews. Two journalists went as guests and wrote about it independently, in Oprah Daily and The Times. Both accounts are linked on Why Beckley, and guests speak in their own words on Testimonials.

Yes. Our guests range from people with no experience of psilocybin to people who work in the field, and from first-time meditators to long-time practitioners. Everything is guided and nothing assumes prior experience. For first-time guests we recommend the five-night Signature Program, because the longer retreat carries the most preparation and support.

Guests must be 21 or older. Psilocybin changes balance, perception and attention for a few hours, so if you live with a condition that affects balance, strength or vision, talk to your own doctor before applying and tell us on the application.

You can, and couples, friends and family members have joined us with good outcomes. We still suggest considering coming alone, because a familiar person in the room can pull attention away from your own experience. Tell us on the application and we will talk it through on the call.

Yes. Book a call with our team, or write to welcome@beckleyretreats.com.

This is the question almost everyone asks, and the honest answer is that the structure exists for it. Every guest receives a custom amount within a predefined range, around what you would see in a clinical trial in the US, so the experience is strong but not unbounded. You are in one room with your group and the full team, with at least one facilitator for every four guests, usually one for every three. You can drink water, step outside, ask for support, or ask to be left alone, at any point. A session lasts around six hours and cannot be switched off, but it can be held, and that is what the team is there to do. The next day is set aside to make sense of what came up. Guests who arrive most worried about control are often the ones who say afterwards that letting go inside a safe structure was the point.

Around six hours, in one room, with your group and the full team. Every guest receives a custom amount within a predefined range, around what you would see in a clinical trial in the US. This is not medical treatment. Music guides the arc. A facilitator is within reach the whole time. You can drink water, step outside, ask for support, or ask to be left alone, and nothing is asked of you except to notice your own experience. The Signature Program has two sessions on separate days, each followed by a day set aside to make sense of it.

During sessions there is at least one facilitator for every four guests, usually one for every three. Our teams include practitioners with backgrounds as psychotherapists, psychologists and physicians. On retreat they are not acting in their licensed capacity, because Beckley does not provide medical treatment, but that training is in the room with you. In Jamaica a nurse is on site during every session with a doctor on call. In the Netherlands, public emergency services are minutes away. Operations and venue staff are on site around the clock. The psilocybin is sourced from trusted suppliers.

Psilocybin is well tolerated by most people. Physical effects can include nausea, a headache or disorientation. The main psychological risk is a period of overwhelming distress during a session and, rarely, effects that last longer. We do not pretend otherwise. The preparation weeks, the ratio in the room, the experience of the team and the on-site care exist for exactly these moments, and the following day is built for working through what came up. Read the research yourself, and talk to your own doctor before applying if anything in your history gives you pause.

How we focus on safety, in detail

Psilocybin is a naturally occurring compound found in many species of fungi. Mushrooms grow above ground; truffles are the part of the same organism that grows underground. We use mushrooms in Jamaica and truffles in the Netherlands, because that is what is legal in each country. Taken on an empty stomach, the effects begin within about an hour and include shifts in perception, mood and thought, often with strong emotion, from joy to sadness or grief, and a loosening of the usual sense of self. Psilocybin is not known to be addictive.

Yes. Jamaica and the Netherlands are the only two countries where psilocybin is fully legal, and Beckley operates only there: Jamaica for mushrooms, the Netherlands for truffles. Working with psilocybin is federally illegal in the United States, which is why our programs run abroad. We do not run programs anywhere psilocybin is prohibited.

More about each country: Jamaica and the Netherlands. Not sure which? How to choose.

Yes. The law that applies is the law of the country you are in, and psilocybin is legal in Jamaica and psilocybin truffles are legal in the Netherlands. There is no US or UK law against travelling to take part in something that is legal where it happens. What you cannot do is carry anything across a border, in either direction. Psilocybin remains a Schedule I substance under US federal law, and the state programs in Oregon and Colorado operate in conflict with that law, which is why Beckley does not run in the US. In the UK it is a Class A drug. We have written a plain guide for each: psilocybin retreat options for people in the US and for people in the UK.

Quiet, structured and unhurried. Meditation, breathwork and gentle movement, time in nature, group circles, and as little screen time as you choose. The two sessions sit in the middle of the retreat, each with a day after it to make sense of what came up. The day-by-day is on What happens on a psilocybin retreat.

A comprehensive, research-backed program: four weeks of preparation, four or five nights on retreat, and six weeks of integration. Before and after, it is online and at your own pace, one to two hours a week. There is one weekly group call at a set time. Everything else fits around your schedule.

The whole program, week by week

Yes, and nearly everyone does. Preparation and integration are online and at your own pace, one to two hours a week, from wherever you are. The one fixed commitment is a weekly group call at a set time, and the call times for each cohort are listed on its retreat page before you commit. The practices and resources live in the Beckley app, so a long-haul flight or a late evening counts.

A 1:1 intake call with a facilitator, group calls with the people you will spend the week with, and guided practices and resources in the Beckley app. By the time you travel you know how to navigate a psilocybin session, you have set an intention, and you have met your lead facilitator. If you join after preparation has started, we catch you up. You can join up to seven days before the retreat begins.

Integration starts the week after you return, online and at your own pace: six weeks of weekly group calls with your cohort, short daily practices, and tools that turn the experience into habits that hold. Optional 1:1 coaching with a facilitator is available. Then the alumni community, which stays open. Most guests say the weeks after are where the change takes hold.

The retreat comes with the program, because the weeks around it are what make it safe and what make it last. We ask every guest to make time for them, and we have built them so that a full working life can. If life gets in the way of a call, the practices and resources are in the app and you decide what works for your schedule.

The five-night Signature Program runs in Jamaica and the Netherlands and is the one we recommend, especially for first-time guests. The 4-Night Program in the Netherlands is the same two sessions, the same team and the same weeks before and after, in a more compact retreat. Both are on Upcoming Retreats with dates, places left and prices.

The program is the same in both. The setting is the difference. Jamaica is the 2,000-acre Good Hope estate in the hills above Montego Bay, warm, remote, psilocybin mushrooms, three to four hours from the US East Coast and about ten from London. The Netherlands is De Hoorneboeg, a wooded estate 25 miles from Amsterdam, or The Place To Be, a farm estate in the east of the country, psilocybin truffles, an hour from London and eight from the East Coast. Most Americans choose Jamaica and most Europeans choose the Netherlands, and people who could go either way tend to decide on gut. The two side by side, with prices and dates for each.

No. We draw on practices such as meditation, yoga and contemplative traditions because they help, and we do not promote any religion or tradition over another. Everything we offer is a try-it-on experience. If something does not fit, you leave it behind. You will not be asked to believe anything except your own experience.

Prices are per guest and depend on room type. Jamaica Signature Program: $5,500 to $12,500. Netherlands Signature Program: $6,750 to $9,500. Netherlands 4-Night Program: $4,250 to $7,800. Shared rooms are the lower price and most guests choose a private room. What the price covers, in detail.

Included: the full preparation and integration programs, your 1:1 intake call, accommodation, all meals and snacks, both guided psilocybin sessions and every group practice, yoga, meditation and breathwork, and private airport transfers on arrival and departure days. Not included: flights, massage on site, and optional 1:1 coaching, which can be added at checkout.

Every open retreat is on Upcoming Retreats, with the venue, places left and price, and each retreat's page lists its preparation and integration call dates. Most guests book about eight weeks ahead, which gives the full four weeks of preparation. Some decide within days of their suitability call and join a cohort that has already started; we catch late joiners up, right up to seven days before the retreat begins. Retreats do fill, so if a particular date matters, apply first and choose it once you are approved.

Yes. A deposit of 50 percent is due at registration. The remainder can be paid in equal monthly instalments until 60 days before the retreat, when the full balance is due.

Yes. Beckley Retreats is a public benefit corporation with a mandate to widen access, and we have awarded more than $300,000 in program access to date. See Financial aid for how to apply.

The retreat start date sets every deadline.

• Within 14 days of registering, and 60 or more days before the retreat: full refund, deposit included.
• 60 or more days before the retreat, outside that grace period: refund minus the non-refundable 50 percent deposit.
• Within 60 days of the retreat: payment is non-refundable.
• Transfers: at any time before your retreat you can move to another date instead of cancelling, subject to availability, for a flat $500 fee.
• If Beckley cancels a program, for example because of a border closure, you receive a full refund or a transfer to another retreat, subject to availability.
• Conditional approvals: if you were asked to consult your prescriber and complete a second suitability call, and we then cannot approve you, you receive a full refund or a free transfer. The second call must be booked at least six weeks before the retreat; after that, the standard terms apply.

To cancel or transfer, email welcome@beckleyretreats.com.

Flights are not included. Private transfers to and from the nearest international airport are included on the program's arrival and departure days: Montego Bay for Jamaica, Amsterdam Schiphol for the Netherlands. You are welcome to arrange your own travel around the program.

Arriving a day or two early and staying a little after makes for a gentler transition in and out, and we recommend it. Depending on availability you can stay at the venue itself, or we can suggest places nearby. The retreat itself needs your whole presence: please plan to arrive on time and stay through the closing circle. Opening and closing together matters for everyone in the group.