Right to Heal's Practicum Retreat

Right to Heal’s Practicum Retreat is a six-day, 60-hour psilocybin training retreat in Mexico for trainee and practising facilitators. It now runs under Rise Up Journeys, sister company of the nonprofit Right to Heal, and the next is the Jungle Retreat in Jalisco, 7 to 12 December 2026.

Approach

Three mushroom sessions are usual: two by day, when half the group takes psilocybin and the other half facilitates, and a group ceremony at night. Most dose twice and sit once, but each person decides. Each participant leads a group activity and gets feedback on facilitating, and there is a temazcal (sweat lodge). Dr Erica Zelfand directs the retreats; other staff vary.

Who it is for

Priority goes to students and graduates of licensed psilocybin facilitator programmes, then to practising facilitators. People with neither psychedelic experience nor training are pointed to a healing retreat first. Oregon and Colorado only accept practicum hours done in-state, the organisers note, so the week is unlikely to count towards graduation there; Colorado consultation hours for time spent facilitating can be signed off.

Practical details

Fees cover the airport shuttle, meals, rooms with private bathrooms and online calls before and after. Tuition varies by venue: the December retreat lists $4,700 for a shared cabin bed and $5,700 for a private cabin, and is sold out. A local curandero handles the mushrooms, paid separately by donation. The practicum page caps groups at 16.

Care and safety

Applicants have medical screening and a one-to-one talk with staff. People on antidepressants are welcome after checking with a healthcare provider, but not anyone on MAOIs or more than one drug affecting serotonin. The aim is at least one staff member for every two people dosing. The organisers cite Article 195 bis of Mexico’s Federal Penal Code on traditional ceremonial use of mushrooms.