We are proud to announce our first Dutch Feel Better Retreat – Heading Homewards. The retreat will offer you an array of time-tested processes, with the intention of helping you move towards the change you want.
The retreat will take place not far from Amsterdam, in a large house designed to host such events, in a quiet woodland setting. The retreat is scheduled to run from the evening of November 29th 2023, to the morning of December 4th. It’s more effective to do this work with enough time around it, and you will have support both before and afterwards.
The retreat numbers are kept at just eight or below and acceptance onto the retreat is subject to application and health assessment. We will not accept under 30s on this first retreat, or those with a history of major mental illness.
The retreat will include an altered state breath workshop; a chance to take psilocybin truffles twice in a controlled setting, if you choose to; a Family Constellations workshop; and training in how best to navigate feelings, your psilocybin sessions, and day to day life. There will be other optional activities available, including nature walks; sauna; art; writing; cold water immersion; and other formal activities to support integration. Plus plenty of time for you and what you want to do. The structure may change, depending on who joins us, but the unchanging element will be the intention to offer you a chance to experience delicious and digestible change.
There is a strong and experienced team in place to support you during your processes. We feel that we offer a higher ratio of support staff to guests than the average.
This retreat has at its core the intention to offer more manageable, and therefore more effective experiences of altered state healing. (Although the outcome of psychological work always includes some uncertainty.) Lower doses usually means less chance of overwhelm, and, we feel, more chance of life change. Trauma is essentially overwhelm and we want to help you to avoid this. Powerful work can happen this way. We also offer a deeply human and connected form of support for you during your sessions, if required. Safety is transformational.
The retreat will cost £2,100. Early bird bookings will be £1,950. Limited concession spaces are possible in cases of genuine need. The cost includes all activities; food; lodgings in single or shared room, but it is unlawful for us to sell you truffles. You will be met in Amsterdam and supported to buy your truffles, before boarding a chartered bus to the venue. We know we are asking for a significant investment but cost has been kept low, and we feel the potential rewards are enormous. We’ve experienced them ourselves.
How to apply
In order to apply for the retreat, or if you have questions, contact info@feelbetter.co.uk. Applicants will be provided with an application form and an entry interview. The entry interview and application process is designed to support you, not scrutinise you! It’s the first pillar of safety for your powerful retreat journey.
We look forward to welcoming you.
Biographies
Liz Lilley
Liz Lilley has been interested in expanded states for growth and healing for two decades, she facilitates supportive, empathic and trauma sensitive spaces for people to explore their inner and outer worlds and integrate any insights or challenges that may arise. Liz values the healing potential of open, honest, warm and gentle human connection and brings her full presence to the spaces she facilitates. Liz’s professional focus is as a Psychedelic-Assisted Therapist in clinical research, a psychotherapist working with preparation and integration of expanded states and a therapeutic breathwork facilitator holding both group and one-to-one sessions.
Mahab Kazmi
Mahab is a Relational Body Psychotherapist, Systemic Facilitator and Psychedelic Integration Therapist. She has had experiences with expanded states for over 20 years and has been accompanying people therapeutically through integration for 14 years in private practice. Passionate about transgenerational reparation work, building bridges between communities and facilitating difficult conversations, she works creatively with clients to uncover the aliveness behind trauma through befriending different ways of sensing, storytelling and belonging. She trained as a Family Systemic Constellator with the Centre for Systemic Constellations as well as assisted on their Foundation, Applied, Advanced and Couples trainings. She co-facilitates the monthly Online psychedelic Integration circle for the Psychedelic Society with Richard Jones, is part of the OCD psychedelic research at Imperial College and trained with IPT. She has been on the Steering group board for the Bodypsychotherapy Network since 2019.
Richard Jones
Richard is a UKCP accredited Psychotherapist. He works in private practice, is a guide for Imperial’s psilocybin study on chronic pain and runs a monthly online psychedelic integration group with Mahab Kazmi for the Psychedelic Society. Richard has volunteered with and provided training and integration groups for PsyCare: who offer direct support to people going through challenging psychedelic experiences at festivals. Richard works in an embodied relational manner: placing significance on the body’s capacity to hold past experiences and the powerful potential growth offered by revisiting these past experiences with attuned relational support. Richard has also completed a two year training with the Institute of Psychedelic Therapy and was part of the retreat planning team.
Beth Nicholas
Beth is in her clinical year finalising her training in Core Process Psychotherapy, as well as an advanced trainee in Somatic Experiencing. She runs a successful private therapy practice, and is currently hanging up her hat as an internationally successful artist. She works with heart and skill, and believes in blending the best of Buddhist psychotherapeutic principles with modern trauma-informed practices. She is at home in the psychedelic arena and relishes rolling up her sleeves with clients in their process.
Jonny Bauer
Jonny is a somatic psychotherapist trained in Somatic Experiencing; Clinical Hypnosis; Family Constellations; and much of the ISP training with Raja Selvam. He also has a good grounding in many other streams of psychotherapeutic support (IFS, ACT, PSYCHODYNAMIC, HOLOTROPIC, BUTEYKO). He is about to finalise his training with The Institute of Psychedelic Therapy. Jonny has good experience supporting clients with deep trauma and difficulties, both in groups and 1-1, and he is at home in the altered-state realms that this work delivers. Walking beside clients and supporting them to learn to more fully meet their lives and find their way, is his absolute purpose. Although he has also written and successfully published fiction Internationally, and enjoys getting in cold water, forging deep into the natural world, playing chess, cooking, and stroking every dog he meets.
