BEREAVED
PARENTS
There is Relief for Grief
Loss is part of everyone’s life, but the loss of a child is an extraordinary wound that brings with it extraordinary pain, and just as the relationship between a parent and child is uniquely strong, so too is a bereaved parent’s grief.
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We know that the bereavement experience of parents can be severe and long, that it usually brings with it
intense yearning, extreme sadness, and
a sense of isolation from others. But we know as well—because bereaved parents tell us so—that the pain of loss can remit over time, even if it doesn’t ever really go away.
Healing is possible; healing is real
Sometimes, this process unfolds from within without assistance.
More often, bereaved parents describe needing help to connect with themselves and with others to return to a sense of engagement and meaning in their lives.
For some parents, the customary types of assistance like bereavement support groups, grief-oriented psychotherapy, or even medication are not enough. Or sometimes these modes of support simply don’t feel right. Despite engaging with these therapies, parents might describe that they still can’t accept the reality of the loss of their child, or that they cannot fully reinvest in their relationships with the living, or that they cannot find joy in their life again. For these parents, we believe that healing is also possible. We believe this because our work with bereaved parents has shown it to be true.
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Medical and psychological research strongly suggests that psychedelic-assisted therapies using medicines like psilocybin are powerfully effective in treating anxiety and depression. In practice, our group has seen that psychedelic-assisted therapies are a supremely powerful tool to facilitate healing for bereaved parents on a mental, emotional, and spiritual level. Parents for whom no other kind of grief therapy or intervention has helped, have found real, durable healing in a lovingly guided psychedelic experience.
Psilocybin helps with depression, anxiety, and addiction. It also helps with grief.
My client Joan was bereft. Her son David had died 10 years prior to cancer when he was 14. She had not been able to truly move on with her creativity and return to any real joy for life. She felt constantly in the throes of depression and heart heaviness. During her mushroom experience, she felt David's Presence, a soul floating near her, calm and serene. She felt her own serenity, her own calmness, her joy of life. When she shared with me afterwards, her main comment was; " I am alive and he wants me to be in my life again. He is ok." The heaviness lifted, she reported feeling 80 % less depressed. She said this was truly miraculous.
~Francoise Bourzat, psilocybin guide
One of our depression volunteers had a child who died shortly after he was born. Almost 10 years later, the pain, guilt and grief were still present. In her first psilocybin session, she experienced being back with her son as he was taking his last breathe, but this time rather than feeling helpless and fearful, she breathed his last breath with him, and with that, let him go. She felt at peace with his death and that stayed with her throughout the study. (Mary Cosimano, Johns Hopkins psychedelic session guide
~Mary Cosimano, Johns Hopkins psychedelic guide
When my 17 year old son died in a car crash modern psychiatry and psychology had nothing to offer me that worked for my grief. Nonordinary states of consciousness were my road back to mental health. They helped me to come to a deeper understanding of life, death,
the meaning of relationship, and love. I have encountered my son in medicine journeys and now have a continuing relationship with him. I
know not everyone will encounter their loved one but I was lucky enough to have seen him and talked with him. He wants me to live my
life to the fullest and to know he is fine. He tells me I will be with him again when I have finished what I came here to experience. These
journeys into non-ordinary states of consciousness have saved my life.
~Sam's Dad
Another volunteer had lost his young daughter decades before he joined our cancer/psilocbyin study. He thought he had healed from the grief of her passing but in his psilocybin session he had an experience that brought him back to that time and he relived her death and his grief. During the session he sobbed and sobbed and felt he finally made peace with her death, and a lightness took over.
~Mary Cosimano, Johns Hopkins psychedelic guide
A six-day retreat in Jamaica,
centered around healing individual and group mushroom experiences, will be combined with extensive one-on-one work with therapists and guides
to prepare for the retreat, and then to integrate the insights, emotional
shifts, and spiritual gains of the retreat into your regular life after it
is done. Safety and support will be prioritized within the context of a
holistic program of activities that emphasizes connection to nature
and incorporates personal and group ritual.
Our group of supportive psychologists, physicians, and highly trained psychedelic guides will offer this treatment in a way that is safe, legal, and based on best-practices.Your guides and therapists will have decades of experience between them, and we will partner with local palliative care physicians to build relationships in the community and add an extra layer of support for safety and oversight.
Our Staff
Darci Meyers, M.A. is a psychotherapist in private practice in Crestone, Colorado. She is a Certified Hakomi Therapist and is trained as a chaplain in Clinical Pastoral Education. She worked in hospice and palliative care for over a decade, inspired by her mother’s early death in 2002, and provided grief support and education to individuals and groups. She was the founding director of Anam Chara Hospice in Boulder, Colorado and of the Spiritual Care Centre at Dzogchen Beara in southwest Ireland, a Buddhist-based palliative care center for the terminally ill and their families. She also served as faculty in the Contemplative End-of-Life Care Program at Naropa University. A meditation practitioner for over 30 years, Darci works with expanded states of consciousness as a healing modality. She is trained by MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies) in MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy and as a psychedelic guide by Francoise Bourzat.
Chris Adrian, is a pediatric palliative care physician in Los Angeles. He trained as a pediatric oncologist at the University of California San Francisco, and as a hospital chaplain at Columbia University Medical Center and the Jewish Theological Seminary of New York. His research interests include integrating narrative medicine methods into palliative care education and using psychedelic assisted psychotherapy for complicated grief. He trained as a psychedelic guide under Francoise Bourzat's group.
Dingle Spence, BSc., MBBS, DMRT, Dip. Pall. Med, FRCR, is a Jamaican physician with training in both Clinical Oncology and Palliative Medicine. She is the Senior Medical Officer of the Hope Institute Hospital, Jamaica’s only dedicated Oncology and Palliative Care unit. Dr Spence is an Associate Lecturer at the University of the West Indies, Mona, and is also the Director of the Jamaica Cancer Care and Research Institute (JACCRI), a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of cancer care and palliative care in Jamaica and the Caribbean. Dr Spence is also interested in research around the use of plant- based medicines such as cannabinoids and psychedelics for holistic symptom relief for people with palliative
care needs.
Jarrod Beck is an installation artist, papermaker, and sculptor based in Los Angeles. He holds a Masters of Architecture from Tulane University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at Austin. Jarrod combines his training as an architect and artist with training in Somatic Psychotherapy from the Hakomi Institute of California and training as a Shamamic Practitioner with the Institute for Shamanic Studies to help clients build exterior and interior spaces to facilitate healing and growth. He trained as a psychedelic guide with Francoise Bourzat's group, and assists in trainings for practitioners to work with altered states of consciousness with the School of Consciousness Medicine.
Patrice Dwyer is a Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Practitioner, Lymphedema Therapist, Certified Professional Cancer Coach and Patient Navigator with over 19 years experience specializing in manipulative body based therapies and energy medicine. She describes herself as a Transformation Therapist, and has accompanied and guided many persons, their families and care-givers through various stages on their journey to healing and lifestyle transformation. She is passionate about promoting efficient, quality care for all persons living with and affected by cancer, as well as an advocate for Palliative care. Patrice believes that an integrated or holistic approach to treating any dis-ease is critical for optimal recovery and healing. She feels privileged to be able to offer support, guidance and the tools best suited to empower individuals to actively take part in their own healing process.
Tuala GarcÃa-Zuazua M.A. is a counselor and transformational guide, helping people find their unique internal resources to heal traumas and create a vibrant life. She holds a Masters in Counseling Psychology from Sophia University in Palo Alto, California. She has 20 years of experience working with individuals, couples and families and specializes in issues related to intimacy and relationships. She trained as an psychedelic guide with Francoise Bourzat’s group and works with clients individually and in groups to bring altered states of consciousness healing to all aspects of life. She currently lives and works in Berkeley with her two teenagers, is always learning more about adventuring in the woods, and visits her family in Mexico often.
What
A six day retreat to offer bereaved parents a safe, well-supported, and legal opportunity to work with psilocybin mushrooms to facilitate personal healing and transformation.
When
Sunday, November 21st - Sunday, November 28th 2021
Why
We know that the bereavement experience of parents can be severe and long, that it can bring with it intense yearning, extreme sadness, and a sense of isolation from others. We also know from experience that work with mushrooms can assist bereaved parents who feel stuck or incomplete in their mourning process to move forward toward a place of wholeness and engagement in their lives.
Where
Good Hope Great House, Falmouth, Trelawny, Jamaica
(45 minutes away from Montego Bay airport)
Cost
Cost will be based on a sliding scale or flexible fee system with individual needs taken into consideration.
Please contact Jarrod for more information jarrodbeck@protonmail.com
What's Included
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Accommodations and amenities
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Transportation to and from airport
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3 Delicious meals daily
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Two sessions with a psychedelic guide over video link before and after retreat to support preparation and integration as well as two group video sessions after the retreat
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Supportive group talk sessions
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Two guided psychedelic group experiences
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Nature-based rituals; walking, swimming, and more
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Therapeutic activities balanced with activities that are restful, grounding and restorative.
Sponsorship
If you feel called to support accessibility to this work, please consider sponsoring a parent in need. Donations are being accepted to help subsidize retreat costs and ensure that this healing work continues to be readily available for bereaved parents. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Jarrod at jarrodbeck@protonmail.com.
Contact
For further questions regarding the retreat and/or registration,
please contact Jarrod at jarrodbeck@protonmail.com.
Considerations
A note about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic: we feel confident that we will be able to offer the retreat in a way that sufficiently minimizes risks of COVID-19 transmission. Each participant will be required to test before and after arrival. We will essentially quarantine together at Good Hope, and the physical plan of the property is such that we will be outdoors and distanced for meals and for our group conversations and experiences.