One on One With Jeya Lorenz of Beckley Retreats
At Beckley Retreats, guests have a chance to interact with the power of psilocybin in a beautiful setting alongside highly-trained facilitators. More accurately, guests take part in 2 psilocybin ceremonies, breathwork, meditation, and other transformational practices for a truly life-giving experience. Not only do these ceremonies and meditative practices encourage nervous system regulation, but they allow guests to cultivate self-awareness, openness, and personal growth.
SiteSee recently had the privilege of speaking with Jeya Lorenz, Co-Founder of Beckley Retreats and Director of Retreat Experience. In our time together, we discussed everything from the misconceptions around psychedelics, to the benefits of communal psychedelic experiences, to the role women play in this field. Keep reading to dive into all the details.
Although Jeya Lorenz used psychedelics in a recreational way when she was younger, it wasn’t until 2013 that she was introduced to ayahuasca and began a more personal journey with medicinal plants. It was this remarkable experience that eventually led Lorenz to co-found a retreat space in London in 2015. There, she helped bring in all kinds of practitioners and healing modalities — at a time when exposure to these practices was not so common.
After a few years, Lorenz found herself ready to leave London, and she decided to relocate to Costa Rica in 2018. At that time, she began working for a local retreat with a focus on plant medicine. More specifically, Lorenz was living in a remote community and consulting for a few different businesses in the wellness and ecological space.
While in Costa Rica, Lorenz received a call from Rock Feilding-Mellen, the son of psychedelic trailblazer Amanda Feilding (who happened to be a longtime friend of Lorenz). Though she couldn’t have known it at the time, that initial call would turn out to be the start of Beckley Retreats — a space where “people can safely experience psychedelics in all their mystery and magic.”
Since its very first retreat in 2021, Beckley has continued to uphold those same principles and values. Each retreat is set in a safe, non-clinical environment, and works with traditional practices and practitioners who are highly skilled in their field. There’s no doubt people have responded well to this retreat model, seeing as Beckley hosted 9 sold-out retreats in 2022.
From Lorenz’s perspective, it’s the attention to detail and level of care that makes Beckley stand out from other psychedelic retreats available today. “We really take care with the mushrooms that we source. We make sure we’re sourcing from local growers who are growing them independently (and preferably out in the sun)” Lorenz continued, “The actual medicine, the mushrooms that you’re taking, are intrinsically important to the experience that you’re going to have.”
Along with that, Beckley is committed to working with the best facilitators around. Many who are also licensed medical health professionals like psychologists, psychotherapists, and doctors.
“The people we hire, we really trust,” Lorenz said. “These facilitators take care of people with such love and dedication. It’s what really sets us apart, as well as our 3:1 ratio of participants to facilitators. Each guest is truly cared for before, during, and after their time at Beckley.”
While Lorenz admits there are still misconceptions surrounding the use of psychedelics — like the false narrative that they’re addictive, or that they’re the gateway to other drugs, or that they leave people with long term negative flashbacks — she also acknowledges how much progress has been made within the psychedelic space.
“On a social level, psychedelics have become way more accepted in the last 10 years. There have been so many films about it, and even netflix documentaries. For healing purposes - it’s no longer this obscure thing that people can only seek if they go off to the Amazon. It’s much more known, much more accessible and people are generally much more open to it now.”
On the whole, Lorenz sees this societal shift as a positive, as it’s calling so many new people to have this transformative experience for themselves, though she is aware that this complex emerging space also needs to be approached with care and respect for the indigenous practices and medicines that are being used so widely now.
“At Beckley Retreats, the number of people we have who are very novel to — not just the psychedelic space — but to any kind of holistic practice is vast. There’s so many new people coming, and I think it’s because we’re offering something people really need and want, and they’re just now finding the courage to do so.”
There’s a real beauty to experiencing psychedelics for the first time (or the 50th) in a group setting, like Beckley facilitates. “Personally, I think doing this in a group setting is incredibly beneficial, because it creates this level of humanity and humility that is hard to capture while journeying solo” Lorenz said.
“Something happens when all these people come together from their different backgrounds and their different lives. You’re all together in this ceremony space and everything else falls away. You realize we’re all just souls experiencing the same pain and joy.”
Along those same lines, Lorenz noted, “Often what happens in these ceremony spaces is I’ll be going through something and someone else will be mirroring you - going through something very similar. It gives you a sense that you don’t feel alone in your suffering or pain. There’s a feeling that this is all shared, which can be incredibly helpful.”
Despite these tremendous benefits, Lorenz recognizes that some people might have lingering hesitancy around entering into the psychedelic space. For those who’ve never been on a psychedelic retreat or had a psychedelic experience, she recommends trying small amounts first and building up to a bigger journey.
“If you have the resources to do it, find someone who can support you on the big journey and don’t do it on your own. And if you can do it in a retreat setting, even better.”
Lorenz went on to say, “If you’re curious about psychedelics but feeling hesitant, definitely listen to that hesitation and try to understand where it’s coming from. Speak to a professional who can help you figure out if your mental foundation is right for taking psychedelics — or if you’re someone who should investigate doing different transformational practices first (like breathwork, etc).”
But what about entering into the psychedelic space in a professional capacity? If you’re interested in a career in the field of psychedelic research (or facilitation), Lorenz says being super passionate about psychedelics, and really doing your own personal healing work with them is the best place to begin.
“You have to really love it and want to be in it. There’s a lot of people who love using psychedelics and want to be involved somehow, but I think it’s about finding your niche.”
She added, “If you have medical credentials — like as a psychologist or psychotherapist — it’s fairly easy to go and do training around the psychedelic field - you can check out our partners at Beckley Academy for training. As a licensed medical health professional, the path is a little more straightforward to enter into the world of psychedelics.”
However, if you don’t have these sorts of credentials, Lorenz said “there’s so many other routes you can take, and there’s so many new companies popping up all the time.” The bottom line is, “being very enthusiastic and staying on top of the news — what’s opening, unfolding, and developing — can really help you get involved in this space, coupled with your own personal work with them.”
On that note, Lorenz has been really encouraged by all the women entering into psychedelic work in recent years. “In one way, it’s still a space that’s fueled by private companies, and investors, and this sort of masculine energy around creating new psychedelic companies. But actually, what I feel on a personal level (having been in this space for the last few years professionally), is that there’s a lot of amazing women in this space.”
Lorenz said, “There seems to be more women coming through, especially with our facilitators. I interview so many facilitators all the time — in terms of building new teams and bringing people onto our retreats — and it definitely feels like there are a lot more females coming through than males right now.”
Of course, there are still countless men who are contributing to this type of work. But there are also “so many qualified women who have the necessary therapeutic credentials and who can add a feminine energy. And I think that’s really valuable in this space”
Beckley Retreats is an amazing testament to all of this. Currently, Beckley’s leadership team is made up of 5 women and 2 men. “I feel really good about it,” Lorenz said. “And of course there’s Amanda (Feilding), who’s our amazing friend and pioneer. She’s really opened this space up for women in a big way.”
That she has. It’s difficult to overstate the impact Feilding has made on the psychedelic renaissance (as well as global drug policy reform). She’s undoubtedly paved the way for countless women to succeed in this field, and has likely influenced a lot of the sisterly camaraderie within psychedelics today.
“There's a lot of cool (women-led) organizations popping up these days, like Sisters in Psychedelics,” Lorenz said. “These sorts of groups allow women to recognize each other and lift one another up in this space. It feels like a new opportunity for women to come in, and succeed, and do things in a different way.”
We at SiteSee couldn’t agree more, and we’re so excited to witness all the women making waves in the field of psychedelics in 2023 and beyond.
Want to learn more about the power of psychedelics, or even participate in a psilocybin ceremony for yourself? Be sure to visit Beckley Retreats’ website for more information and to check the availability of their upcoming programs in Jamaica and the Netherlands.