Psychedelic retreats explode into hot travel trend as experts say demand is growing

The retreats are reportedly structured experiences led by facilitators, shamans or therapists that take place in destinations where certain substances are legal or culturally accepted.(Martin Bertrand/Majority World/ Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

“I think that’s how we move this conversation forward … More people [need] to be out there [and] comfortable talking about their own journeys.Their spiritual journey, their medicine journey, their ceremonies.So we can bring this to people who need it,” he also said.

A report published in JAMA Psychiatry entitled, “Essentials of Informed Consent to Psychedelic Medicine,” relayed concern about theuse of psychedelics.

Patients may not truly understand what they’re agreeing to when using psychedelics — and there are risks involved, said one report. 

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“Psychedelics have unique properties that complicate the informed consent process.They often produce intense subjective experiences that are difficult to explain, predict or comprehend, especially for psychedelic-naive individuals,” the authors wrote in the 2024 report.

The report added that patients may not truly understand what they’re agreeing to when using psychedelics, and that there are seven risks involved. 

potential for patient abuseor coercion, the role and risks of data collection, relevant practitioner disclosures, and interactive patient education and comprehension assessment.”

The wellness trend represents a shift “from managing symptoms to restoring function, resilience, and a sense of possibility,” said one expert.(iStock)

The authors added, “These effects can include profound perceptual changes or hallucinations, mood disturbances, paranoia and an altered sense of self and reality.”

Tom Feegel, founder and CEO of Beond — an ibogaine treatment clinic network focused on addiction, PTSD, depression and anxiety, primarily in Mexico �

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“What’s emerging is a fully licensed and medically supervised approach to helpthe brain and bodycreate lasting change — delivered by physicians and nurses in a way that feels both rigorous and deeply human,” he said.

“Mental healthis now core to how people think about performance, relationships and longevity,” he said.“There’s a growing openness to approaches that don’t just maintain the status quo, but help people actually move forward.People no longer want to ‘numb’ or manage symptoms with medication — they want real, lasting change.”

The effects of certain substances made available at these retreats “can include profound perceptual changes or hallucinations, mood disturbances, paranoia and an altered sense of self and reality,” said a recent report.(iStock)

San Francisco Bay area-based Feegel said demand is increasing for something that can “create meaningful, durable change, ranging from people who haven’t found satisfactory relief in conventional care to high-performing individuals and professionals focused on optimization.”

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Feegel said thewellness trendrepresents a shift “from managing symptoms to restoring function, resilience and a sense of possibility.”

�s Ryan Morik contributed reporting. 

Ashley J.