Why veterans are looking at psilocybin retreats

Since 2021 a run of studies has put psychedelics in front of the veteran community: MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD reached phase 3 trials, psilocybin trials for depression and alcohol use disorder recruited many former service members, and organisations such as Heroic Hearts Project and VETS have sent hundreds of veterans to psychedelic retreats abroad and published early outcome data. The US Department of Veterans Affairs began funding its own psychedelic trials in 2024. None of this amounts to an approved treatment: the FDA declined MDMA for PTSD in 2024, psilocybin remains in trials, and the published retreat data is observational. But it explains why veterans with treatment-resistant symptoms are travelling to Mexico, where ceremonial psilocybin is tolerated and retreats operate openly, rather than waiting for a trial place. Our research review goes through the evidence, and our legal page explains the Mexican position.

What a retreat is, and is not

A psilocybin retreat is a guided, ceremonial experience in a supportive group, with preparation and integration. It is not psychotherapy, it is not a clinical trial, and it is not trauma treatment. Trial protocols for PTSD involve licensed therapists, several preparation sessions, two or three dosing sessions with two therapists present, and weeks of integration therapy. A five-day retreat cannot replicate that. What it can do is give a stable, well-prepared person a profound experience in a safe setting, with people who know how to hold it, and send them home with a plan for integrating it with whatever support they already have. If you are currently in trauma-focused therapy, we will ask you to talk to your therapist before applying, and we would rather you came with their knowledge than without it.

Screening: who should not come

Every guest completes health and medication screening before paying a deposit, and veterans are screened with particular care. We will ask about:

• Current medication. SSRIs and SNRIs blunt psilocybin and are usually not a reason to exclude, but never stop or taper them to qualify; lithium, MAOIs and some mood stabilisers are a different matter and we will say so. Our screening article has the detail.
• Psychiatric history. A personal or first-degree family history of psychosis, schizophrenia or bipolar I is a reason not to come. Active suicidal ideation, recent hospitalisation or an unstable period in the last six months are reasons to wait.
• Dissociation and severe PTSD. Psilocybin can bring trauma material forward fast. Guests who dissociate heavily, or whose symptoms are currently severe, are generally better served in a clinical trial or by MDMA-assisted therapy where it is lawfully available than at a retreat. We say this on the call rather than taking a deposit.
• Traumatic brain injury and seizures. We ask, and we may ask for a physician's view.
• Alcohol and substance use. We need to know what you are using now, and we ask for a clear period before the retreat.

What we do for veterans at the retreat

• Small group, known faces. Up to eleven guests and the same facilitators throughout. Ask us whether other veterans are booked on your date; many prefer that.
• A clear chain of responsibility. A day-one medical Q&A, a physician on call, facilitators who stay with the group for every ceremony, a team member trained in first aid and CPR, a vehicle on standby, and private hospitals with 24-hour emergency care in town.
• Two ceremonies, not one. The second night is often where the work happens for people carrying a lot; a one-day ceremony rarely gives that chance.
• Structure between ceremonies. Yoga, breathwork, temazcal, a cenote day and integration circles, so the days have shape and the body is involved.
• A one-to-one integration call after you go home, and a written integration guide. We also encourage you to line up support at home before you travel: a therapist, a veteran peer group, or an organisation such as Heroic Hearts, which runs its own integration programme.

Practicalities

The retreat is five days and four nights in Playa del Carmen, 55 minutes from Cancún airport, at US$1,950 per person in a shared room or US$2,300 in a private ensuite, all meals and activities included; see dates and prices. We do not currently offer a veteran discount but we will say so plainly if a date is undersubscribed. Partners are welcome to join a retreat; many veterans come with a spouse. If you would rather hear it from another veteran first, say so on the call.