With Jennifer Tessler and Dr Lauren Macdonald (UK)
Date: Thu 25 January 2024 @ 7:00pm
Location: Webinar (online)
Don’t miss out – Get your tickets early!
Join this FREE WEBINAR presented by Jennifer Tessler and Dr Lauren Macdonald (UK).
In 2024 Mind Medicine Australia is thrilled to be partnering with Alalaho retreats to offer legal psilocybin retreats in the Netherlands for members of our community. The first of these retreats is taking place from July 22-26.
Please join co-lead facilitators of this retreat, Jennifer Tessler and Dr Lauren Macdonald to learn about what participants can expect.
A Values-Led Approach to Transformation
At the heart of Alalaho is a deeply values-led ethos. While our work revolves around psychedelics, our focus extends beyond their use. We aime to support, enhance and sustain their beneficial effects through a synergetic blend of complementary practices. These include elements from the Western clinical model, somatic and transpersonal psychology, as well as from ancient wisdom traditions from around the world. Ultimately, Alalaho is dedicated to catalysing a shift towards greater self-awareness, empowering individuals on their transformative journey of healing and growth.
A Journey of Innovation and Excellence
Our story began in 2016, when our team pioneered the first European programme of its kind. Since then, we have safely guided over 1200 individuals, across more than 80 retreats. What sets us apart is the remarkable cohesiveness of our team – a collective that has grown and evolved together through years of shared experiences. Each facilitator brings deep personal experience of personal transformation, honed through extensive training in both Western therapeutic modalities and authentic spiritual traditions such as Tibetan Buddhism and the Shamanic lineages of the Americas. While we uphold the highest standards of care and professionalism in our work, we equally cherish and maintain an atmosphere of authenticity, joy, and playfulness. This ensures that our retreat spaces are not just transformative but also welcoming and heartwarming.
Navigating the Psychedelic Renaissance with Expertise and Care
In this psychedelic renaissance, the potential for global healing is immense, but so is the need for experienced guidance. Alalaho recognises both the opportunities and the inherent risks involved. We are deeply committed to sharing our expertise with healthcare practitioners, particularly as psilocybin-assisted therapies gain legal acceptance worldwide. Our role in this movement is not just as facilitators, but also as educators and guides dedicated to ensuring safe and effective practices in this emerging field.
Beyond the Psychedelic Experience: Insights from Our Participants
Our impact is best evidenced by our 99.5% five-star rating, with participants often expressing that the retreat experience far surpassed their initial expectations. Many share that while the psychedelic journey is undoubtedly profound, it is the comprehensive nature of the overall retreat programme that stands out as being equally transformative, if not more so. This skilful integration of psychedelics with a range of psycho-spiritual practices lies at the core of Alalaho’s mission to facilitate deep, meaningful personal growth.
“Truly nothing short of a transformational experience. What was so impressive was how well the retreat was curated. From the initial application call, I could tell how genuine, kind and supportive the facilitators were. During the retreat, the complementary practices and exercises were equally as meaningful as the psychedelic journey itself! The venue was a very magical location, well kept and clean/tidy. A pleasant surprise was how great the food was as well! All in all an exceptional 5 days in the Netherlands, and I would not hesitate to recommend to friends and I would attend again in the future!!” Aaron, October 2023
“The retreat was beautiful, nourishing and inspiring. I felt safe, looked after and cared for by the team through the week. Every aspect of the retreat, from the pre-retreat preparation journaling and zoom call through to the psychedelic experience and integration work was so thoughtfully and skilfully planned. The venue, the facilitators and the care for every detail meant that I had the most supportive, meaningful and magical first experience with psychedelics.” Maddy, February 2023
“Alalaho’s retreat was of the most transformative, deep, insightful and healing experiences of my life and overall one of the best experiences of my life. The keys to the experience were the facilitators, who made us all feel safe and open, the group, full of amazing individuals keen to open up and show a vulnerability that takes a great deal of strength to display, and the venue itself, that was inspiring and just perfect for the experience we were living.” Sonia, October 2023
The retreat will be hosted at Land of Yemaya Retreat Centre. Land of Yemaya offers a peaceful, abundant space for anyone ready to experience true nature.
Learn more about Alalaho on their website: www.alalaho.org
DATE: 25th January 2024
TIME: 6:55pm (AEDT) for 7:00pm start, finishing at 8:15pm
DURATION: 75 minutes (incl Q&A)
LOCATION: Online – a link will be emailed to you with the viewing details
Jennifer began her in-depth inquiry into the nature of reality and the inner workings of the human mind(heart) after a life-changing backpacking journey to Asia in her late teens where she discovered both Tibetan Buddhism and the sacred use of psychedelic medicines. Over the last 15 years, she has spent close to one thousand days in meditation retreat – studying and training under the close guidance of her Tibetan Buddhist teacher. She has also trained as an integrative transpersonal psychotherapist. In 2017, she began facilitating psilocybin-assisted retreats and co-directing the Psychedelic Society’s Experience Retreats programme, eventually leading to the founding of Alalaho. For her, this precious work is all about supporting the unfolding of the infinite vitality, wisdom and potential that lies at the core of our being… just like the blossoming of a lotus.
BMBS, BSc, PGCert
Dr Lauren Macdonald is a psychiatry doctor and therapy guide at the Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London. She currently works on trials studying psilocybin-assisted therapy for anorexia nervosa and fibromyalgia, and DMT for treatment-resistant depression. Alongside her clinical work she is a retreat facilitator and co-founder at Essence Medicine, an organisation providing psycho-spiritual care to people facing life threatening illness. She has degrees in Medicine and Psychology, and has undertaken further training in Integrative Medicine, Compassionate Inquiry, Yoga, and Psychedelic-Assisted therapies (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies).
Disclaimer: Mind Medicine Australia does not encourage or facilitate illegal use of psychedelics or plant medicines. MMA focus is focused on clinical and legal use only supported by the emerging science and legislative processes. Mind Medicine Australia reserves the right to record and publish webinars on various social media platforms. You agree that you will not discuss any names, locations or specific details of illegal use of psychedelics both verbally or via any written forms of communication via Mind Medicine Australia social media platforms (for example Facebook, Instagram or Zoom private and public chat forms during a webinar). Breaches of these guidelines may result in not being able to participate in the event. We thank you for support and cooperation on these matters.
