Cultivating Joy: A Ketamine-assisted Mindfulness Retreat

This is a safe, structured retreat led by a staff of licensed and experienced therapists and physicians in the beautiful Catskill Mountains at MENLA Retreat and Spa.

Join us for a safe and structured four-day retreat at the intersection of science and spirituality, guided by an exceptional team of facilitators. Together, we’ll explore the profound human experience.

This retreat is open to individuals from all walks of life, whether approached through a personal or professional lens, and welcomes all levels of experience. If you are interested in exploring the fullness of your being—your enthusiasm and vitality, your spirit, your trust, your openness, and above all, your presence—this may be a transformative weekend for you. Join this retreat if you have a deep desire to explore the heart of grief and loss, as well as love and joy, with yourself, fellow retreat members, your family, friends, and the world.

The retreat’s structure is designed for individuals ready to deepen their personal connection and development within a supportive group setting. As humans with the capacity to heal and be healers, we will slow down together, reach beneath our defenses, and revisit the emotions we may have avoided to survive. This process allows us to rediscover pathways to self-care, connection, and flourishing.

Ketamine can facilitate this journey by softening defenses and reducing anxiety, enabling us to reconnect with stillness and love. It opens the mind and heart to what lies within, no matter how lost or disengaged you may feel from this part of yourself. Ketamine often provides clarity and insight, helping you see things in a non-defensive and transformative way. Your choice to use Ketamine during each of three sessions in optional.

At our retreats, we use guided practices, poetry, movement, and loving, expert facilitation to guide individuals back to their inner intelligence. Regardless of what is unfolding moment to moment, we each have the innate capacity and wisdom to be present and to practice compassion and kindness toward ourselves and others. When we attune to our own humanity, we can hold space for others. In this way, the group itself becomes the medicine.

Cultivating Joy is emerging as a transformative and effective model for group work. This retreat integrates evidence-based approaches from mindfulness, hospice, and palliative care models. Combining ketamine with mindfulness and meditation practices can serve as a powerful jumpstart to living a more conscious and purposeful life. As Jon Kabat-Zinn, the renowned mindfulness teacher, reminds us: “There is more right with you than wrong with you.” At our retreats, guided practices reconnect individuals with their inner wisdom, enabling them to approach life with greater clarity and compassion.

Safety is our top priority, and we take great care in the enrollment process. Each participant is carefully screened to ensure they are prepared for a group setting and can experience ketamine safely and constructively. This retreat is not a residential treatment setting and is not intended for individuals experiencing an acute mental health crisis or those with chronic and persistent psychiatric conditions.

‍Steps to join:

Step 1: Fill out the initial application to attend this retreat. After we receive that, the next step will be to conduct a screening call over Zoom with our Co-Founder and Lead Facilitator, Jayne Gumpel, LCSW (the confirmation email will include instructions on how to book this).

Step 2: If the phone or Zoom screening results in a sense that there is a good fit (mutually decided, of course) you will be asked to make a deposit of 50% of the retreat fee (please note, this does not include the cost of housing).

Step 3: After paying the deposit to confirm your enrollment, you will receive an email with detailed instructions for all your next steps, including scheduling a medical screening appointment, booking housing at Menla Retreat Center, and choosing your Pre-Retreat Preparation Group Video Call with other retreat participants. You’ll also receive a login to our Customer Portal, where you’ll find all this information and more in one place, to help you prepare for the retreat.

All Fees & Expenses:

Relationship Resources Cost: $2100 per person (plus choice of housing), 50% deposit upon enrollment. 50% balance due to confirm registration.

Partial Scholarships are available, please let us know during screening and we will do our best to make this program accessible.

PLEASE NOTE: This cost does not include the cost of housing or the medical screening, which are paid separately (see details below)

Housing & Meals Cost ($750 ~ $1200)

Room prices range from $250 to $380 a night including delicious vegetarian meals. After being accepted, housing costs will be paid directly to Menla with instructions provided.

Medical Intake Costs

Medical Intake: Fee to be paid to medical provider $400. A payment link will be provided to pay your assigned medical provider.

Medication Cost: Paid direct to Pharmacy (~$75)

Refund Policy:

All deposits are non refundable unless you cancel 60 days prior to the retreat. There will be a $500 fee deducted from the deposit if you cancel at any time after the deposit is paid. Please be sure you intend to join this retreat! Once the balance is paid (due 45 days prior to the retreat) the fees are non refundable and a partial credit can be assessed to a future retreat. We appreciate your understanding. Many many steps go into creating this experience for you.

Schedule:

Thursday, October 22

• 4 – 6 pm Check-in starts
• 6 – 7 pm Dinner
• 7 – 9 pm Evening Program

Friday, October 23

• 7:15 – 8 am Meditation and Yoga (optional)
• 8 – 9:30 am Check-in & Opening program *no breakfast
• 9:30 – 10 am Meeting the medicine
• 10 am – 12:30 pm Ketamine Session
• 12:30 – 1:30 pm Lunch
• 1:30 – 3:30 pm BREAK (book a massage or spa treatment!)
• 3:30 – 5:30 pm Afternoon program
• 6 – 7 pm Dinner
• 7 – 9 pm Evening Workshop
• 9 – 10 pm Bonfire (weather permitting)

Saturday, October 24

• 7:15 – 8:30 am Meditation and Yoga (optional)
• 8:30 – 10 am Morning Program – *no breakfast
• 10 am – 12:30 pm Ketamine Session
• 12:30 – 1:30 pm Lunch
• 1:30 – 3:30 pm BREAK (book a massage or spa treatment!)
• 3:30 – 5:30 pm Afternoon program
• 6 – 7 pm Dinner
• 7 – 8 pm Evening workshop
• 9 – 10 pm Night activity

Sunday, October 25

• 7:15 – 8 am Meditation and Yoga (optional)
• 8 – 9 am *Check out of rooms
• 9 – 11 am Ketamine Session (optional)
• 11 am – 12:30 pm Group Process
• 12:30 – 1:30 Lunch
• 2 – 3 pm Group Activity
• 3 pm End of Program

*Please note that this schedule is subject to change at any time.