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We are excited to announce our upcoming collaboration with a research scientist of the University College London: Rosalind McAlpine. This year, she will start using questionnaires and interviews to gather data from people who have previously attended one of our retreats. We are investigating how best to prepare for psychedelic experiences and also how the retreat setting (group, natural environment) contributes to psychedelic invoked personal change.

Rosalind Mcalpine has recently been interviewed by Gwella:

Rosalind’s educational journey has taken her through Oxford, Yale and now currently UCL for her Ph.D. in Mental Health Sciences. She has studied neuroscience, psychopathology and much more, following her passion for understanding the human mind. She is currently interested in research focusing on the development of novel psychological and/or pharmacological treatments within clinical psychology (e.g., psychedelic research); a venture which necessitates interdisciplinary collaboration, encompassing neuroscience, psychopharmacology, social-psychological theory and policy.

She is particularly interested in comparisons between the use of psychedelic substances in traditional/ceremonial settings and their place in Western medical models. She considers the development of effective prevention and treatment strategies, with emphasis on the requirement of increased cultural competency, incredibly important if we are to progress within mental health science.

Psychedelics are gaining popularity last few years. Not only by truth-seekers but more
and more scientists are discovering the great potentials of these substances for human
well-being. That is about time, because the crimininalisation of psychedelics has been a misplaced and missed opportunity for decades already.

We want to contribute in disolving the stigma that surround psychedelics, because
we believe that real changes come from within. That's why we started cooperating with Rosalind, who is creating a questionnaire for our participants to gain more insight about how to prepare and integrate such experiences. You are free to choose whether you cooperate filling in these questionnaires. But we encourage you to speak up! Share your experience with others in a video, a testimonial or in person. Not only the benefits, but also the pitfalls. Educate each other!