Bridging Worlds: Where Science Meets Spirit
An integrative training in psychedelic-assisted practice, ceremonial work, and trauma-informed group facilitation
Co-facilitated by Dr. Lauren Macdonald and Beáta Alföldi
With guest teachers, wisdom keepers, and ceremonial leaders
August 2026 — January 2027
OVERVIEW
Bridging Worlds is a six-month experiential training for practitioners who feel called to work at the intersection of psychedelic-assisted therapy, earth-centred practices, and sacred-medicine ceremonies.
It is designed for guides, space holders, clinicians, therapists, shamanic practitioners, and group facilitators who are supporting healing and transformation with plant medicines, whether in clinical, ceremonial, or community contexts.
Across the six months, we explore trauma-informed practice, ethical and culturally respectful facilitation, ceremonial awareness, and relational, embodied ways of holding space. The training brings together contemporary psychedelic-assisted therapy, somatic and relational frameworks, and earth-based ceremonial practices, supporting you to deepen your capacity, clarity, and responsibility as a facilitator.
Bridging Worlds is for those who feel called to walk between worlds. It invites the structure of therapeutic practice into relationship with the Sacred, reconnecting the clinical with the ceremonial, the personal with the collective, and human healing with the living wisdom of the Earth.
This training brings together:
Clinical psychedelic-assisted therapy, trauma‑informed care, and psychotherapeutic presence
Earth-centred practices, ceremonial frameworks, and ancestral wisdom
Somatic practice, nervous system awareness, and embodied relational attunement
Group dynamics, communitas, and collective field awareness
Ethical awareness, intercultural integrity, and conscious reciprocity
Over six months, the training unfolds through live online teaching held fortnightly, alongside an in-person immersion in Peru’s Sacred Valley. The immersion includes guided ceremonies with Wachuma and psilocybin, held by trained ceremonial facilitators, and is supported by preparation and integration.
Throughout the training programme, learning is supported through reflective supervision, embodied practice, and ongoing group dialogue, allowing insight to be integrated into both personal life and professional practice.
Cultural Integrity
This training is not a lineage-based apprenticeship and does not teach traditional Indigenous ceremony. It offers a contemporary, culturally respectful pathway for facilitators to deepen their capacity to support expanded states safely and ethically, without appropriating traditional forms. Participants are supported to strengthen the quality, integrity, and relational depth of the work already within their scope of practice, while cultivating a personal relationship with ceremony and spirituality grounded in their own body, land, ancestry, and lived experience.
ONLINE TRAINING & IN-PERSON PERU IMMERSION
August 2026 – January 2027
The programme is held in a small cohort of 20 participants, allowing for depth, continuity, and relational learning. Live online sessions take place fortnightly and are designed to support integration alongside daily life and professional practice.
The training moves through three connected phases:
Foundations of the Bridge
This opening phase establishes the ethical, trauma-informed, and relational foundations of facilitation. Participants explore safety, energetic boundaries, and embodied presence, developing the inner capacity required to hold others through transformation. This phase lays the groundwork for the in-person immersion and the applied work that follows.
Peru immersion
Midway through the programme, participants gather for a residential immersion in Peru’s Sacred Valley. This phase integrates guided ceremonial work with trauma-informed preparation, embodied and relational practice, and structured integration support.
Integration and applied practice
The final phase supports participants to integrate learning and experience into their personal lives and professional contexts. Emphasis is placed on discernment, ethical application, and ongoing relationship with practice beyond the training itself.
PHASE I: FOUNDATIONS OF THE BRIDGE
August 2026 - October 2026
Through live online teaching and shared inquiry, this phase introduces key principles that underpin the rest of the training, including relational field-building, trauma-informed facilitation, preparation for altered states, ceremonial awareness, and the practice of right relationship.
This phase is held through six live online sessions, supported by guest teachers and panel conversations that bring multiple perspectives into dialogue.
Module 1 - Building the Bridge: Clinical, Somatic, Relational & Ceremonial Perspectives
Module 2 - Shamanic Principles of Ceremony & the Living World
Module 3 - Trauma-Informed Facilitation & Somatic Awareness
Module 4 - Walking Between Worlds: Clinical, Ceremonial & Cultural Frameworks for Altered States
Module 5 - Screening, Preparation & Therapeutic Frameworks
Module 6 - Ethics, Cultural Humility & Scope of Practice
PHASE II: PERU IMMERSION
25th OCT–1st NOV 2026
At the heart of Bridging Worlds is a residential immersion in Peru’s Sacred Valley. This phase is not separate from the training, but its living centre, where what has been explored online is embodied through direct, relational experience.
Opening with Q’ero Elders - Tipon, 26th October 2026
Following arrival and acclimatisation on 25 October, the group will spend a day in ceremony with Q’ero elders of the High Andes, wisdom keepers of an unbroken earth-honouring lineage.
We will take part in a Despacho ceremony, receive a traditional mesa cloth blessing, and offer prayers and gifts to Pachamama (Mother Earth) in reciprocity and gratitude.
Live-in Retreat at Raices Inkas Retreat Centre, Sacred Valley - 27th October - 1st November 2026
The group then enters a five-night, six-day practicum anchoring the teachings through direct ceremonial and workshop experience. Participants will engage in two ancestral plant-medicine ceremonies with Wachuma (San Pedro Cactus) and Psilocybin (Sacred Mushrooms). You will learn the energetic and logistical protocols of ceremonial facilitation, guided by a shamanic and earth-centred perspective of energy, space, protection, and alignment.
Throughout this immersion, you will deepen your connection with the land, awaken your unique gifts, and develop trauma-informed sensitivity through direct, lived experience of working with the wisdom of sacred earth medicines.
The immersion also includes:
Despacho offerings in reciprocity with the land and local community
Daily integration circles and group processing
Somatic practices, movement, and breath for regulation and embodiment
Voice activation and simple song practices
Nature-based rituals and time with the land
A traditional Temazcal ceremony led by local practitioners
Throughout this week, participants will deepen their connection with the land, refine their capacity to respond to group fields in ceremony-informed spaces, and experience in their own bodies what it is to be held, seen, and guided through expanded states.
PHASE III: INTEGRATION & APPLIED PRACTICE
November 2026 - January 2027
The final three months focus on integration, mentorship, and applied practice.
Participants synthesise their experiences through reflective practice, peer supervision, and embodied application, anchoring their learning into both personal and professional life.
Six live online learning modules emphasise ethical leadership, sustainability, integration, energetics and relational care - ensuring that transformation becomes lived wisdom.
Module 7 - The Medicine of Sound, Voice & Frequency
Module 8 - Energetic Attunement & Subtle Field Awareness
Module 9 - Facilitating Altered States & Supporting Non-Ordinary Experiences
Module 10 - Relational Awareness, Therapeutic Presence, Group Dynamics & Shadow Work
Module 11 - Integration: Making Meaning & Embodying Insight
Module 12 - Ceremonial Leadership, Apprenticeship & the Initiatory Path
LEARNING OUTCOMES
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Upon completion of Bridging Worlds, participants will be able to:
• Demonstrate knowledge of current research, ethics, and therapeutic frameworks that inform safe, effective, and culturally respectful psychedelic practice
• Apply and adapt trauma-informed principles to preparation, facilitation, and integration, honouring the innate healing wisdom of each participant.
• Conduct comprehensive psychological screening and readiness assessments, evaluating risk, stability, contraindications, and suitability for psychedelic experiences in both clinical and ceremonial contexts.
• Recognise, track, and respond to trauma responses and dysregulation states, whilst providing a grounded and attuned presence throughout.
• Hold therapeutic presence with nuance and skill, responding appropriately to emotional, somatic, imaginal, archetypal, and spiritual material as it arises within expanded states.
• Design and implement effective integration pathways that support meaning-making, behavioural change, emotional processing, and long-term wellbeing.
• Identify and support ongoing integration difficulties as they arise, offering continuity of care and and making appropriate referrals to therapeutic, psychiatric, medical, or community resources when additional support is needed.
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Upon completion of Bridging Worlds, participants will be able to:
• Create and hold a safe, coherent ceremonial container grounded in integrity, clarity, and intention.
• Work respectfully with elemental, earth-based, and nature-led frameworks in ways that honour cultural lineages, avoid appropriation, and deepen connection to land and ancestry.
• Facilitate sound, voice, and frequency-based practices for emotional, somatic, and energetic transformation within group and individual processes.
• Track, interpret and respond to energetic movement, maintain boundaries, and uphold the integrity of ceremonial space.
• Navigate group dynamics, facilitator shadow, projection, and power with awareness and humility.
• Recognise and support mythic, archetypal, and initiatory processes, helping participants through transformative thresholds.
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Upon completion of Bridging Worlds, participants will be able to:
• Uphold and evaluate clear ethical boundaries, cultural sensitivity, and professional codes of conduct across both clinical and ceremonial spaces.
• Demonstrate and cultivate self-awareness, emotional regulation, and embodied presence.
• Integrate clinical, somatic, relational, and ceremonial methodologies into a cohesive, responsible approach.
• Document, assess, and reflect on medicine sessions/ceremonies using structured reflection, supervision, and feedback processes to support ongoing professional growth.
• Recognise the limits of one’s scope of practice and respond with humility and discernment, collaborating with, or referring to, appropriate therapeutic, medical, or shamanic/spiritual practitioners when client needs extend beyond one’s expertise.
• Engage in ongoing personal development, including self-care, contemplative practice, shadow work, and reflective inquiry.
ABOUT YOUR FACILITATORS
Co-facilitated by Dr. Lauren Macdonald and Beáta Alföldi
We are deeply grateful to be collaborating with a range of teachers, wisdom keepers, clinicians, and ceremonial leaders whose work reflects depth, humility, and integrity across clinical, ceremonial, and community-based contexts.
Please download the full curriculum to learn more about those joining us throughout the training
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Dr Lauren Macdonald is a psychiatry doctor, psychedelic-assisted therapist, and group retreat facilitator working at the meeting point of science, soul, and spirit. Her work bridges Western medicine with traditional and earth-based healing approaches to support whole-person wellbeing, transformation, and flourishing.
At the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London, Lauren has served as a clinical trial doctor and psychedelic therapist on pioneering studies exploring psilocybin-assisted therapy for anorexia nervosa and fibromyalgia, and DMT for treatment-resistant depression.
Alongside her clinical work, Lauren facilitates group retreats and leads experiential trainings that advance safe and ethical psychedelic-assisted therapy. Twice yearly, she co-hosts The Reconnection, a 12-week women’s psilocybin and somatic retreat programme. She is particularly passionate about the group model, where profound relational healing, shared insight, and a sense of communitas can emerge within a strong and supportive container.
Lauren’s integrative approach to health and healing grew out of her personal journey with stage IV cancer a decade ago. That experience opened the door to a more holistic way of working—one that honours the full spectrum of the human experience: body, mind, heart, and spirit. It also revealed what is so often missing in conventional medicine and led to the co-founding of Essence Medicine, an organisation offering psycho-spiritual support to individuals navigating life-threatening illness. She is also co-founder of End Wise, an Australian initiative expanding access to psilocybin-assisted therapy in palliative care.
Her work is informed by formal training in psychology and medicine, as well as studies in yoga, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Compassionate Inquiry, MDMA-assisted therapy, nutritional and environmental medicine, and nature-based therapeutic modalities. Lauren’s understanding of healing is also shaped by earth-based wisdom traditions, shamanic facilitator training, and a deep reverence for diverse ways of knowing and being.
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Beáta Alföldi is an international retreat leader, medicine woman, author, shamanic practitioner, ceremonial leader, sound healer, workshop facilitator, seer, and keynote speaker known for guiding individuals through profound transformation.
After a longstanding career in professional dance, theatre and choreography. Beata´s path with sacred plant medicines began in 2007, in the Amazon and Andes of Peru, where she worked closely with curanderos and curanderas.
She later created the Integral Woman programme for the Awareness Institute in Sydney, where she completed a two-year diploma in Shamanic and Energetic Healing, and went on to design an internationally accredited training for shamanic practitioners, therapists, ceremonialists and spaceholders.
Beáta is recognised for the grounded, deeply transformational spaces she holds, where people are invited into true healing, empowerment, and evolution. She works with emotional depth and integrity, helping individuals meet and move through their most tender and formative wounds. Often described as a “spiritual midwife,” she supports others in birthing their most authentic and liberated selves.
She contributed a chapter to Shamanism for the New Millennium, an Amazon #1 bestseller. Her internationally accredited shamanic training and facilitation programs, workshops, ceremonies, and retreats are offered worldwide.
She is a sought-after teacher, ceremonial leader and speaker.
Beáta’s work is infused with her own lived experience. She has not only walked but has also transformed immense grief and hardship, including the loss of her only son in childbirth. This initiatory journey informs the depth, compassion, and clarity she brings to her service.
A full member of the International Energetic Healing Association, Beáta lives in the mountains of Sintra, Portugal. She is devoted to inspiring others to live lives that are authentic, free, empowered, and radiantly alive. She brings wisdom, courage, fierceness, and love to every space she holds.
HOW TO APPLY
Applications are now open
All applicants are invited to have a call before confirming a place on the training. These conversations are a chance to answer questions and ensure the training is aligned with your experience, intentions, and scope of practice.
Calls will be held from January 2026.
To begin the process, please complete the application form below. We will then be in touch to arrange your call.
The early bird rate is available until 1st March 2026.
Places are limited and offered on a rolling basis. Once the cohort is full, applications will close.
TUITION, SCHOLARSHIPS & PAYMENT OPTIONS
August 2026 – January 2027
The full tuition for Bridging Worlds is €6,500. An early bird rate of €5,500 is available for those who pay in full by 1st March 2026.
Payment plans
Monthly payment plans are available following an initial deposit. If you would like to explore this option, details are shared as part of the application process.
Scholarships and access
A limited number of scholarships are available for applicants from under-represented backgrounds. These are offered in recognition of the need to widen access while maintaining the depth and integrity of the training.
Reciprocity
A portion of each participant’s tuition contributes to Indigenous-led and ecological initiatives in the region. These contributions are offered in consultation with an Indigenous advisor, as part of an ongoing commitment to reciprocity and care for the lands and communities that support this work.
Practical considerations
Tuition does not include international or domestic travel to and from Cusco, Peru. Participants are responsible for arranging appropriate travel and health insurance, as well as meeting passport and visa requirements relevant to their country of residence. Further practical guidance is provided to accepted participants.
FAQ
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Bridging Worlds is designed for practitioners who are already holding, or preparing to hold, space around expanded states of consciousness. This includes (but isn’t limited to):
Psychedelic-assisted therapy practitioners
Clinicians, psychologists, psychotherapists, counsellors, and pastoral carers
Somatic therapists and bodyworkers
Group retreat facilitators
Breathwork, movement, and earth-based practitioners
Shamanic practitioners, energetic healers, and ceremonialists
If you are unsure whether your background is a good fit, you are welcome to apply and we can explore together during the interview process.
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Over the six months, you’ll participate in a comprehensive training designed to deepen both your skillset and your capacity to safely steward expanded states. The programme includes:
Twelve live online sessions integrating teaching, experiential practice, demonstrations, and supervised Q&A
Contributions from guest teachers and wisdom-keepers, offering clinical, somatic, ceremonial, and ethical perspectives
Structured skill development through supervised practice, case reflection, and peer feedback
Peer learning opportunities to strengthen relational competence and collaboration
An in-person ceremonial immersion to consolidate learning through direct experience
Continued access to an alumni community for ongoing connection, collaboration, and optional mentorship beyond the formal programme
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No formal psychedelic training is required, but some prior experience in at least one of the following areas is preferred:
Clinical or therapeutic work
Somatic, trauma-informed, or body-based practice
Ceremonial, shamanic, or earth-based facilitation
Breathwork or other non-ordinary state modalities
We will ask you about your background in your application and interview so we can ensure the cohort feels cohesive and the training is an appropriate next step for you.
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At present, there are no psychedelic therapy trainings formally endorsed or accredited by professional colleges such as RANZCP (Australia) or RCPsych (UK).
As such, Bridging Worlds is not:
A clinical qualification
A licence to offer psychedelic-assisted therapy
It is an experiential practitioner training that complements existing clinical training or apprenticeship by deepening your capacity to hold expanded states in trauma-informed, ethically grounded, and ceremonially literate ways.
You will receive a certificate of completion for Bridging Worlds, which some participants may be able to use as CPD/continuing education, depending on their professional body. We cannot guarantee accreditation but can provide documentation upon request.
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Bridging Worlds is designed as a bridge, not a replacement:
If you have psychedelic-assisted therapy training, this programme brings in the ceremonial, somatic, group, and earth-based dimensions.
If you come from a ceremonial or shamanic background, it strengthens your clinical understanding, trauma-informed lens, and ethical/relational frameworks.
Rather than training you in one lineage or modality, we help you integrate the threads of your existing practice into a more coherent, ethical, and embodied way of working.
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This programme is not Indigenous-led, and we name this clearly as part of our ethical responsibility.
We honour Indigenous and ancestral wisdom by:
Being transparent about our own lineages and limits
Not recreating or teaching closed or protected Indigenous ceremonies
Inviting Indigenous and lineage-based teachers as guests, with clear boundaries around what is being shared
Offering reciprocity, with a percentage of tuition directed toward Indigenous-led and ecological initiatives in the region
Q’ero ceremonies and other Indigenous practices within the immersion are received as acts of honouring and gratitude, not as training in those lineages.
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Included in your investment:
Six-month online training (12 live teaching modules + opening & closing sessions)
Guest teachers, wisdom keepers, and ceremonial leaders
Seven-day immersion in Peru’s Sacred Valley
Twin-share accommodation during the immersion
All group meals, ceremonies, workshops, and excursions during the retreat
Access to recordings of online modules
Certificate of completion
Not included:
International and domestic flights to/from Cusco, Peru
Transport from Cusco airport to our hotel in Cusco city centre
Comprehensive travel and health insurance (mandatory)
Any required visas or entry requirements for Peru
Personal expenses, extra nights, or additional travel beyond programme dates
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From August 2026 to January 2027, you can expect:
Fortnightly 2-hour live online modules (12 total)
Time between modules for self-practice, reflective work, and integration (approx. 2–3 hours per fortnight, depending on your engagement)
A 7-day immersion in Peru (including travel days, you may wish to allow more time either side)
We ask participants to come prepared to prioritise these dates as much as possible, as the training is relational and cohort-based.
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We understand that life and time zones can be complex.
We ask that you attend at least 8 out of 12 workshop classes live, as this is important for group process and skills practice.
All sessions will be recorded, and you will be expected to watch any missed modules and complete the reflection/practice tasks.
If you foresee major time-zone clashes or scheduling conflicts, please mention this in your application so we can discuss whether the programme is realistically manageable for you.
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The Peru immersion is the heart of the training. It allows you to:
Experience well-held Wachuma and Psilocybin ceremonies
Learn directly from the land, the medicines, and experienced ceremonial practitioners
Feel in your own body what it is to be safely guided through expanded states
Integrate the clinical, somatic, relational, and ceremonial principles we explore online
We understand that everyone’s medical and psychological context is unique. Participation in ceremonies is always preceded by careful screening and individual conversations around safety and appropriateness.
We expect that most participants will come with an intention to take part in the ceremonies, as they are central to this training.
However:
All medicine work is subject to comprehensive medical and psychological screening.
If it becomes clear that ingesting the medicine is not appropriate or safe, you may still be able to attend the immersion and participate as a non-medicine participant, holding space and learning from the field. These decisions are made case-by-case, with safety coming first.
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Because the training involves work with powerful entheogenic medicines and altered states, we carry out:
A detailed medical history and medication review
A psychological/psychiatric history
Assessment of current stability, support networks, and ability to engage with integration
Certain conditions or medication combinations may mean that this training is not appropriate (for example, some psychotic spectrum conditions, untreated bipolar disorder, or specific cardiovascular issues).
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A non-refundable deposit of €1,500 is required to secure your place.
The remaining tuition can be paid upfront or via an agreed payment plan.
Because we are holding accommodation, retreat space, and long-term planning for a small cohort, refunds on fees paid (beyond the deposit) may only be available up to a certain date before the training begins and/or the Peru immersion.
We will provide a clear written refund and cancellation policy at the time of enrolment so you know exactly where you stand. If you have questions about this before applying, please reach out to us directly.
Please note: you can also pay in instalments
After your deposit is paid:
We offer monthly instalment plans for the remaining balance, to be completed before the start of the Peru immersion.
If you have specific financial circumstances you’d like us to consider (e.g. lower-income country, caring responsibilities), please mention this in your application.
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Yes. A limited number of partial scholarships are available for under-represented applicants and those with genuine financial need, especially practitioners:
From marginalised or historically excluded communities
Working in community-based or low-resource settings
Committed to bringing this work back to underserved populations
You can indicate your interest in scholarship support in your application form, and we will follow up with further questions if needed.
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Many people joining will be able to count Bridging Worlds towards their CPD/CE requirements (depending on their governing body).
We will provide a certificate of completion and can offer a programme outline and learning outcomes on request.
It is your responsibility to check with your professional college or association whether this training meets their criteria.
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In many countries, clinicians and practitioners are able to claim professional development, supervision, and training expenses as tax deductible when they are directly related to their work. We recommend checking with your tax advisor to confirm whether this training can be claimed as a deductible expense in your jurisdiction.