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Cultivating Joy: A Ketamine-assisted Mindfulness Retreat
February 15 - February 18, 2024
Jayne Gumpel, LCSW
David Gumpel M.A
Irina Linetskaya, MD
Donna Sorgen, LMHC,LPC
Jeffrey Guss, MD
James Lawer
Daniel Zimmerman, M.D.
Welcome to Cultivate Joy ~ A Ketamine Assisted Mindfulness Retreat for Inspired Individuals looking to Cultivate Joy in everyday life.This is a safe, structured retreat led by a staff of licensed and highly experienced therapists and physicians in the beautiful Catskill Mountains at MENLA Retreat and Spa.~Meet at the intersection of science and spirituality~Participation in this retreat begins with an application to attendThis retreat is for individuals. If you are committed to the practice of sharing the fullness of your being, locating your best self, your enthusiasm & vitality, your spirit, your trust, your openness, above all, your presence~ this may be a weekend experience for you. Join this retreat if you have a deep desire to share yourself in this way, with yourself, with fellow retreat members, with your family, friends, and with the world.We invite you to break old patterns and habits and cultivate space for joy and well being, even in the midst of all the ongoing stresses and distractions of everyday life. Ketamine assisted sessions may be helpful in opening the doors of the mind and heart to what lies within, however lost or disengaged you may feel from this part of yourself. Ketamine is a powerful medicine that can assist you in seeing things in a new, clearer way, often in non-defensive and insightful ways. Mindfulness and meditation practices, taught and practiced throughout this retreat, are skills we need for improved self regulation of emotions and thoughts, and can support the ability to meet each moment with equanimity and grace.The structure of the retreat is designed for individuals who are ready to step into realms of deep connection and personal development within a group setting. Participants who have skillful means to navigate non-ordinary states of consciousness and the capacity for depth work in a group setting are invited to apply for this retreat. No experience with psychedelic medicines, or Ketamine, is necessary for admission. All applicants will be interview by phone to determine if this retreat is a good fit.Combining Ketamine with mindfulness and meditation practices can be a jump start to a more conscious and purposeful life. Jon Kabat-Zinn, a world renowned author, speaker, and mindfulness teacher, likes to say “there is more right with you, than wrong with you”. At out retreats we use guided practices to bring individuals home to their inner intelligence. Regardless of what is unfolding moment to moment, we each have the innate capacity and inner wisdom to choose to be present and to practice compassion and kindness with ourselves and with each other.We take great care in the enrollment process. Safety is our top priority while making sure every individual that will attend has the capacity to be in a group setting and to experience Ketamine in a safe and constructive manner. This retreat is not a residential treatment setting and is not meant for people suffering from an acute mental health crises, and it is not for those with chronic and persistent psychiatric conditions.Steps to join:Step 1: Apply to the retreat.Applicants will have a screening call to determine if this is the right retreat for you. You will be asked to fill out the application form before the interview. If the screening call determines that the retreat is appropriate, you will be invited to attend and provided a payment link to make a deposit. Instructions for reserving housing with Menla will also be shared.Step 2: Complete the medical interview.Applicants will be assigned to a medical doctor on staff for a medical interview. This is essential and may involve speaking with your psychotherapist or prescribing medical professional. Following this, you may be approved for the prescription of ketamine lozenges.Step 3: Preparation with retreat staff.You will be assigned to a staff member for a 60 minute group preparation session on Zoom. The preparation session is included in the tuition. This meeting is an important part of the process and introduces you to the retreat in detail. The staff member assigned for this session will be sitting with you during the dosings. It is possible that this session will result in a decision that the retreat is not a good fit.Step 4: Complete retreat documentation.You will be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement that addresses our request to hold the names/identities of other participants as confidential. We also provide an informed consent document which we will ask you to read carefully and sign.ScheduleThursday, February 15
ABOUT THE TEACHERs
Jayne Gumpel, LCSW
Jayne Gumpel, LCSW (she/her/hers) is a psychotherapist, trainer, and teacher with 30 years of experience working with couples, individuals, and groups in New York City and Woodstock, NY. Jayne is a professional clinical trainer in Psychedelic Integration Psychotherapy, is a membe...
David Gumpel M.A
David Gumpel is an Integral Master Coach and a qualified teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) through UMASS medical school. David is the co-founder of Access Mindfulness and a study coordinator for the MAPS sponsored MDMA-Assisted Therapy for the treatment of post...
Irina Linetskaya, MD
Irina is a board certified Internal Medicine physician and LGBTQ+ health and HIV specialist whose integrative medicine practice, Contemplative Medicine, focuses at the intersection of physical illness, emotional trauma, and spirituality. Irina has supplemented her rigorous medica...
Donna Sorgen, LMHC,LPC
Donna Sorgen, LMHC, LPC (she/her/hers) is a psychotherapist with over 20 years experience working with adults, children, adolescents, couples, and groups. She is the Director of the Woodstock Therapy Center and the Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) Program at WTC. She is also...
Jeffrey Guss, MD
Lead Trainer, Fluence Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine Jeffrey Guss, MD is a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, researcher and teacher with specializations in psychoanalytic therapy and psychedelic therapy. He was Co-Principal Investigator and Director...
James Lawer
James Lawer has graduate degrees in theatre and divinity. He studied with and was initiated into tribal traditions in North, Central and South America as well as the indigenous (Druid) traditions of Great Britain. He was an ordained Christian minister serving congregations until ...
Daniel Zimmerman, M.D.
Dan is a board-certified psychiatrist in private practice in New York City. Dan completed his residency at MGH/McLean in Boston, where he received the Hackett Award for academic research. He subsequently completed a public psychiatry fellowship at Bellevue Hospital. As a former...
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