Heal the Healers BIPOC Retreat
October 9th, 2024 in Iquitos, Peru
Mission: Gathering 22 BIPOC Therapist to experience a full scholarship of $5,000 per individual or $110,000 for the entire group. All of the dollars raised through the Psychedelic Access Fund go towards Healing the Healers by paying for their travel, food, housing, and retreat.
About the Partners: Camila Pastor, LCSW & Erica Sandoval, LCSW
Studies have shown that emerging therapies take an average of 20 years to reach marginalized communities. One of the newly mainstream therapies is psychedelic healing and because of its high profile and new legality in the United States, it is unaccessible because of financial barriers. Pastor & Sandoval recognize this lack of access to indigenous, plant-based healing modalities among BIPOC therapists and social workers and created the "Heal the Healers BIPOC Retreat". This retreat is for our Healers to experience the transformational impact of ayahuasca, a plant native to Peru and by the indigenous Amazonian peoples, and ease the financial burden of such a retreat. Studies have shown that culturally sensitive interventions reduce the levels of perceived stigma, increase treatment seeking among individuals from racial-ethnic minority groups, increase treatment duration, and improve outcomes for individuals from these groups.
Beginning in Fall of 2024, Pastor & Sandoval will gather a cohort of 22 BIPOC therapists local to the tri-state-area. They will meet as a group for three preparation sessions, followed by two weeks and six therapeutic plant-based sessions at the pioneering Temple of the Way of Light in Iquitos, Peru. Upon their return, the practitioners will meet three more times as a group for integration sessions that will enhance their experience while fostering community among this BIPOC caregiver cohort. In an effort to solidify the community, Pastor and Sandoval are offering continuous, monthly group integration circle to the participants of this retreat.
BIPOC clinicians that serve the tri-state area’s mental health and wellness needs remain scarce. When they are available, they are overworked and underpaid. They experience trauma themselves, either firsthand or through holding space for their patients. They experience financial stress, due to the burden of student loans and low salaries. As a result, they are often burnt out, without a way to heal themselves, no community to support their self-care, or simply choose to leave the profession. Having witnessed the lasting effects of ayahuasca journeys, Pastor and Sandoval recognized that a group journey would allow BIPOC mental health workers to heal deep wounds, create community, and set in motion a virtuous cycle of healing.
The therapists who participate in this first-of-its-kind plant-based group journey will return renewed, unburdened, and ready to serve their communities with a newfound community of their own to lean on for support. They will reclaim their indigenous roots, heal their own selves, and open their minds to ancient therapies and alternative practices through a decolonized lens.
The cost of this weeks-long effort can be prohibitively expensive, so the Pastor & Sandoval partnered with the Psychedelic Access Fund to help secure scholarships for each participant. The entire experience will cost around $5,000, including flights, board, and meals. In addition, Pastor & Sandoval are seeking individual donations for these unique practitioners, whose one-on-one work with patients can have a multiplier effect on their communities.
As we all know, New York City is in the midst of a mental health crisis, and Pastor & Sandoval believe that by experiencing ancient plant-based modalities with their peers, these BIPOC therapists and social workers can continue to do their work at their highest potential. For every one patient a practitioner engages, they have the ability to impact 100 lives, from family to other practitioners, colleagues at hospitals, non-profits, and in workshops. Through plant-based healing, that support net can be cast even wider, reaching deep into the marginalized communities these therapists serve.
Follow our progress at: https://www.healthehealers.us/