Why Psychedelic Healing is Bigger Than the Self

In many Indigenous traditions, psychedelic ceremonies are not centered on the individual experience, but on the wellbeing of the collective. The very essence of plant medicine traditions is not transactional, but relational; a shared experience that weaves people to each other, to the land, and to spirit. It’s a practice that I believe the world needs more now than ever. But is the use of plant medicines within the Western wellness industry blocking this potential, rather than opening up access to it?

As someone who has co-founded and operated a psychedelic retreat company, I deeply value what retreats can offer. I’ve been personally shaped by their potential for profound healing, connection, and personal breakthrough. Yet, while retreat spaces create intentional containers for deep work, a core tension arises when hyper-individualized, capitalist models of healing overlook the truth that real transformation has always flourished within networks of community care.

As the use of plant medicines has developed within the wellness space, psychedelics have inevitably become commodified, because we cannot escape capitalism. We’re embedded in it. In my previous company, we developed a model that I believed could provide profound transformational experiences while honoring the medicine and placing a strong emphasis on safeguarding—ensuring that participants were emotionally, mentally, and physically supported throughout their journey. But over time, I began to see the contradictions inherent in selling healing within an economic system that prioritizes profit, exclusivity, and consumer satisfaction.

Does this mean for-profit healing shouldn’t exist? 

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