Groundwork Program and Enrollment Details

What makes Gather Well’s programming unique? 

1. An Apprenticeship Model consisting of two consecutive programs: the 8-month preparatory program, “Groundwork”, and the 18-month experiential mentorship program, “Psychedelic Guide Apprenticeship” 
2. Focus on social/collective healing and culture shift 
3. Ceremonial group work format for psychedelic healing in community 
4. High standard for quality of practice for guides 
5. Rooted in indigenous frameworks

Apprenticeship Model: Our learning model focuses on rigorous embodied and experiential learning to prepare you to take up the role of guiding. We want you to not just know about the conceptual and technical elements of being a guide, but to leave our programs confident you actually know how to guide because you have integrated the qualities and capacities needed to guide, have had substantial real-life experience observing and co-leading sessions, and have received feedback, guidance and support along the way by mentors and peers in a dynamic community of practice. 

Social/collective healing and culture shift: At Gather Well, we consider “set” and “setting” to include the social, collective and ecological context of the world we live in. We feel a growth in awareness, engagement and compassionate yet critical consideration of conscious and subconscious conditioning and participation in various social and cultural dynamics is a requirement for true cultural change, towards a more equitable and healthy global culture. Guides who are interested in being a part of a shift in global culture must have the capacity to engage this lens. Our programs help you to develop this capacity. 

Group Work Format: Gather Well conducts its psychedelic work in a ceremonial group format and teaches you how to guide group-format work. The development of meaningful connections within groups is in itself part of the way by which people can heal and overcome challenges. Rather than the predominant individualized psychotherapy model, we look more so to indigenous frameworks for psychedelic settings, as well as to the frameworks that have an impact in western healthcare models such as addiction recovery groups and group therapy. While the Psychedelic Guide Apprenticeship Program’s primary lens and focus is group-format work, it will include instruction for a 1-1 model of psychedelic care, including when it is necessary or may be beneficial, why, and for whom, as well as developing skill in navigating the unique challenges and ethical considerations within 1-1 psychedelic care. 

High standard for quality of practice for guides: We provide in-depth, long-form programs to compel lasting and meaningful impact. We aim to support you in cultivating and maintaining a strong foundation of skills and ethics. With this foundation in place, you can become an empowered leader in your craft and express your unique artistry as a guide. Gather Well guides become experts in a diversity of applications of practices learned through the Apprenticeship Model, forging your own frontiers in the growing field of psychedelic healing, and bringing your work to communities you are called to serve. 

Rooted in Indigenous frameworks: We are inspired to respectfully interpret the teachings and ways of practice of indigenous frameworks for healing – particularly the Mazatec of Huautla de Jimenez, Mexico, their ceremonial use of sacred plant medicines and fungi, and their thriving relationship with spirit, prayer and the land they inhabit. While Gather Well is an institution of the west and must operate in close relationship with industrialized systems, our motivations, modes of operating, and the heart of our programs are rooted in what we have learned and are learning from the sacred ways of the indigenous peoples we have been exposed to and have relationships with. We draw inspiration and guidance from the cycles and patterns of nature and our place in the living Earth, in which all is interconnected. Gather Well guides are called to hold this work as sacred while applying it within a range of contexts, including clinical or therapeutic practices. We refer to what we teach as “psychedelic healing modalities”, “psychedelic care” Or psychedelic services” rather than the commonly referred to “psychedelic-assisted therapy” because we do not fully adhere to a western therapeutic framework. This allows for inclusion of practices with psychedelics that do not ascribe strictly to psychotherapy or a psychologized lens of self, other and the world. We practice decentering the individual, acknowledging the self as part of a larger whole, deeply considering systemic issues, and including elements of non-dogmatic spirituality, the mysterious, and the sacred.

Gather Well’s Apprenticeship Model consists of two, consecutive Programs: 

Groundwork: prepares participants to be of service by inquiring deeply about their motivations for guiding. Guiding is complex work, and for those interested in becoming a guide, the work starts within. We believe true integrity in helping others means accepting the current state of one’s own capacities, and respecting the pace by which one becomes ready to take up the role. Groundwork includes two, in-person retreats in which participants explore the group-work format as “clients”, guided by Gather Well’s Lead Ceremonial Guides. 

Psychedelic Guide Apprenticeship Program: combines theoretical knowledge, contemporary science-backed approaches, indigenous-informed framework, and supervised in-person exposure to group work with psilocybin containing mushrooms in a ceremonial context. Apprenticeship includes multiple, in-person retreats in which participants explore the group-work format as observers, assistants, and co-lead guides with supervision onsite. 

How will Gather Well’s programs help me integrate into the emerging psychedelic field?  

Our aim is for our trained guides to meet all requirements to integrate smoothly into the field. During this time when so much is still being defined and grown within the industry, our approach is to develop the best program we can based on our values while continuously seeking out ways our programs can integrate into the industry and the standards being developed. Our apprenticeship program has been designed to meet the current regulatory program curriculum requirements in Oregon and Colorado, and we continue to align our programs as closely as possible with certification and professional recommendations that are in development. In addition, the final module of our Apprenticeship includes an optional 54-hour training via InnerTrek, toward applying specifically for Colorado state licensure.

How does one become a guide through Gather Well? 

Those that wish to become apprenticed by the organization need to: 

1. Apply for the Groundwork Program 
2. Complete the Groundwork program in full, and meet the attendance requirements 
3. Apply for the Psychedelic Guide Apprenticeship Program 
4. Complete the Psychedelic Guide Apprenticeship Program
5. Complete an evaluative process and receive an in-house certification recognizing you as a Gather Well Guide.  

SCHEDULE

Groundwork is divided into two, four-month parts. Cohorts meet twice monthly for 6-hour Saturday virtual-classroom sessions, and twice monthly for 3-hour weekday virtual-classroom sessions.  

Each four-month segment includes a weekend retreat. Retreat site staff facilitates access to the mushrooms themselves. Gather Well program staff supports the experience of group preparation, guiding of the ceremonial group, and group integration through a harm reduction lens. Participants are additionally supported by specialized coaches in 1-1 preparation and integration sessions. 

PART ONE: 

4 months, approximately 100 hours of hybrid virtual + in-person learning. 

Part 1 begins the first week of September, 2025.

COHORT 1 – Meets on Tuesdays & Saturdays, Pacific Standard Time:

• • • Tuesdays 5:00-8:00pm PST: September 2nd, September 16th, October 7th, October 14th, November 11th, November 18th, December 2nd
    • Saturdays 9:00am-3:00pm PST: September 13th, September 27th, October 11th, October 25th, November 15th, November 22nd, December 13th
    • Retreat Weekend: October 31st – November 2nd  

COHORT 2 – Meets on Wednesdays & Saturdays, Eastern Standard Time:

• • • Wednesdays 5:00-8:00pm EST: September 3rd, September 17th, October 1st, October 15th, October 29th, November 26th, December 10th, December 17th 
    • Saturdays 12:00pm-6:00pm EST: September 13th, September 27th, October 11th, October 25th, November 22nd, December 6th, December 13th 
    • Retreat Weekend: November 13th – November 16th 

COHORT 3 – Meets on Thursdays & Saturdays, Mountain Standard Time*:

• • • Thursdays 5:00-8:00pm MST: September 4th, September 18th, October 2nd, October 16th, November 6th, November 20th, December 11th, December 18th 
    • Saturdays 10:00am-4:00pm MST: September 13th, September 27th, October 11th, October 25th, November 15th, December 13th, December 20th 
    • Retreat Weekend: November 27th – November 30th

*This time zone is subject to change dependent on the location of participants within this cohort

PART TWO:

4 months, approximately 100 hours of hybrid virtual + in-person learning. 

Part 2 begins the first week of February, 2026.

COHORT 1 – Meets on Tuesdays & Saturdays, Pacific Standard Time:

• • • Tuesdays 5:00-8:00pm PST: (2026) January 6th, January 20th, February 3rd, February 17th, March 24th, March 31st, April 14th, April 28th 
    • Saturdays 9:00am-3:00pm PST: (2026) January 17th, January 31st, February 14th, February 28th, March 14th, March 28th, April 11th, April 25th 
    • Retreat Weekend: March 5th – March 8th 

COHORT 2 – Meets on Wednesdays & Saturdays, Eastern Standard Time:

• • • Wednesdays 5:00-8:00pm EST: (2026) January 7th, January 21st, February 4th, February 18th, March 4th, March 18th, April 1st, April 15th 
    • Saturdays 12:00pm-3:00pm EST: (2026) January 17th, January 31st, February 14th, February 28th, March 14th, April 11th, April 29th 
    • Retreat Weekend: March 19th – March 22nd 

COHORT 3 – Meets on Thursdays & Saturdays, Mountain Standard Time*:

• • • Thursdays 5:00-8:00pm MST: January 8th, January 22nd, February 5th, February 19th, March 5th, March 19th, April 16th, April 30th 
    • Saturdays 10:00am-4:00pm MST: January 17th, January 31st, February 14th, February 28th, March 14th, March 28th, April 11th, April 25th
    • Retreat Weekend: April 2nd – April 5th 

*This time zone is subject to change dependent on the location of participants within this cohort

ATTENDANCE

Participants may miss no more than 20% of total classroom hours, and attend both in-person retreats, in order to be eligible to subsequently apply for the Psychedelic Guide Apprenticeship Program. 

You may be considered a “Graduate” of the Groundwork Program having completed no less than 50% of classroom hours, and attendance at no less than 1 residential retreat. However, unless you meet the attendance criteria listed above, your graduation from Groundwork will not be considered a complete prerequisite for Apprenticeship, nor any future Gather Well programs that may require Groundwork as a prerequisite for entry. 

Residential Retreats Venue

Retreats will be held in Oregon and or Colorado, pending finalized arrangements. More information is coming soon. 

All expenses for lodging and meals are included in the tuition price. Travel to the retreat center and payment for the mushrooms themselves are not included.  

Groundwork is a strategy towards collective transformation. We approach the program as a thoughtful and deliberate series of experiences designed towards expansive thinking, feeling, sensing, relating, being and doing. This strategy is based on a 6 phase model that follows a progression of the transformational process. We call these phases “medicines”. 

When we say medicines we are expanding the cultures ideas of the word “medicine.” We consider that within each of these phases, states, aspects of transformation there is a gift that the practitioner receives when they are willing and able to fully be in the medicines. We recognize these are “ways of being”, states in themselves that one may engage with and learn from rather than “do”. For example one can engage with the state of being in pause and receptivity rather than do the steps to achieve or produce that experience. This frame disrupts human-centeredness and invites people into relationships with potent states in a larger interconnected web of the seen and unseen. Within this frame, “medicines” are not consumed, they are related to and therefore cannot be prescriptive like the cultural use of the word medicine. Finally, in the quickly growing, fast paced and medicalized emerging psychedelic industry, medicine tends to only refer to the product that is dosing the patient. We believe that lens is too narrow. It does not bring in the medicines of everyday things, practices or relationships as supportive in any transformation. 

The 6 medicines:

1. The Medicine of Belonging

Belonging may not translate to ultimate “safety”, but means all are compassionately invested in each other’s well being, and willing to undergo their own growth and transformation for the benefit of others and for collective growth. 

We believe and history has shown us that to dominate a person or group, the first step is to disconnect them from a sense of belonging. Therefore we strive to remedy that disconnection by honoring that we belong, simply by nature of existing. We may not belong to all people, but we belong to the earth, we belong to forces unseen and we do belong to ourselves and each other. We also know that in social environments where belonging is used as a prize and therefore also in a constant threat of being taken away, people are less likely to let themselves be vulnerable, try new things or take risks that could foster a sense of belonging. We aspire to create spaces where people understand their behaviors, words and beliefs may be challenged, but never people’s inherent worth. Engaging fully with the medicine of Belonging includes making visible the many ways that difference is present, tending and honoring those differences, and attending to places where asymmetrical power dynamics are expressed.

1. The Medicine of Pausing & Receptivity

By pausing we mean interrupting automatic responses to notice what is present. From this place we are receptive to new information, including information that contradicts or differs from what we’ve known.

We believe and nature shows us that the speed with which things happen in a colonialist, capitalistic society is not one that is receptive, it is one that “does”. We aim to disrupt this patterning by encouraging pausing often. Information can come in the form of sensations, emotions, intellect, spiritual messages. Receptivity opens us up to be impacted by the world around us, and provides us opportunities to stretch, unlearn, grow and transform, rather than staying contracted, shielding ourselves, maintaining status quo and keeping a narrow view. 

1. The Medicine of Embodied Emotion

Embodied emotions are about noticing our bodies, being in communication with them, listening to their signals and respecting them as a site of wisdom as much as, or possibly more than the mind.

We believe and our bodies have taught us that when we ignore the body as a site of knowledge we limit our ability to view, feel, know and act clearly within any context we are in. Being receptive often opens us up to having more experiences to respond to. When we are receptive to these experiences, insights, sensations, stimuli and how they make us feel- our embodied emotions- we allow for a deeper, more authentic, more dynamic (even if sometimes uncomfortable) relationship with them and with ourselves. This grows our capacity to be with others in their dynamism, to allow the felt embodied experience of the other and of the collective. Cognitive dissonance- choosing not to see or acknowledge experiences that would conflict with beliefs of our own, is protected by a fear of going into hard feelings. Embodied emotion is about trusting our bodies, that they know how to support us through “difficult emotions” (meaning any emotion that we have been trained against accepting socially or culturally).

1. The Medicine of Unknowing and the Unknown

This is the place where we can be with what is, what is known and unknown without desire to force our will onto it, but to regard the unknown as a welcome place, one that makes space for transformation.

We believe and spirit has shown us that the breadth of possible experience is much more vast and mysterious than what our analysis and control centered culture and practices have us believe. This analysis centered approach keeps us human/intellect centered. This keeps us from being part of larger, more intricate and unintelligible webs of life. We seek to disrupt this by presenting and engaging in opportunities that challenge what we think we know, to engage in an unlearning, an unknowing. We seek experiences that will remind us how much we do not know and how much we must rely on other beings, and what they know that we do not, to get through the world. When we can trust our bodies to support us through difficult feelings, then we are willing to enter the difficult, the confusing, the mysterious or as Bayo Akomolafe calls it “the crack.” We are engaged with and, inviting of, the process of unknowing as a way to liberation and collective connectedness. 

1. The Medicine of Possibility and Creativity

The  possibilities and creativity we speak of comes from being in the crack. From being in a place where we are attached to nothing and yet something comes, as a response to the times, to our place, to our needs. This something rises out of us, it has been called eros, life force, many names. It brings with it possibilities that the mind could not conjure before, brings inspiration that could not be expected. This is the art of the moment. It is our unique offerings to this world, at this time.

We believe that creativity and possibility are abundant. Our culture’s value of industry and innovation has stifled the spark of creativity by co-opting creativity for productivity.  Creativity may be something that springs out into the world and offers a new connection to oneself, another, or to spirit or, a world bigger than us. It is an acknowledgement of and manifestation from all that is unseen and is an offering to all the human and non-human beings that get to witness it. This creativity fuels the imagination of what is possible, it shows us other ways of being are possible, it inspires, it does not persuade. 

1. The Medicine of Transition and Completion

Marking the closing of a moment allows time to reflect, time to savor and feel contentment in what has been done, or take note of what has not happened. It is a moment to offer gratitude and vision. It allows us to rest and integrate. It gives us space for something else to show up organically. It allows us to see the world as a series of beginning and endings, evolving, creative and changing.

We believe and ritual teaches us that in a culture that prioritizes forward movement and trying to tame the future because we fear it and the unknown- we ignore, deny and avoid endings. This keeps us in a perpetual cycle of movement, with little attention to pausing and becoming receptive. Without endings, or marking transitions it is difficult to acknowledge the occurrence of transformation, learn from the process and appreciate it. We intentionally resist this cultural impulse to move quickly in dissatisfaction and instead mark transitions and ending allows us to winter before engaging the transformational process again.

We approach the concept of evaluation as a process of reflection and integration. This includes self-reflection, mutual peer reflection, as well as feedback from participants about the staff and program itself. 

We have designed reflection and integration exercises into the program to provide opportunities for participant growth and to allow for a more holistic, peer-informed view of specific capacities that we think are crucial for a guide to embody. This process is meant to provide care and mutual support that is mindful of the personal, cultural, and systemic influences that are always at play (in general), and in reflection, evaluation, and feedback processes. The intention is to gather greater information from a diversity of perspectives and to support participants, staff, and programs to continuously evolve. 

Should participants wish to continue their learning journey in Gather Wells’ Apprenticeship Program, the application process will include the recommendations of your Groundwork program facilitators, as well as reflections from a combination of applicant-selected cohort peers and randomly Gather Well-selected cohort peers. While Groundwork facilitators will not provide direct reflection throughout the program to support an environment of authentic expression, they will keep some notes to support their recommendation for those who choose to apply to our apprenticeship program. This process is not intended to test or make a value judgment about anyone, but to support all involved in determining mutual compatibility before progressing.

Upon completion of the program, participants may request a summary of reflections gathered throughout the program from peers and program staff. These are offered in the spirit of continued growth and may help guide them in their next steps, whether they be with Gather Well through our Psychedelic Guide Apprenticeship Program, other psychedelic training programs, or in other related fields.  We aim for these summaries to be of use in your ongoing development and discernment of how to best support others on their journeys of transformation.  

Groundwork begins in September, 2025. 

Enrollment for the upcoming Groundwork Program began February 3rd, 2025.

Submit your application by March 31 to be considered during PHASE ONE OF REVIEWS. 

The final application deadline is May 9th but we may close earlier if we have enough applicants. 

We encourage you to apply as early as possible as applicants will be assessed for compatibility with the program and accepted on a first come, first serve basis.

The admissions process consists of multiple modes of assessing preparedness such as

• A written application + initial screening
• An interview
• Attendance at an online admissions workshop, in which applicants get a sense for the style of the program and are observed in relating within a group

Gather Well staff will provide several Q & A sessions prior to and throughout the application window.

• March 19th 12 pm PST
• April 3rd 12 pm PST
• April 17th 12 pm PST
• May 1st 12 pm PST

Provide your information below to be notified first when our application becomes available!

Information security:

Due to the sensitive nature of information collected during the admissions process, Gather Well has partnered with Homecoming, a HIPPA compliant online client portal, to ensure data privacy. As a Groundwork applicant, you will be directed to sign up for a free account with Homecoming using your email address and a personalized password. Once you have created an account, you will have access to your client portal which will include all pertinent documents (detailed below).

Enrollment Details and Timeline:

Step 1

Submit Application: February 3rd – May 9th

• Fill out an application form 
• Submit $65 fee

Submit your application by March 31 to be considered during PHASE ONE OF REVIEWS.

The final application deadline is May 9th but we may close earlier if we have enough applicants. 

We encourage you to apply as early as possible as applicants will be assessed for compatibility with the program and accepted on a first come, first serve basis.

Once you have filled out your Groundwork application, you will be contacted by our team to complete your next steps in the admissions process through Homecoming. 

To estimate what your tuition will be in our means-based tuition approach visit our TUITION ASSESSMENT CALCULATOR.

 Written applications will be reviewed by a panel of admissions facilitators, program development staff, and a health screening panel. Eligible applicants will be sent a health compatibility screening for the residential retreats involving psilocybin;  incompatible applicants will be informed of incompatibility for the program at this time.

Step 2

Participate in an Interview: March 17th- May 23rd

Eligible applicants will be invited to an initial interview to be held sometime between March 17th – May 23rd. This will consist of a 45 minute – 1 hour interview, with admissions facilitators who will ask follow up questions based on the application and health screening assessment and the applicant will have the chance to ask questions as well. Compatible applicants will be invited to a daylong in-person experiential workshop; incompatible applicants will be informed of incompatibility for the program at this time.

Step 3

Participate in an Admission Workshop May 31st or June 15th

If you are invited to participate in the experiential workshop, you will be asked to submit an experiential fee of $125 (*cost of experiential is subject to change). Receipt of the experiential workshop fee is required prior to attendance.

Eligible applicants are invited to a day-long, online experiential workshop that provides facilitated personal development opportunities, gives applicants a sense of the program, and serves as the final part of the admissions process where admission facilitators will be able to observe applicants relating to others and the workshop topics. These experiential workshops will occur over the course of a full 6-hour day. The workshop will be of value unto itself and a personal development experience. Compatible applicants will be invited to join the program; incompatible applicants will be informed of incompatibility for the program at this time.

Step 4

Admission to program

If, after attending the experiential workshop, you are invited to participate in the Groundwork program, you will be asked to sign your tuition contract and pay your deposit (20% of your total tuition cost). Receipt of your tuition deposit and signed tuition contract is required within 2 weeks of receiving notice of acceptance to reserve your spot in the Groundwork program.

Accepted applicants will be organized into cohorts of 8-15 people based on location. As dates for programs, particularly the residential retreats, will vary cohort to cohort, we will organize accepted applicants taking into account any significant scheduling conflicts.