The experience.
A private retreat in the Colorado mountains, built around you. From your arrival at the airport to your final integration session, every element is designed with intention, held with care, and grounded in clinical expertise.
What a retreat looks like.
A Cedars and Spores retreat is not a hospital stay and it is not a spa weekend. It is a carefully structured therapeutic experience set in a private mountain property, attended by a medical team, and designed to create the conditions for meaningful work with psilocybin.
You will be picked up at Denver International Airport and driven into the mountains. You will eat meals prepared specifically for you. You will have time for quiet, for preparation, for the experience itself, and for integration afterward. You will be supervised by a physician and guided by a psychologist. And then you will return home with a framework for continuing the work that began on the mountain.
Every retreat is individual. We work with one client or family at a time. There are no shared sessions, no group dynamics, and no strangers. Your care team is focused entirely on you.
Before You Arrive
The work begins before the mountain.
The published research is clear: preparation is not optional. The quality of screening, medical review, and psychological preparation directly influences the safety and therapeutic value of the experience. We take this phase as seriously as the session itself.
01
Private Consultation
Your journey begins with a confidential conversation with a member of our clinical team. This is not a sales call. It is an opportunity for us to understand your situation, answer your questions honestly, and determine together whether this work is appropriate for you.
02
Medical Review
A thorough medical review conducted by our physician. We examine your health history, current medications, and any conditions that may affect safety. With your consent, we coordinate with your existing medical providers to ensure continuity of care. This process exists to protect you.
03
Psychological Preparation
Before arriving at the mountain, you will have one or more sessions with your psychologist. These sessions establish the therapeutic relationship, explore your intentions, and prepare you psychologically for the experience. Research consistently shows that preparation quality directly influences outcomes.
04
Logistics and Travel
Our concierge team handles every logistical detail -- dietary needs, travel arrangements, airport pickup, and property preparation. You should arrive with nothing to manage except yourself.
Set and Setting
The mountain as therapeutic environment.
The phrase “set and setting” originated in the earliest psychedelic research and remains central to the clinical literature today. “Set” refers to your mindset -- your intentions, expectations, and psychological preparation. “Setting” refers to the physical and social environment in which the experience takes place.
We chose the Colorado high country deliberately. The altitude, the silence, the old-growth forest, the distance from ordinary life -- these are not amenities. They are part of the therapeutic architecture. Research consistently demonstrates that environment influences outcomes, and we believe the mountain holds a quality of stillness that supports this work in ways a clinical office cannot.
Each retreat property is selected for privacy, beauty, and seclusion. You will have exclusive use of the property for the duration of your stay.
Standard Retreat
The Standard Weekend: Friday through Sunday
Friday
Arrival & Preparation
Your retreat begins when our car service meets you at Denver International Airport. The drive into the mountains takes approximately 90 minutes to two hours, depending on the property selected for your retreat.
Upon arrival at your private mountain retreat, you will be welcomed by your care team. After settling in, your chef will serve dinner. Following dinner, your psychologist will lead a preparation session -- a structured conversation reviewing your intentions, discussing what to expect, and establishing the therapeutic framework for the days ahead. This session typically lasts 60 to 90 minutes.
The evening is yours. We encourage rest. The mountain at night has a quality of silence that many clients describe as part of the preparation itself.
Saturday
The Experience
The morning begins with an optional yoga and meditation session designed to ground you in your body and bring awareness to your breath. A light breakfast is served, planned by the chef to be nourishing without being heavy.
The psilocybin session takes place mid-morning, in a comfortable, prepared space. Your psychologist is present throughout. Dr. Kraus or a registered nurse provides continuous medical oversight, including periodic vital sign monitoring.
The experience itself typically lasts four to six hours. Your care team remains present, available, and attentive -- but this is your experience. Our approach is supportive, not directive. We hold the space. We do not steer it. Research from Johns Hopkins and NYU has demonstrated that this supportive, non-directive model is associated with the strongest therapeutic outcomes.
Following the experience, a gentle dinner is served. The evening is unstructured and unhurried.
Sunday
Integration & Departure
The morning begins with optional yoga and meditation. After breakfast, your psychologist leads a formal integration session. Integration is not a summary or a debrief. It is the beginning of the process by which the experience becomes meaningful in your daily life -- translating insight into lasting shifts in perspective, acceptance, and peace.
Following a chef-prepared lunch, your car service returns you to Denver International Airport, typically by mid-afternoon.
Extended Retreat
The Extended Weekend: Friday through Monday
For clients who would benefit from a two-session series, we offer an extended weekend retreat. The structure follows the same framework, with a second psilocybin session on Sunday and a full integration day on Monday.
The extended weekend is not appropriate for every client. Your clinical team will discuss whether a single or two-session format best serves your needs during the consultation process. This decision is clinical, not commercial -- it is based on your situation, your goals, and the judgment of your care team.
Family and companions.
We understand that serious illness affects families, not just individuals. A spouse, partner, adult child, or close companion may accompany you on the retreat. They will have their own comfortable accommodations at the property and will be welcome at meals and during appropriate portions of the experience.
Your psychologist can work with your companion before and after the session to help them understand the process and support your integration. For clients in palliative or end-of-life care, our end-of-life doula is also available to provide support to family members.
Companion participation is discussed during the consultation process and coordinated by our team. Their presence is designed to support your experience, not to complicate it.
After You Leave
Integration does not end on the mountain.
The psilocybin session is often the most vivid part of the retreat. But the research is consistent: integration -- the process of making meaning from the experience and translating it into your life -- is where the lasting therapeutic value is realized.
Your relationship with Cedars and Spores does not end when you leave the mountain. We provide structured follow-up at multiple intervals after your retreat, including integration sessions with your psychologist, well-being check-ins with our clinical team, and validated outcome measurement to track your progress over time.
We also support you in communicating with your existing care providers about your experience, if you choose. Our goal is to integrate this work into the broader arc of your care, not to operate as an isolated event.
Structured Integration Sessions
Follow-up sessions with your psychologist to process the experience, address emerging questions, and support the translation of insight into daily life.
Outcome Measurement
We use validated clinical instruments to track your well-being over time. This is not bureaucratic -- it is how we ensure this work is producing the results that matter to you.
Care Coordination
With your consent, we share relevant clinical information with your existing providers to ensure your care remains coordinated and continuous.
What is included.
- Private car service: Denver International Airport pickup and return
- Exclusive use of a private mountain retreat property
- All chef-prepared meals from Friday evening through departure
- Licensed psychologist: preparation, session support, and integration
- Physician or registered nurse: medical oversight throughout
- Yoga and meditation sessions
- End-of-life doula support (when clinically indicated)
- Pre-retreat medical screening and consultation
- Post-retreat integration follow-up at multiple intervals
- Concierge coordination of all logistics
Who we work with.
Cedars and Spores works with adults who are exploring psilocybin-assisted therapy as a complement to their existing care. Our clinical team has particular expertise in working with individuals who are:
Living with serious or life-limiting illness
Experiencing distress related to their diagnosis, prognosis, or the existential weight of their situation.
Facing end-of-life anxiety or depression
That has not responded adequately to conventional approaches.
Navigating existential distress
The deep questioning of meaning, purpose, and identity that often accompanies serious illness, loss, or significant life transitions.
Seeking a medically supervised setting
Because safety, clinical expertise, and evidence-based protocols matter to them.
We also work with individuals experiencing treatment-resistant depression and other conditions for which psilocybin-assisted therapy has demonstrated preliminary evidence of benefit in clinical research.
Psilocybin-assisted therapy is not appropriate for everyone. Certain medical and psychiatric conditions are contraindications. Our screening process exists to protect you -- and we will be transparent with you if we determine that proceeding is not in your best interest.
Your Safety
Safety is not a feature. It is the foundation.
Every element of the Cedars and Spores retreat -- from initial screening to post-retreat follow-up -- is designed with safety as the non-negotiable priority. Our protocols are informed by the controlled clinical trials that established the safety profile of psilocybin-assisted therapy, adapted for a private retreat setting under direct physician supervision.
Medical Screening
Comprehensive health review with strict contraindication criteria before any session is scheduled.
Physician On-Site
A physician or registered nurse is present throughout your retreat with continuous monitoring capability.
Emergency Preparedness
Detailed emergency protocols, medical supplies, and coordination with local emergency services at every property.
Informed Consent
A thorough informed consent process that ensures you understand the benefits, risks, and alternatives before participating.
This begins with a conversation.
Our application process is straightforward, confidential, and without obligation. A member of our clinical team will respond within 48 hours.