Retreat Policies

Safety-First Screening Protocol

Retreat attendance is contingent on screening. While meditation’s benefits to mental health are well-documented and can be profound, it may also surface difficult emotions or experiences. For some people, these experiences can last hours, days, or longer. We discuss this topic in detail in this blog post.

Our Commitment to Safety

We recognize the trust that retreat participants are placing in us and we take our responsibility for each attendee’s safety and well-being seriously. As part of this responsibility, it is important to be explicit about how we can and cannot support participants on retreat.

Important Note: We do not provide medical support on our retreats.

We are comfortable referring participants to mental health professionals if desired but the team may not always include a psychotherapist or clinical psychologist.

Screening Process

We require all attendees to:

  1. Share information about their mental health histories during the retreat sign-up process

  2. Participate in a pre-retreat call, if deemed necessary.

This information helps us provide the appropriate level of support. Attendees who don't provide this information will not be able to join us on retreat.

Exclusion Criteria

We believe the risks may be greater for individuals with a history of recent or unmanaged mental health issues. We are following criteria inspired by Imperial College London’s exclusion criteria for psychedelic research, which includes:

  1. Current dependence to alcohol or illicit substances 

  2. Lifetime history of or current psychotic disorder/mania (schizophrenia, bipolar, drug induced psychosis) 

  3. One or more immediate (1st degree) family members with a current or previously diagnosed psychotic disorder

  4. History of suicide attempt that required hospitalization or presence of suicide/serious self-harm risk

  5. Current use of psychotropic medication (e.g., antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, etc.), but excluding psychotropic antidepressants. 

  6. Diagnosed borderline personality disorder/ complex-PTSD

  7. Diagnosed eating disorder with active purging

  8. Diagnosed dementia

Note on Antidepressants: We've had people join us successfully in the past while on antidepressants. We'll reach out to discuss if we can support you in this case.

Questions?

If you have any questions about how this policy might apply to your particular situation, we're happy to discuss with you. Please reach out to us at retreats@jhourney.io.

Flexible Cancellation Policy

Online Retreats

  • 30+ days prior to start date: Full refund

  • 15-30 days prior to start date: 100% credit toward another retreat

  • Less than 15 days prior to start date until start date: 50% credit toward another retreat.

In-Person Retreats

  • 60+ days prior to start date: Full refund or credit

  • 31-60 days prior to start date: 100% credit towards another retreat.

  • 15-30 days prior to start date: 50% credit towards another retreat.

  • Less than 15 days prior to start date: Unfortunately, due to the significant fixed logistical costs, we're unable to provide a refund.