ACTIVATE YOUR INNER HEALER™

Upcoming Retreats & Events in Coldspring, TX | Golden Hill

Gather • Experience • Transform

Upcoming Retreats & Events

Golden Hill Retreat Center is honored to welcome gifted facilitators from Texas and beyond who bring their own unique retreats, workshops and transformational experiences to our peaceful grounds. From meditation and movement to spiritual exploration, creativity and holistic wellness, each gathering offers a new opportunity to connect, learn and return more deeply to yourself.

A sacred place for meaningful gatherings and inspired experiences.

Discernment in Psychedelic Therapy | Safety & Emergency Training | Texas

Professional Training • Safety • Discernment

Discernment in Psychedelic Therapy

Beyond Safe Set & Setting

A two-day professional training in discernment, safety, emergency preparedness, scope of practice, and CPR/AED education for psychedelic and ceremonial practitioners.

October 3–4, 2026 Coldspring, Texas Professional Training

Why This Training Matters

When Is an Intense Experience Part of the Process— and When Is More Help Needed?

As psychedelic therapies, ceremonial medicines, and expanded states of consciousness become more widely used, practitioners increasingly encounter experiences that can be difficult to interpret.

Most journeys unfold safely. Some become emotionally or psychologically intense. A small number may involve genuine medical or psychiatric emergencies.

The challenge is knowing the difference—and knowing what to do next.

This training was created to help practitioners recognize warning signs, understand the limits of their role, respond appropriately, and know when additional professional or emergency support may be needed.

This is where science, safety, and spirituality meet.

Who Should Attend?

Built for Practitioners Working in Expanded States

The training is designed especially for professionals, practitioners, facilitators, and support people who may encounter intense physical, emotional, psychological, or spiritual experiences in their work.

Psychedelic facilitators and sitters
Ceremony leaders and shamanic practitioners
Integration coaches
Retreat staff
Harm-reduction and peer-support professionals
Breathwork, somatic, meditation, and energy practitioners
Spiritual guides
Mental health and healthcare professionals

Two-Day Professional Training

From Discernment to Emergency Preparedness

Day 1 • Saturday, October 3 10-5PM

Discernment in Psychedelic Therapy

Learn practical frameworks for distinguishing between an intense but potentially manageable psychedelic experience and a situation requiring additional medical or psychiatric evaluation.

Understanding Altered States

  • Common psychedelic and psycho-spiritual experiences
  • Psychological distress, trauma responses, and spiritual emergence
  • Physical, emotional, and behavioral responses in non-ordinary states

Recognizing Red Flags

  • Significant changes in consciousness
  • Breathing and circulatory concerns
  • Seizure recognition
  • Heat-related illness
  • Cardiac warning signs
  • Severe agitation or confusion
  • Potential medication interactions
  • Situations exceeding a facilitator’s scope

Medical Crisis vs. Psycho-Spiritual Crisis

Explore practical ways of considering whether an experience may represent transformation, trauma activation, panic, psychological distress, or a potential medical or psychiatric emergency.

Scope, Ethics & Referral

Understand when supportive presence may be appropriate—and when consultation, referral, or emergency medical services may be necessary.

Communication During Crisis

Explore strategies for communicating with participants, families, healthcare professionals, and emergency responders.

Creating a Culture of Safety

Preparation, screening, observation, documentation, emergency planning, and collaborative care.

Day 2 • Sunday, October 4 10-5PM

Emergency Response & CPR/AED Training

Practical Skills for Safer Ceremonies & Retreats

Day 2 moves from discernment into practical emergency preparedness. Participants will explore how to respond when an unexpected event occurs in a psychedelic, ceremonial, retreat, or consciousness-expansion setting.

Emergency Response Education

Practical emergency response education and CPR/AED training designed to help participants recognize, respond, communicate, and escalate appropriately.

CPR/AED certification may be provided upon successful completion of the designated training and all requirements of the applicable certifying program.

Recognize. Respond. Know Your Limits. Know when to call for help.

A Culture of Responsible Care

Psychedelic Safety Requires More Than Set & Setting.

It requires discernment. It requires preparation. It requires knowing the limits of your role. And it requires relationships between medical, psychological, and ceremonial communities so that people can receive appropriate support when they need it.

We believe the future of responsible psychedelic care can be strengthened when science and spirituality are willing to sit at the same table.

Education. Discernment. Collaboration. Safety.

October 3–4, 2026 10-5PM

Reserve Your Space

Space is intentionally limited to support hands-on practice, meaningful discussion, and interactive learning.

Full Two-Day Training $650
Saturday Only $395 Discernment in Psychedelic Therapy
Sunday Only $295 Emergency Response & CPR/AED Training

Vegetarian lunch is included each day.

Golden Hill Retreat Center
7160 FM 224 Rd
Coldspring, TX 77331

Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is this psychedelic safety training for?

The training is designed especially for psychedelic facilitators, sitters, ceremony leaders, shamanic practitioners, integration coaches, retreat staff, harm-reduction and peer-support professionals, breathwork and somatic practitioners, spiritual guides, and mental health or healthcare professionals interested in psychedelic support.

What will participants learn?

Participants will explore altered states, warning signs, medical versus psycho-spiritual crises, scope of practice, communication during crisis, emergency planning, observation, documentation, referral, and appropriate escalation.

Does the training include CPR/AED certification?

Day 2 includes emergency response education and CPR/AED training. Participants who successfully complete the designated training and all requirements of the applicable certifying program may receive the corresponding CPR/AED certification from the authorized training provider.

Does this certify me as a psychedelic therapist or medical professional?

No. The program provides educational training and a Certificate of Participation or Completion only. It does not confer a medical license, clinical credential, psychedelic therapy credential, or authorization to diagnose or treat medical or psychiatric conditions.

Important Educational & Scope-of-Practice Notice

This program is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Participation does not confer a license, medical credential, clinical qualification, or authorization to diagnose, treat, prescribe for, or independently manage any medical or psychiatric condition.

The workshop is intended to improve general awareness, emergency preparedness, recognition of potential warning signs, understanding of professional boundaries, and appropriate escalation or referral. Participants are responsible for practicing within the scope permitted by their individual education, training, licensure or certification, and applicable laws and regulations.

Completion of this program provides a Certificate of Participation or Completion only and should not be represented as certification or credentialing in psychedelic therapy, medicine, emergency medicine, or mental health treatment.

CPR/AED certification is separate. Participants who successfully complete the designated CPR/AED training and all requirements of the applicable certifying program may receive the corresponding CPR/AED certification from the authorized training provider.

This training does not replace professional medical evaluation, emergency medical services, mental health assessment, or other appropriately licensed healthcare services. In an actual or suspected emergency, participants should activate appropriate emergency services and follow established emergency protocols.

Participation in this course does not create a physician-patient, therapist-client, or other healthcare-provider relationship between attendees and the host, Golden Hill Retreat Center, or affiliated organizations.

“What does this person need right now— and who is best qualified to provide it?”

Education. Discernment. Collaboration. Safety.

Meet Your Hosts

Held by the land, guided by experience, and supported by those devoted to creating spaces for transformation, connection, and remembrance.

Dr. Nelson Valena

Dr. Nelson Valena

Founder • Host • Wholistic Practitioner

Dr. Nelson Valeña is a board-certified Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation physician with a subspecialty in Brain Injury Medicine and more than 30 years of clinical experience.

Following his own recovery from a stroke in 2011, his work expanded into integrative medicine, energy medicine, medical hypnotherapy, shamanic healing, and psychedelic-assisted therapies.

Having participated in psychedelic work in both clinical and traditional ceremonial settings in the United States and internationally, Dr. Valeña advocates for safe, ethical, and responsible dialogue around psychedelic therapies.

As co-founder of Golden Hill Retreat Center and founder of the Entheogenic Practitioners Network (EPN), his mission is to help create meaningful collaboration among physicians, therapists, researchers, first responders, psychedelic facilitators, and traditional practitioners.

Stephanie

Dr. Stephanie Burgos

Host • Practitioner • Guide

Emergency Medicine Physician • Shamanic & Somatic Practitioner • Breathwork Facilitator

Dr. Stephanie Burgos is a board-certified Emergency Medicine physician whose work bridges modern medicine, nervous-system regulation, somatic practice, and sacred healing traditions.

Her years in emergency medicine have cultivated the ability to remain calm and discerning during medical, psychological, and emotional crises. Combined with her experience in shamanic, somatic, breathwork, and ceremonial practices, she brings a multidisciplinary perspective to psychedelic care.

Dr. Burgos will share practical insights into screening, risk assessment, medical contraindications, emergency recognition, and the discernment required when considering psycho-spiritual experiences alongside situations requiring professional medical or psychiatric intervention.

Valerie

Valerie McKenzie

Host • Practitioner • Guide

Founder, Ancient Roots Alchemy • Trained First Responder • CPR/AED/First Aid Instructor • Advanced Master Herbalist • Trauma-Informed Practitioner

Valerie McKenzie brings more than a decade of experience across emergency response, medical, and holistic wellness environments, including more than six years supporting plant medicine ceremonies, breathwork, somatic practices, and integrative healing spaces.

Her work bridges practical emergency preparedness with trauma-informed and ceremonial approaches to care.

Valerie will provide practical tools for emergency response, early warning recognition, risk reduction, and safety protocols while emphasizing that effective emergency preparedness begins long before an emergency occurs.

Held by people. Supported by place. Activated through connection.

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Retreat in Texas | October 9–11, 2026 | Golden Hill Retreat Center
GOLDEN HILL RETREAT CENTER • COLDSpring, TEXAS

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Retreat

A 3-Day Therapeutic Retreat for Healers, Guides, Seekers & Curious Souls

October 9–11, 2026

The healers.
The guides.
The seekers.

For those who lead with intention and feel devoted to the path of healing— whether for themselves, for others, or both.

Begin Your Journey

Limited to 8 guests for an intimate, highly supported retreat experience.

A NEW CHAPTER AT GOLDEN HILL

When Healing Becomes an Invitation to Explore

Golden Hill Retreat Center is opening its doors to a new dimension of therapeutic and integrative healing.

This intimate retreat brings together psychotherapy, medical oversight, preparation, integration, nervous-system regulation, nature, ceremony, and complementary wellness experiences within a thoughtfully designed retreat environment.

For those who feel called to go deeper, this is an opportunity to slow down, listen inward, and explore the deeper layers of your inner world with intention and support.

Together, we create space for the wisdom of the mind, body, relationships, and spirit to inform the healing process.

THE OPPORTUNITY

A Different Way of Seeing

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) combines ketamine treatment with structured psychotherapy, preparation, and integration. For individuals who are medically eligible, the experience may create an opportunity to step outside familiar narratives, explore new perspectives, reconnect with values, and consider behaviors that are more aligned with the life they want to live.

01

What became clear to me?

02

What am I ready to release?

03

What do I want to move toward?

04

What choices would bring my life into greater alignment with that intention?

OUR INTENTION

We Co-Create the Ecosystem Around the Experience

The medicine is only one part of the journey. The environment surrounding the experience matters.

01

Nature

Helps quiet external stimulation and creates space for reflection, presence, and restoration.

02

Breath & Somatics

Supports nervous-system awareness, embodiment, grounding, and connection with the body.

03

Community

Creates connection, belonging, shared reflection, and a sense of being witnessed in the process.

04

Psychotherapy

Provides psychological preparation, therapeutic containment, relational support, and integration.

05

Ceremony

Creates space for meaning, reflection, intention, and honoring what emerges from the experience.

06

Integration

Helps translate insights and experiences into practical choices, behaviors, relationships, and everyday life.

An intentional therapeutic ecosystem may create greater opportunity to move:

From protection toward receptivity
From control toward appropriate surrender
From habitual patterns toward new possibilities
MEET YOUR CARE TEAM

Experienced Guides. Collaborative Care. Intentional Support.

This retreat brings together therapeutic preparation and integration, medical evaluation and oversight, and the restorative environment of Golden Hill Retreat Center.

Dr. Nelson Valena, MD, co-founder of Golden Hill Retreat Center
GOLDEN HILL RETREAT CENTER

Dr. Nelson Valena, MD

Co-Founder of Golden Hill Retreat Center and a physician dedicated to whole-person health and integrative healing.

Nelson brings a grounded, welcoming presence and decades of clinical experience to the broader healing environment of Golden Hill.

Margot Kahn, MA, LMFT, CPAT, co-founder of Intuitive Integration
INTUITIVE INTEGRATION

Margot Kahn, MA, LMFT, CPAT

Co-Founder of Intuitive Integration and a trauma-informed therapist supporting individuals and couples through deeper healing.

Her work integrates attachment, relational, and mind-body approaches to help participants prepare for meaningful therapeutic work and integrate what emerges.

Jorge Begun, MA, LMFT, CPAT, co-founder of Intuitive Integration
INTUITIVE INTEGRATION

Jorge Begun, MA, LMFT, CPAT

Co-Founder of Intuitive Integration and a therapist supporting individuals and couples through mindfulness, relational healing, and an integrated mind-body-spirit approach.

Jorge brings a compassionate, grounded presence to preparation, therapeutic support, and integration.

THREE PARTNERS IN YOUR CARE

One Retreat. Three Complementary Layers of Support.

01

Intuitive Integration

Therapeutic preparation, psychotherapy, intention-setting, psychological support, and integration.

02

Journey Clinical

Independent medical evaluation, determination of medical eligibility, ketamine prescribing, medication management, and medical oversight.

03

Golden Hill Retreat Center

Lodging, hospitality, retreat programming, nature, complementary wellness experiences, ceremony, and an intentional environment for reflection and integration.

IMPORTANT MEDICAL DISTINCTION

Journey Clinical provides the independent medical evaluation and, when clinically appropriate, the ketamine prescription. Medical eligibility, prescribing decisions, medication management, and clinical instructions are determined by the appropriate Journey Clinical medical professionals.

Golden Hill Retreat Center does not prescribe, dispense, sell, or independently provide ketamine. Participation in the retreat does not guarantee medical eligibility for ketamine treatment.

THE GOLDEN HILL RETREAT CENTER EXPERIENCE

Where Science, Psychology & Personal Meaning Can Coexist

Nestled among the pine forests of Coldspring, Texas, Golden Hill Retreat Center offers a peaceful environment for reflection, restoration, and deep inner work.

Throughout the retreat, participants will have access to a carefully selected collection of complementary wellness experiences designed to support relaxation, embodiment, reflection, and restoration.

Tachyon Chamber

30-minute restorative session.

Vibroacoustic Experience

30-minute sound and vibration session.

Rife Experience

30-minute complementary wellness session.

BrainTap

30-minute guided brain-entrainment experience.

Nature & Reflection

Time to slow down, walk, breathe, and reconnect.

Fire & Cacao Ceremony

Community, reflection, meaning, and connection.

THE 3-DAY EXPERIENCE

Prepare. Explore. Integrate.

The retreat is intentionally structured around preparation, therapeutic experience, rest, reflection, and integration.

DAY 01

Prepare & Receive

  • Arrival & Welcome
  • Bio-Well Scan & Baseline Assessments
  • Nervous System Regulation Practices
  • Breath, Somatic & BrainTap Practices
  • Intention Setting & Preparation Circle
  • Ketamine-Assisted Session #1
  • A gentle introduction to the therapeutic experience
  • Rest, Nourishment & Evening Circle
DAY 02

Explore & Deepen

  • Morning Integration & Movement
  • Restorative Modalities & Nature Time
  • Preparation & Therapeutic Check-In
  • Ketamine-Assisted Session #2
  • Deepen. Release. Explore.
  • Protected Landing & Integration
  • Fire & Cacao Ceremony
  • Community Fire & Connection
DAY 03

Integrate & Embody

  • Bio-Well Scan & Integration Review
  • Somatic Practices & Nature Immersion
  • Integration Workshop
  • Personal Integration Plan
  • Your 72-Hour Integration Blueprint
  • Closing Circle & Blessing
  • Departure
SAFETY FIRST

Intention Is Powerful. Preparation Is Essential.

Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is not appropriate for everyone. Participation in ketamine-assisted sessions is contingent upon independent medical evaluation and clinical eligibility.

01

Therapeutic Preparation

Explore intentions, expectations, concerns, readiness, and grounding strategies before the experience.

02

Medical Evaluation

Journey Clinical independently evaluates medical and psychiatric history to determine whether treatment is appropriate.

03

Supported Experience

Therapeutic support, preparation, dosing guidance, and integration are part of the broader KAP model.

04

Integration

The work continues after the experience through reflection, psychotherapy, embodiment, and practical integration.

RETREAT INVESTMENT

An Intimate 3-Day Retreat

$1,700

Golden Hill Retreat Fee

Your Golden Hill Retreat Fee Includes

  • Private-room lodging
  • Vegetarian meals throughout your stay
  • 30-minute Tachyon Chamber session
  • 30-minute Vibroacoustic session
  • 30-minute Rife session
  • 30-minute BrainTap session
  • Retreat programming and therapeutic experience
  • Preparation and integration activities surrounding the retreat
  • Programming surrounding two scheduled therapeutic ketamine sessions for medically eligible participants
  • Fire Ceremony
  • Cacao Ceremony
  • Nature, reflection, movement, and community experiences
SEPARATE MEDICAL & KETAMINE FEES

Journey Clinical

Medical services through Journey Clinical are separate from the Golden Hill Retreat Fee.

Journey Clinical independently determines medical eligibility, treatment appropriateness, prescribing, and patient responsibility. Insurance coverage and out-of-pocket costs may vary.

Please verify current Journey Clinical pricing, insurance coverage, and patient responsibility directly with Journey Clinical before completing registration.

Golden Hill Retreat Fee $1,700 Medical / Ketamine Services Separate Medical eligibility is determined independently and is not guaranteed by retreat registration.
Registration Deadline: September 9, 2026 Limited to 8 guests.
YOUR JOURNEY BEGINS HERE

Four Steps Toward Your Retreat

01

Apply

Reserve your place in this intimate retreat experience. Registration does not guarantee medical eligibility for ketamine treatment.

Complete Application
02

Begin Therapeutic Preparation

After your application, an Intuitive Integration therapist will connect with you for an interview focused on intention-setting, psychological preparation, safety, and readiness.

03

Complete Your Medical Evaluation

Journey Clinical provides an independent medical evaluation to determine whether ketamine-assisted treatment is medically appropriate. If eligible, their medical team determines the treatment plan and prescription.

04

Prepare & Journey

Once medically cleared and prescribed, participants follow Journey Clinical's medication and clinical instructions while participating in the retreat's preparation, therapeutic support, and integration framework.

IS THIS RETREAT FOR YOU?

For Those Who Feel Called to Go Deeper

This retreat may resonate with people who are curious about therapeutic ketamine work and are willing to engage in preparation, psychotherapy, and integration as part of the process.

Healers
Guides
Seekers
Helping Professionals
Therapists
Caregivers
Curious Souls
Those Seeking New Perspectives
GOLDEN HILL RETREAT CENTER

We Invite You to Take This Journey With Us.

From the moment you arrive, our intention is to create a space where you can slow down, reconnect, reflect, and feel supported as you move through this deeply personal work.

We believe meaningful transformation does not happen through one experience alone. It emerges through the relationship between preparation, experience, reflection, integration, and the choices we make afterward.

What happens when you stop asking, “What is wrong with me?” and begin asking, “What is ready to become possible?”

Register Here

October 9–11, 2026 • Coldspring, Texas • Limited to 8 Guests

Medical & Participation Disclaimer: Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy involves prescription medication and is not appropriate for everyone. Medical eligibility, prescribing, dosing instructions, medication management, and clinical decisions are determined independently by the appropriate Journey Clinical medical professionals. Golden Hill Retreat Center does not prescribe, dispense, sell, or independently provide ketamine. Retreat registration does not guarantee medical eligibility or participation in ketamine treatment. Participants must follow all medical, therapeutic, and safety instructions provided by their treating professionals.

Golden Hill Retreat · Coldspring, Texas

The Embodied Awakening Retreat

A Weekend of Presence, Energy & Transformation

Step into a sacred weekend of grounding, activation, embodiment, celebration and integration. The Embodied Awakening Retreat invites you to reconnect with your body, awaken your inner energy, expand your awareness and return home with a deeper sense of presence, clarity and aliveness.

Dates Friday, October 30 – Sunday, November 1
Location Golden Hill Retreat, Coldspring, TX
Experience Presence · Energy · Embodiment · Transformation
Registration [email protected]

Friday — Arrival & Opening

Theme: Grounding into Presence

Friday Schedule
Time Activity
3:00 PM – 5:00 PMArrival & Check-In
5:00 PM – 6:00 PMWelcome Tea, Opening Circle & Intentions
6:00 PM – 7:00 PMDinner
7:00 PM – 8:00 PMHouse of Essence — Egyptian Oils Experience & Sensory Ritual
8:00 PM – 9:00 PMCacao Ceremony
9:00 PM onwardFree Time

Saturday — Activation, Embodiment & Celebration

Theme: Energy, Expansion & Expression

Saturday Schedule
Time Activity
7:00 AM – 8:00 AMMorning Yoga & Breathwork
8:00 AM – 9:00 AMBreakfast
9:00 AM – 10:00 AMKAP Session
10:00 AM – 10:30 AMIntegration, Journaling & Sharing
10:30 AM – 11:30 AMMAP Session
11:30 AM – 12:00 PMIntegration, Journaling & Sharing
12:00 PM – 1:00 PMLunch
1:00 PM – 3:00 PMHealing Services & Nature Time
3:00 PM – 4:00 PMKAP Session
4:00 PM – 4:30 PMIntegration, Journaling & Sharing
4:30 PM – 5:30 PMMAP Session
5:30 PM – 6:00 PMIntegration, Journaling & Sharing
6:00 PM – 7:00 PMDinner
7:00 PM – 8:00 PMCostume Transformation & Preparation
8:00 PM – 10:00 PMHalloween Ecstatic Dance Journey
10:00 PM onwardFree Time

Sunday — Integration & Completion

Theme: Reflection, Connection & Embodied Presence

Sunday Schedule
Time Activity
7:00 AM – 8:00 AMMorning Yoga & Breathwork
8:00 AM – 9:00 AMBreakfast
9:00 AM – 10:00 AMNon-Dual Guided Meditation
10:00 AM – 10:30 AMIntegration Break
10:30 AM – 11:00 AMEye Gazing Practice
11:00 AM – 12:00 PMClosing Circle & Sharing
12:00 PM – 1:00 PMLunch
1:00 PMDepartures
After 1:00 PMOptional Additional Healing Services & Personal Integration Time

Retreat Highlights

  • Yoga and breathwork for nervous system grounding
  • KAP and MAP sessions for energetic activation and embodiment
  • Cacao ceremony for heart-centered connection
  • Egyptian oils sensory ritual through House of Essence
  • Halloween ecstatic dance journey for movement and expression
  • Non-dual guided meditation for expanded awareness
  • Integration, journaling and sharing circles
  • Optional healing services and nature-based personal integration

Register for The Embodied Awakening Retreat

To request registration details, availability and next steps, contact the retreat registration team.

Email [email protected]