14-day retreat immersions at Posada Natura Retreat Center in Londres, Costa Rica
Community support model
Optional post-program sober living integration
Peer support group sessions
Individualized counseling sessions
Integrating entheogenic plant sacrament ceremonies, spiritual care, and contemplative practice
A 3-month program with over 50 hours of educational preparatory and integration work:
A unique spiritual care immersion and integration program dedicated to addressing a broad range of addictions
We offer long-term programs that integrate entheogenic plant medicine ceremonies, a social model for recovery with peer support, nature immersion, and instruction in contemplative practice. This is a non-profit offering in collaboration between Recovery Nexus, a non-profit recovery organization, and Circle of Sacred Nature Church.
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Preparation: Month 1.0
Assessment
Scientifically-validated addiction scales and comprehensive screening
Instruction in contemplative practice
Drawing from various traditions and evidence-based approaches
Process-oriented recovery
Through online coursework and a learning portal
Group + Individual sessions
Led by our team of facilitators
Ceremony Preparation, Education, & Guidance
Supportive care and structure before the immersion
Immersion: Month 1.5
14-day immersion retreat
At Posada Natura in Costa Rica
3 plant sacrament ceremonies
Led by our team of experienced facilitators
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Yoga + meditation
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Nature immersion
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Sacred silence
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Organic vegetarian food
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Beautiful riverside accommodations
Integration + Instruction: Month 2.0
Immersion Integration
Individual and peer-led group integration
Instruction in contemplative practice
Drawing from various traditions and evidence-based approaches
Process-oriented recovery
Through online coursework and a learning portal
Group + Individual sessions
Led by our team of facilitators
Integration + Instruction: Month 3.0
Elements of long-term recovery
Integration, process development, and planning for long-term sobriety
Process-oriented recovery
Through online coursework and a learning portal
Group + Individual sessions
Led by our team of facilitators
Community Resources
Options for continued support, resources, and community
Our Understanding of Addiction
Addiction is a complex condition of body, mind, human relations, and spirit. In the pursuit of reward—and in the relief of pain, unresolved emotional experiences, and trauma—the elements of nature, nurture, and choice become tragically misaligned. Suffering, sadness, and often death, are the results.
We believe modern addiction exists on a spectrum that includes substances, screens, and compulsive behaviors. The profound consequences of process addictions—like eating disorders, pornography, sex, gambling, and shopping—are often overlooked or minimized.
We believe recovery is about clearing away the debris that prevents individuals from living holistically and joyfully. By unearthing fears, harmful conduct, trauma, attachments, obsessions, and the like, one’s highest Self can be revealed.
Deep self-examination along with the expansive transpersonal experiences accessed through contemplative disciplines—and responsible engagement with entheogenic plant medicine ceremonies—can bring a meaningful and satisfying change into one’s life. To put it another way, we dig as deep inside ourselves as possible to reconnect with our true Selves.
Who is this for?
This program is for anyone with 30 days of sobriety (shorter lengths are accepted on a case-by-case basis).
You may be new on the road to recovery, or you might be someone with years of sobriety looking to deepen their connection to Self. Wherever you are on that arc—and whether your addiction is a substance or screen—we welcome you.
We offer a flexible, tiered approach with long-term stays available for those who need immediate integration support and structure at Recovery Nexus.
All candidates go through an intensive application and screening process. We are pleased to be able to offer scholarships for this program for individuals with limited financial means who meet our scholarship requirements. BIPOC individuals and veterans with limited means are especially encouraged to apply.
Assessment
Optimally effective care for a person suffering from substance use or process disorders requires a clear evaluation of the severity of a person’s condition. By establishing an initial baseline of need, we are able to craft a personalized program of recovery that most suits that individual and is most likely to lead to a positive and enduring outcome.
For this purpose, we will be utilizing a holistic approach including scientifically-validated assessment scales. These tools are self-administered and then submitted for our evaluation. We will also administer a spiritual care and life review assessment.
Curriculum
Meet the Natura Care Program Faciliators
We have a highly experienced team of facilitators with extensive training and many years of experience in our respective lineages and disciplines.
Collaboratively Tailored Framework of Recovery
Every human being has its unique biology, psychology, and social circumstances. We honor that uniqueness and we work collaboratively with individuals to select the most appropriately tailored path for them. In addition to participating in our program, we recommend engagement with long-term complementary recovery support.
There are numerous processes of complementary care that we suggest a seeker choose from as a means of supporting their recovery and spiritual growth. These options include the 12 Steps, Refuge Recovery, Recovery Dharma, the Red Road to Well-briety, Recovery 2.0, and more. Each of these approaches combines the use of both reflection and action. When they are engaged at depth, they can yield impressive results. If one prefers another template of similar scope and substance, that can be adapted into their personal recovery plan.
While we encourage all NCP participants to engage with a complementary recovery program of their choice, we also understand that some individuals might not resonate with these options. We recognize that NCP’s nature-based + modern curriculum might appeal to those who have never been able to find a home in other recovery communities, in which case, we welcome you with open arms.
Our Approach
Our mission is to offer transformational healing opportunities by providing long-term spiritual care programs rooted in indigenous wisdom, evidence-based research, nature immersion, and peer support.
Our program features the wisdom of various perspectives, traditions, and approaches toward supporting recovery.
We understand that in working with individuals we also work with family systems and this is woven into our integrative approach. Addressing the root causes of addiction and bringing attention to the spiritual crisis that often underlies addictive tendencies is our goal. Our ethic is rooted in spiritual care and a sincere belief in supporting our participants to flourish, not just recover.
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In partnership with
Our programs are created in partnership with leaders in the field.
Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Reciprocity
A core part of the NCP mission is geared toward making our program accessible for diverse participants and also prioritizing scholarships to underrepresented communities. If you believe you may qualify for a scholarship, please reach out. Individuals that identify as BIPOC and veterans are especially encouraged to apply for scholarships.
We also recognize that healing goes beyond just the individual experience. To us, this means engaging in reciprocity to support the indigenous lineage where Circle Sacred Nature’s ceremonial practice is based. It also means working out of Posada Natura, a center dedicated to rainforest restoration and biodiversity conservation with its sister non-profit Eco Era. By participating in our program you are supporting an organization that is dedicated to social and environmental benefit as it relates to cultural and biological diversity.
2024 Dates
Cohort 1: Launches on January 15th, 2024 with an online curriculum and welcome event.
Two-week immersive retreat at Posada Natura from February 19 - March 3rd, 2024.
Cohort 1 Graduates on April 12th, 2024.
Cohort 2: Launches on June 10th, 2024 with an online curriculum and welcome event.
Two-week immersive retreat at Posada Natura from July 14th - July 28th, 2024.
Cohort 2 Graduates on August 30th, 2024.
*We accept participants on a rolling admissions basis. If you are interested, please apply ASAP as space is limited and room choice is determined on a first come first serve basis.
Instruction in Contemplative Practice
The cultivation of “mindfulness,” or emotional balance, has been observed to deeply enhance one’s quality of life and the durability of one’s newfound recovery. Mindfulness is an enormously constructive tool for all who are recovering from addictive disorders. Centeredness, self-awareness, emotional balancing, and self-resourcing practices are strong defenses against relapse.
Both the Eastern and Western worlds provide a wealth of meditative and contemplative practices that can be utilized powerfully for this objective. A major component of our curriculum is teaching evidence-based contemplative practices, taught by renowned experts.
Rich Opportunities for Aftercare and Integration
In many respects, the ceremonies are the easy part—it is our daily lives that bring the power of these transformative experiences to life. Integration is a foundational pillar of NCP. We will be collaborating with each participant to determine a tailored aftercare and integration program following the two-week residential retreat immersion. All participants will have access to our 6-week online integration program.
Depending on an individual’s needs, we will also recommend different tiers of complementary care. For those with more acute requirements, we are offering in-person stays at Recovery Nexus’s recovery residence in Washington state. We also will provide long-term nature immersion residencies at Poasada Nature for those who would like to continue the back half of the program surrounded by nature’s healing embrace.
I've never felt so balanced.
"As a former combat veteran and Army Ranger, I used to walk around with a low-grade depression and PTSD that had me drinking all the time. When I returned home from Natura Care Programs, my wife and friends didn't even recognize me. They said I was a different person. Because I am. I've never felt so balanced. This program and the medicine gave me everything."
Todd G.
Former Army Ranger
Great healing came through for me.
"Natura Care Programs really allowed for some great healing to come through for me. To feel at home in my body and to feel a great amount of hope for the future for my life and the people that surround me. My experience in this program has been one of connection, one of balancing, and a reminder of the harmonies of myself with nature."
Adam S.
Program Participant
I finally see myself shifting.
"I keep using the word *amazing* so I think I'm going to just go with it––it's been amazing. It's been the deepest work that I've done in a long time and I've experienced the greatest peace that I think I've ever experienced. I'm starting to see myself shifting and not going into the old places that I was used to going to."
Merrie R.
Program Participant
"My experience in this program has been one of connection, one of balancing, and a reminder of the harmonies of myself with nature."
Specialized Retreat Immersion Integration Program
Natura Care Integration Programs offers a unique opportunity to deepen one’s path toward wellness and recovery. It’s both a stand alone program for interested individuals to join as well as an extension program for NCP program participants to continue to receive ongoing support by extending their time at Posada Natura retreat center.
The program consists of daily contemplative practice instruction (yoga, meditation, and other modalities), nature immersion activities, optimal nutrition, optional individual & group counseling sessions, optional bodywork, one plant medicine ceremony per week, and plenty of unstructured time for rest and relaxation. Members of the NCP leadership team will be facilitating the program. You can learn more about the specifics of the Natura Care Integration Program here.