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:
- Share information about their mental health histories during the retreat sign-up process.
- 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:
- Current dependence to alcohol or illicit substances
- Lifetime history of or current psychotic disorder/mania (schizophrenia, bipolar, drug-induced psychosis)
- One or more immediate (1st degree) family members with a current or previously diagnosed psychotic disorder
- History of suicide attempt that required hospitalization or presence of suicide/serious self-harm risk
- Current use of psychotropic medication (e.g., antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, etc.), but excluding psychotropic antidepressants and ADHD medications used as prescribed.
- Diagnosed borderline personality disorder/complex PTSD
- Diagnosed eating disorder with active purging
- 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 cannot 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 it 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.
Please note: All credit/debit card payment refunds will incur a 3% processing fee. This fee is waived if retreat credits are issued instead of a refund.
Retreat Credit Policy
- Credits are valid for 12 months from the date of issue and expire in full on the same calendar date the following year.
- The credit value reflects the actual amount paid after any discounts were applied, not the full price of the retreat.
- Credits may be applied to one retreat booking. Once credits are used to book a retreat, they are considered redeemed and cannot be reused, even if the booking is later cancelled.
- Credits are non-transferable and non-refundable and cannot be redeemed for cash or partial cash payouts.
- Credits cannot be combined with promo codes, other discounts, or additional credits.
Please note: credits cannot be applied retroactively. If you’re hoping to use a credit, just reach out before completing your registration so we can make sure everything’s applied correctly.