A Letter From the Founder: Where We’ve Been, What We’re Becoming, and Why Our Pricing Is Changing

December 1, 2025

When I publicly announced Confluence Retreats in December of 2023, I did so with a heart still very much in recovery. It was only nine months after the venture-capital funded startup I helped lead, Synthesis Retreats, collapsed—financially, operationally, and personally. The implosion was painful, complex, and humbling. It forced me to look deeply at the intersection of psychedelics and capitalism, and the pressures that can distort healing when profit, hierarchy, and urgency are allowed to sit at the center of the table.

Confluence was not born out of reinvention or ambition. It was born from values.

I joined the other co-founders of Synthesis because I believed deeply in the mission: to offer legal, dignified psychedelic experiences that were professionally facilitated and spiritually meaningful. At times, we achieved that. But there were also periods where the gravitational pull of venture capital—scale, optics, and growth—threatened the psycho-spiritual safety of the participants we served. It became clear to me that no amount of intention could protect the work if the underlying incentives were misaligned.

Confluence Retreats exists because I was committed to not repeating that mistake.

And since its inception, this nonprofit has been held not by investors or institutions, but by people:

The friends and family who supported me when I chose to try again.
The retreat facilitators who sacrificed pay, comfort, and stability to make our first programs possible until we found a more steady footing.
The participants who entrusted us with their vulnerability, resources, inner worlds, and nervous systems—people who consistently describe their Confluence experience as one of the most meaningful and spiritually significant in their lives.

We have walked gently, slowly, and with humility.

And I am profoundly grateful.

What We Have Built Together - Quietly, Human to Human

As of this writing, we have welcomed 150 participants across 20 five-day group retreats.

These retreats build on my previous 5 years at Synthesis Retreats, where we supported more than 1,250 individuals through legal psilocybin experiences just outside Amsterdam. That experience taught me something I will never forget:

In our complicated world, psychedelics and capitalism will inevitably intersect. That isn’t inherently wrong—responsible access to psychedelics requires sustainable resources. But when capitalism is allowed to lead the dance, sooner or later it pulls the work off-center and compromises the integrity of the space you are trying to protect.

That is the foundation of Confluence.

We do not strive to be the biggest, the first, or the flashiest — a you won’t hear us making those claims—because they’re not what we measure.

Instead, we strive to offer the most integrity, care, and depth in what we do.

We hold 1–2 retreats per month, no more than 8 participants per program.

We meet people as humans—not leads, customers, or conversions.

This work is slow on purpose.

Depth cannot be rushed.

I love nothing more than when someone tells us they chose to work with Confluence after speaking with other providers—not because of pricing or promises, but because of the warmth, connection, and humanness they felt in our conversations. Those values aren’t marketing language for us; they are the way we strive to show up before, during, and long after the retreat has ended.

We have had participants travel from Australia, the UK, Germany, and across the United States—not because of marketing or buzz, but because integrity is magnetic when the world is saturated with shortcuts.

A Reflection of Quality — Not in Hype, but in the Stories

We now hold over 90 five-star reviews on Retreat Guru, more than any other licensed psilocybin retreat in the U.S.

What makes me proud is not the number—it’s the substance.

Many retreat organizations receive short reviews that say things like “beautiful experience,” “great team,” “good food.”

Our community writes:

“... I chose Confluence because I wanted my first psilocybin experience to be legal in a therapeutic setting amongst nature… I came to the retreat to process grief as I had lost my wife of 30 years. During my journeys I felt deep grief and tremendous love from the important people (& dogs) in my life. I also felt new love entering my life. ‘Reawakened’ is the word I would use to sum up my experience.”
“... Almost half a year on, I have witnessed a real step-change in my life since the retreat, particularly in how much less critical I am of myself and how much happier I am as a result.”
“... This is not a recreational experience; this is work – profound and beautiful work to know more about yourself and your connection to something greater.”
“... Some things I received from this experience (among many others): A connection to a longing within me to have a family and be strongly connected to community and loved ones around me… messages about the gifts I am to give to the world, specifically also working as a healer myself… strong guidance to make amends and let go of past concerns and grievances so I can show up more present in my life.”
“... I experienced the insight and reprieve from depressive symptoms I had hoped for — though never quite as expected, as usual with mama mushroom.”
“... Though I can often be a lone wolf, I did a group retreat which was also a better option for me than I could have imagined. The opportunity to learn from and share with others really enhanced my experience and helped allay my uncertainty about taking psilocybin. It also forged new friendships I cherish!”
“... The five day Confluence retreat changed my life. I was on antidepressants for many years to cope with severe trauma… I have been off all medications for several months now and have a calm, peaceful life at last.”

Our retreat participants write paragraphs. They write essays.

They take the time to name their healing.

Quiet Upgrades That Have Made a Large Difference

Since we set our initial pricing in early 2024, we have intentionally deepened our care structure as we learned, grew, and evolved because it was the right thing to do to support our participants best:

Increased the number of highly skilled, licensed facilitators on each program
Expanded our Exploration Call team to provide complementary screening, harm reduction, and psychedelic education for those considering psilocybin. Everyone you’ll speak with is a licensed psilocybin facilitator and a member of our in-person retreat team—ensuring that your first touchpoint reflects the same care and integrity you’ll experience on-site.
Material improvements to the journey space for comfort and relaxation
A complimentary four-month membership to Nectara’s preparation and integration platform
Free microdosing harm-reduction and legal education for participants exploring at-home support
Free online breathwork sessions monthly — before retreat to cultivate safety, and afterward to reconnect
Expanded 1:1 access to facilitators outside the construct of our program without time limits

Participants who have attended some of the most well-known psychedelic retreats with other organizations internationally have told us:

“This felt more personal.

The facilitation is better trained.

The experience is more human.”

Many of those programs cost 30–40% more than our offering, operate in larger groups (up to 16-20), and often outside regulated legal frameworks in places like Jamaica, the Netherlands, or Costa Rica.

In Oregon, we are operating with:

lab-grown, precisely measured psilocybin
licensed facilitators with government oversight
and state-regulated service center partnerships

These details matter more than most people realize.

A Necessary Change: Our Base Retreat Price

Beginning in 2026, our base program price will increase from $5,900 to $6,400.

This decision was not easy.

It is not about becoming “luxury.”

It is about sustainability and care:

offering modest pay increases to our incredibly dedicated team
rising venue, insurance, and regulatory costs
keeping groups small without cutting the support we offer
and protecting the integrity of the retreat container

This is not a growth strategy; it is a stewardship strategy.

Booking at the Current Price

On December 1, 2025 our website will reflect the new pricing.

However, as a gesture of respect for those who have been in conversation with us:

Anyone on our email list prior to this date who completes an Exploration Call may book a 2026 program at the current $5,900 rate until January 31, 2026.

If you haven’t yet had your Exploration Call and want this option:

→ Book Your Exploration Call here: https://www.confluenceretreats.org/book-call

Scholarships & Payment Support

We are proud to have offered more than $50,000 in scholarships since launching Confluence, supporting participants who otherwise would not have been able to access this work. Because we operate as a self-sustaining nonprofit, these scholarships are not funded by donors or sponsorships—they are carried by the organization itself.

Our retreats are intentionally small (maximum 8 participants), so each scholarship represents a real reduction in revenue. The upcoming price increase helps us continue offering one 25% scholarship and one 50% scholarship per retreat without compromising the quality of the container or the compensation of our facilitation team.

In addition to scholarships, we offer extended payment plans to help make participation more feasible for those who do not require direct financial aid but would benefit from spreading out the cost over time.

Private Accommodations & Integration Extensions

Based on participant feedback from our first 20 retreats, we are now offering:

private rooms
seasonal private cabin options
and an optional Sunday Extended integration night (a fifth night), priced to simply cover accommodations, meals, and transportation—not to generate profit

These exist to support added nervous system safety, rest, and reflection after what, for many, is a deeply transformational week.

Foundations of Psychedelic Living — Our 3-Month Microdosing Coaching Program

As part of our evolution and commitment to supporting real healing and transformation, we have launched a 3-month, small-group virtual program, currently enrolling for our 2nd cohort in January of 2026:

Foundations of Psychedelic Living.

We cannot legally help people obtain psychedelics at home.

But across nearly 1,000 conversations with prospective journeyers, we’ve learned many already have access—or are attempting to microdose without guidance.

This program creates a safe container for:

Community connection and education
Personalized 1:1 and group support over 12 weeks
Learning the foundations and applications of key therapeutic skills
Extended periods of preparation and integration for those desiring extra retreat time

It includes:

A structured 3-month cohort with group connection and individual coaching calls
Self-paced guided audio meditations and instructional lectures
1:1 accountability partnerships
A robust library of extra resources for continued and deepened learning
Plus complimentary 1:1 consults for alumni who request support

For some, this is the continuation of their retreat.

For others, it is their introduction to our ethos before they ever sit with medicine.

To learn more about the program: https://www.confluenceretreats.org/plant-medicine-breathwork-and-mindfulness-for-everyday-life

The Road Ahead: More and Less

As Confluence grows, we are learning that “more” often asks us to choose “less.”

More safety means less urgency.

More depth means fewer participants.

More healing means less pressure from the economic machinery that dominates our culture.

More clarity means less noise about scaling, optimization, or owning the market.

More humanity means less fixation on money at the center of an individual's healing process.

We are not building a psychedelic business.

We are tending a community of practice.

There is a dominant narrative in this space that mirrors the rest of society:

to succeed is to grow, to scale, to dominate the market, to be first, the biggest, to serve as many people as possible as quickly and as efficiently as possible...

That is not our path.

We choose intimacy over reach.

We choose stewardship over expansion.

We choose long-term relationships over short-term turnover.

We will continue hosting 1–2 retreats per month,

no more than 8 participants per group,

and we will continue meeting each person as a human being—not a customer avatar.

If these values resonate, you will likely feel at home here.

We welcome dialogue.

If you have reflections, concerns, questions, or curiosities—please reach out.

This work continues to evolve because of your voices.

With gratitude and humility,

Myles, Founder

Executive Director

Confluence Retreats/Hi-U Foundation