Psychedelic: Exclusive talk with retreat provider ONE Retreats

In this edition of “Psychedelic”, The Fly conducted an exclusive interview with Kevin Bourke, Co-Founder and Facilitator, and Vernise Cardillo, Co-Founder and Retreat Operations Chief and Facilitator at ONE Retreats, a premier psilocybin-assisted retreat provider in Jamaica. Here are some highlights:

PSYCHEDELIC HEALING: ONE Retreats is a provider of psilocybin-assisted therapy retreats, offering safe, supportive environments for healing and personal growth. By blending traditional wisdom with modern therapeutic practices, the retreats help participants navigate mental health challenges, trauma, and self-discovery.

“Plant medicine has always been a part of my life,” Bourke said, noting he was born in Jamaica. “I came back 25 years ago, and I have been here navigating as an entrepreneur in businesses in different sectors, but mainly showing the bountiful culture of Jamaica and what this island has to offer. For such a small island in the Caribbean, it is just a blessing. We call it ‘Wi likkle but wi tallawah’, we’re small, but we’re large in application, and we show up on the global scene.”

He added that he shifted into wellness about ten years ago, which helped him in working through life’s challenges.

“Psilocybin is permissible in Jamaica,” Bourke said. “We dug in, we started cultivating, we’re deep in the space, and we’re creating experiences and navigating people, which we have a knack for. That’s why we did it; the medicine helped us, and we’re helping to spread that healing by creating this program in ONE Retreats.”

Through guided psilocybin therapy and structured integration support, ONE Retreats is committed to making psychedelic healing more accessible while fostering a strong community of support and long-term well-being.

“I was born and raised in New York, but I have always had a love affair for Jamaica,” Cardillo said. “I have been coming here since my 20s, and I am in my 40s now, so over 20 years, I like to say I am Jamaican at heart. For myself personally, I was diving deeper into some childhood traumas that I had been carrying, and traditional modalities only take you so far. I discovered plant medicine. I became intrigued and decided it was for me, so I journeyed.”

People cannot change what has already happened, she said, but with psilocybin, a person can foster a relationship with their past as well as an awareness and a forgiveness.

“That’s really what it did for me, and from there it just grew into purpose,” Cardillo said. “I got stuck in Jamaica for five months during the pandemic, and that is when I met Kevin. We are not only partners in the retreat, but we are partners in life. Learning that he was in the space, it just became purposeful for wanting to spread this beautiful medicine and this mission of healing. I live by the mantra that when we heal ourselves, we really do heal the world.”

COMPETITIVE EDGE: As competition ramps up in the psychedelic retreat space, Cardillo noted that Jamaica is one of the few places in the world where psilocybin is permissible and Bourke sits on the Jamaica Psilocybin Mushroom Industry Technical Committee, shaping regulatory standards.

“It is very exciting to be on an island that is positioned to be a global leader in the space,” she said. “Jamaica itself is medicine. The energy here, which is something that I was very attracted to when I first stepped foot onto the island, is rooted in nature, music, and the Rastafarian and indigenous cultures sharing ancestral wisdom. That all lends to a beautiful setting for healing and transformation.”

On a more personal level, Cardillo said she believes the depth of intention, authenticity and cultural reverence that ONE Retreats brings to the experience really sets it apart.

“It was important for Kevin and I that this medicine is accessible to everyone and that reflects intentionally in our price point,” she said. “It sits at $4.5K, unlike other retreats that are charging upwards of $7-10K. Healing shouldn’t be a luxury, it should be available to those who need it. Additionally, what we offer on our retreats is for participants to come and be facilitated by locals, by Jamaicans. Our team, from our head facilitators to our cultural facilitators to our chef, are all Jamaican, and I think as we grow, we will always reach for locals to fill roles on our retreats.”

Bourke added that set and setting are critical in the psychedelic space to create a container of trust in order for people to heal safely and experience the medicine.

“We curate the program around setting people up with the tools coming in, then we have the six days on the ground with the modalities and tools we are giving you that can have sustainable healing after you leave the shores of Jamaica,” he said. “I believe that our program and the integration after are critical in these spaces. We’re leading by integrity and safety and making sure that the medicine is delivered in the right way.”

RETREAT EXPERIENCE: A week at ONE Retreats is an all-inclusive, authentic Jamaican experience, where participants can look forward to meals prepared by private chefs, safe and comfortable accommodations and a setting that allows them to feel nestled in nature. Participants can attend group meditation, light yoga, stretching, breath work, fireside ceremonies and opening chakras.

“Participants can expect a deeply intentional, immersive, transformative experience rooted in love, community, compassion, radical acceptance, trust, safety and empowerment,” Cardillo said. “We say that all parts of you are welcome. We are human, and we exist with many emotions. The sad part, the angry part, the hurt part, the depressed part, the grief, it is all welcome. These traumas are stored in your body, and the mushroom has an innate wisdom to purge these emotions. We create a safe container where participants can feel free to express these emotions and let go of what no longer serves them. It is a gift to be able to explore the depths of your consciousness and your shadows. A lot of this work comes down to self-love and understanding that we are whole as we are and that we are the medicine.”

ONE Retreats also has practices in place before and after the experience to facilitate the healing process, she said.

“We open our calendars for virtual calls offering face-to-face connection,” Cardillo said. “People can meet us, hear our stories, and ask questions to have that comfort level before making a decision. The feedback with that has been incredible, and many have told us that having a call with us was a key factor in choosing ONE Retreats.”

Bourke also said participants fill out an intake and application form to assess how they are doing spiritually, medically and emotionally to ensure they are good candidates for the treatment.

“We’re digging deep in that respect,” he said. “And as Vee said, we have these intimate calls. The sharing and trust are built as early as possible, allowing people to connect and feel free to express themselves. During the retreat, there are tools and modalities such as journaling, meditation, breath work, movement, yoga, a cacao ceremony, and sound healing. All these modalities are leading up to the medicine. It is to clear the path to get you back to that place where you can stand on your own two feet, navigate yourself and self-heal, physically and mentally.”

The retreat is followed by an integration process, Bourke said, setting participants up with the tools they can bring home and a key component is the “Guidance Integration” platform, an online community offering ongoing integration, coaching, peer support, and educational resources.

“Integration is taking the extraordinary experience that has happened on the ground in Jamaica and making sense of how you can weave that into your life for sustainable growth, forward movement and progress,” he said. “Our Guidance platform is a community that we have built that has these tools and reminders. The communication with us continues after the time in Jamaica because it’s not a one size fits all for everybody, some people need more guidance.”

UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA PARTNERSHIP: ONE Retreats announced in March a partnership with the University of Ottawa’s Master of Arts in Psychedelics and Consciousness Studies program, providing students with fieldwork and practicum experience in psilocybin-assisted therapy.

“We had come across an article by Dr. Monnica Williams, Co-Director of the Master’s program, and discovered that she is heavily focused on racial trauma,” Cardillo said. “My traumas are rooted in growing up in an all-white, all-Italian neighborhood, and I saw a lot of bullying and racial discrimination. The article from Dr. Williams truly resonated with us, and we reached out to her, and she responded immediately. We got on a call with her and to our surprise, discovered she also very much shared a passion of psychedelics.”

Williams was on the verge of launching the Master’s Program in psychedelics, Cardillo said, and she came down to Jamaica to experience the medicine firsthand with ONE Retreats.

“It just snowballed fast after that,” she said. “Quickly she called us and said, ‘Hey, what do you think about us sending our students down to you for their fieldwork and their practicum?’ and we of course, said yes. From there, it’s just been beautifully evolving, and we are really excited about this partnership.”

VETERANS INITIATIVES: ONE Retreats also offers a specialized Psilocybin Wellness Program for veterans, designed to directly tackle PTSD, TBI, depression, anxiety, and suicidality. Since launching in 2023, it has hosted ten veteran-focused retreats and of those who have attended, 90% have reported significant relief and lasting benefits.

“I just love the initiative with the Navy Seals and the veterans that we are doing,” Bourke said. “The 90% success rate is humbling. We want these giants of men that have done so much for their country to come back, get that connection of self-love and be able to return to the normality of civilian life with some clarity and confidence. That is a massive initiative for us, we’re looking to dig in and build more bridges with non-profits and whoever wants to collab from a government level to heal these brave men and women of the U.S. veteran community.”

SCHEDULING: Several psychedelics are listed as Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act, and Bourke said he believes it creates an uniformed narrative, but he feels shifts in thinking are coming.

“There is a lot of research and data coming out as well as anecdotal information from people that it is helping globally,” he said. “The movement has undeniable momentum just from the simple fact that it works. We are elated that the conversation is being pushed forward and that there is a new perspective on psychedelics, how they can help the evolution of mental health and give people the sovereign right to heal.”

ELECTION RESULTS: In this year’s U.S. election, Massachusetts voters rejected a ballot measure that proposed decriminalization of psychedelic use for people older than 21 and Bourke said it was unfortunate, but he believes it will be corrected over time.

“It goes back to education and just continuing to have open conversations with policymakers and with people in the space,” he said. “Once people have the knowledge and the important information, whatever their lens is, scientific, spiritual or safety, then we will see progress.”

Bourke noted ONE Retreats is looking at setting up operations in Oregon, as it holds licenses in the state, as well as in Colorado.

“We want to see if we can provide people that can’t travel to Jamaica an opportunity to sit with the medicine,” he said. “The Navy, the veterans, and the first responders have been asking us to see if that is possible.”

Also, in this year’s election, Donald Trump was elected president, and there have been indications of optimism for psychedelics under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of Health and Human Services.

“We are staying in our lane and educating people with touchpoints from coming to our retreats to what we are sharing in our newsletters,” he said. “We are being vocal and advocating for this medicine in Jamaica and abroad. I don’t believe it’s a party issue, this is a natural medicine that all leaders that have the greater good of humanity at the forefront of their initiative should look at and educate themselves on because it can help people and help this world.”

CHALLENGES: When asked about the largest hurdles facing the psychedelic space, Cardillo pointed to the misunderstanding surrounding the sector.

“Fear is instilled in people,” she said. “Having bad trips, jumping off a building, they think these things when they think of psychedelics. It just goes back to educating yourself. People should take it upon themselves to do their own research and decide for themselves if this is something they want to try. We tell it to our participants all the time, and at the end of the week when they have had this enlightening experience, they feel so connected to themselves, the universe and each other. The mushroom opens the heart and creates oneness, which is something that we need to go back to.”

OPPORTUNITIES: As the psychedelic industry develops and matures, Bourke said he is excited about the progression of the space globally.

“We get a lot of inquiries, a lot of partnership requests, and so we’re looking at growing those bridges to other persons,” he said. “We have doctors, psychologists and people all over the world linking us to patients that have exhausted the traditional modalities. We’re excited to harbor new connections and keep that progression going.”

PSYCHEDELIC STOCKS: Publicly-traded companies in the space include Algernon (AGNPF), Allied Corp. (ALID), atai Life Sciences (ATAI), BetterLife (BETRF), Bright Minds Biosciences (DRUG), Clearmind (CMND), Compass Pathways (CMPS), Cybin (CYBN), Entheon Biomedical (ENTBF), Filament Health (FLHLF), GH research (GHRS), Incannex Healthcare (IXHL), Mind Medicine (MNMD), MIRA Pharmaceuticals (MIRA), Mydecine Innovations (MYCOF), NRx Pharmaceuticals (NRXP), Numinus Wellness (NUMIF), Optimi Health (OPTHF), Pasithea Therapeutics (KTTA), PharmAla Biotech (MDXXF), PharmaTher (PHRRF), Psyence Biomedical (PBM), Psyence Group (PSYGF), Quantum BioPharma (QNTM), Relmada Therapeutics (RLMD), Revive Therapeutics (RVVTF), SciSparc (SPRC), Seelos Therapeutics (SEEL), Silo Pharma (SILO) and Synaptogenix (SNPX).