Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Masterclass 90-minute Masterclass with Atira Tan & Elio Geusa: Working with Ayahuasca.

Working with plant medicine and psychedelics such as Ayahuasca, Bufo, Psilocybin, San Pedro, MDMA, and Ketamine can evoke trauma imprints and memories, arising to find resolution, healing, and freedom. 

Plant medicines and psychedelics can access the implicit memory of individuals, and often trigger both confusing emotions and psychological states. When these states are not held with trauma awareness and care, individuals can experience disorientation, increased anxiety, disassociation, intrusive flashbacks, and at times, short or long-term psychosis. 

Although many participants come to heal and process trauma experiences, very few facilitators possess the education and knowledge to respond effectively to the various categories of trauma that arise in this sacred space. The lack of trauma awareness and knowledge has led to many individuals staying “stuck” in the trauma loop and experiencing re-traumatization. These repercussions can be damaging and harmful to the psychological and emotional well-being of participants. 

It requires a great deal of courage, experience, and bravery to navigate skillfully through the process of resolving trauma imprints in the arena of psychedelics when they arise. Unfortunately, many trauma survivors do not have the inner resilience or the resources to do so on their own. 

Similarly, facilitators often feel overwhelmed with a lack of resources, education, and tools and without a practical understanding of what to do when various trauma imprints arise. This becomes neglectful and is perceived as dismissed by participants. leading to greater distress and perpetuating the trauma cycle. 

At AYA Healing Retreats, we believe that being treated with safety and care in our current psychedelic renaissance is a human right, our birthright. 

For this to happen, we need to co-create an inclusive, ethical, trauma-sensitive psychedelic renaissance that is grounded in responsibility, impeccable care, and compassion for all. 

Our Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Masterclass workshops will provide bite-sized tools and resources for facilitators to cultivate their trauma sensitivity and awareness. Workshops are 90 minutes long and will be facilitated by Atira Tan, Head of Integration at AYA Healing Retreats, the pioneer and founder of the Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Facilitation 3 Month Training Program, and the pioneer of the Somatic Plant Medicine Integration Model. 

She will be joined by a guest facilitator for each masterclass, and each workshop (90 mins long) will focus on different plant medicines, such as Bufo, Ayahuasca, Psilocybin, and Huachuma. 

Each masterclass will start with a 45 mins talk and discussion about trauma-informed tips and tools to work with each medicine, followed by a 45-minute Q & A where participants can ask and submit questions about the trauma-informed plant medicine paradigm and specific case studies. 

WORKING WITH AYAHUASCA

Ayahuasca is a powerful psychoactive substance that can produce strong emotional and psychological experiences in people who use it. Some of these experiences may be challenging or distressing, and people who have experienced trauma in the past may be particularly susceptible to having difficult experiences during an ayahuasca ceremony.

For this reason, it is important for ayahuasca facilitators to be trained in how to support individuals who may be struggling with difficult emotions or experiences during a ceremony. This can include having an understanding of the effects of trauma, being able to recognize the signs of someone who may be struggling, and knowing how to provide appropriate support to help the person through the experience.

By being trauma-informed, ayahuasca facilitators can help create a safe and supportive environment for participants and ensure that they are able to have a positive and transformative experience with ayahuasca. 

Trauma-informed facilitation refers to the approach taken by the facilitator of an ayahuasca ceremony to ensure that the environment and the experiences of the participants are safe and supportive and that any potential triggers for trauma are minimized. This can involve providing adequate preparation and support for participants before and after the ceremony, as well as creating a safe and respectful space for the ceremony itself.

Our masterclass will share tips and tools on working with trauma with Ayahuasca, preparation and post-ceremony care useful protocols, and how to facilitate and lead in a trauma-sensitive approach that is attuned, compassionate and safe.

Joining Atira as a guest is Elio Geusa, the founder and director of AYA Healing Retreats.

Date: 26th February Sunday

Time: 9 am - 10.30 am EST/ 3 pm - 4.30 pm CEST/ 2 pm - 3.30 pm UK

Cost: $50 USD

* The recording and PDF slides will be available within 24 - 48 hours on our learning platform. 

Learn more about Elio: 

Elio Geusa is the founder of AYA Healing Retreats and is a qualified Social Worker with over thirteen years of experience working both on national and international humanitarian projects, supporting adults experiencing mental health and intellectual disabilities, and refugee populations throughout Asia, Europe, and Australia. 

Elio believes that loving and inspired action can create meaningful change in the world.

Elio has been devoted to the path of plant medicine and Ayahuasca since 2009 and began an apprenticeship under the guidance of Maestro, Vegetalista Manaco Manai. In his long time in Peru, he has continued to deepen his knowledge, experience, and understanding of the workings of the sacred plant medicines, studying the Shipibo traditions under the revered Mahua family and has undertaken numerous Master Plant Dietas with well-respected curanderos in the Peruvian Amazon.

This immersion in the sacred plant medicines of the indigenous peoples of Peru enabled Elio to experience deep and profound healing. He has overcome crippling anxiety and anger as a result of traumatic childhood experiences and healing that trauma imprints that were not possible through the Western medical paradigm. His renewed sense of self-worth, love, compassion, and empathy for himself enables him to extend those same qualities to others.

Elio founded AYA Healing Retreats because he is convinced of the healing potentialities of sacred plant medicines. Not only does he hope to share the indigenous wisdom of the ancient traditions of the Indigenous people of the Amazon, but he also hopes to make a bigger difference by investing profits from AYA Healing Retreats into humanitarian projects that create a more compassionate world.

Learn more about Atira:

A TEDx speaker, activist, somatic trauma specialist, #1 Best Selling Author, and yoga teacher & group facilitator, Atira Tan,  is a powerful agent of transformation and change. She has touched the lives of thousands of women, men, and children around the world, supporting them through her 19 years of experience in various somatic and creative trauma recovery approaches. 

Passionate about creating safer spaces for everybody, and bringing healing and awareness to the “shadowy” areas of life, Atira has worked as a trauma-informed integration specialist in retreat centers such as the Temple of the Way of Light and is currently the head of integration at AYA Healing Retreats. 

Atira has mapped the trauma recovery of hundreds of PM participants in her private practice as an integration trauma specialist and co-facilitates Trauma-informed and Somatic Experiencing Plant Medicine retreats and dietas in Peru with AYA Healing Retreats. 

She possesses an MA in Art Therapy, has a background in Transpersonal Art Therapy and Holistic Counselling, and is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, amongst decades of training in various other trauma-informed approaches such as EMDR and NMT, just to name a few.

Atira has also worked for over a decade internationally in community organizations and international development as a consultant, clinician, and supervisor, as well as an educator in non-for-profit settings. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the European Graduate School in Switzerland, researching the effectiveness of somatic and creative trauma recovery interventions for sex-trafficked survivors in Asia.

The CEO and Founder of an Australian charity which supports the recovery of child sex slaves, Atira has also initiated international women’s health, art therapy, and trauma-informed programs for women and girls who have experienced sex slavery and exploitation internationally for the past 15 years. In 2018, Atira was instrumental in co-creating and delivering the first and only Somatic Experiencing and Counselling Fundamentals Program for Sex Trafficked Survivors, endorsed by the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute (SETI). 

Prior to COVID-19, Atira taught workshops, retreats & teacher trainings in 4 continents around the globe including Australia, Europe, Asia, and South America, and now she mostly teaches virtually.

She continues to support women, men, and children, particularly those who have experienced sexual abuse to recover from trauma, in groups & individually in her private practice and with international development organizations and companies as a trauma specialist and educator.

For more information, please visit www.atiratan.com 

"Wow!! Thank you so much Atira!!!!! I just want to say thank you for holding space for such an incredible informational experience in this Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Workshop. I feel that I have SO many resources now to draw upon now. 

You are filled with experience and hold such beauty. vibrant energy that is powerful, but also open and level with the people you work with in such a way that it is easy to feel safe, and seen in your presence! True magic!"

– Molly Moon, Grandmother Facilitator, Isreal.

"This TIPM workshop’s deep dive into the realms of living impeccable service was nothing short of life-changing.

I remembered so much about the nervous system, my life, my purpose, the bridges between paradigms, and the collective trauma on the Earth. I was deeply warmed, inspired, challenged, and excited by the entire experience.

Atira transmits genuine, care, curiosity, understanding, and expertise. She is devoted to providing safe spaces for people to heal and her life’s work is a testimony to her wisdom and character.

If you’re curious to learn about the nature of trauma and how to access and support its healing potential, this body of work is well worth opening your heart and mind to."

– Melanie Gunn, Naturopath and Transpersonal Art Therapist, Australia

"I’m super grateful for this unique program. Atira’s extensive knowledge on the subject of trauma and working within the PM context has been immensely beneficial. I’ve gained a deeper sense of how to hold the container of healing, which in turn, opens doors for journeyers to be met with more compassion, understanding, and safety to move through their process.

This program is essential for anyone supporting or facilitating PM ceremonies and the process of preparation and integration."

– Simone McKay, Somah Journeys Founder, Canada

"I just came out of the 1st Trauma-informed Plant Medicine Facilitation online training with Atira Tan from Aya Healing Retreats and wow!!

I cannot recommend this training enough for anyone working in the PM space – whether you are pouring medicine, a supporter/facilitator, a pre or post-ceremonial integration specialist, or even a student of the plants.

In fact, I feel that this should be a basic foundational training (alongside 1st Aid) for all healers and support staff.

As the medicine continues to gain momentum in its spread across the globe- we are beginning to see and hear more and more stories of harm from its unskilful use, the lack of quality screening and preparation beforehand, the lack of integration support afterward, and/or the limited understanding of trauma activation and re-traumatization during retreats and ceremonies.

I feel that, in addition to traditional training, this community would benefit hugely from having facilitators and spaces rooted in a basic understanding of the nervous system and how to work skillfully with trauma survivors (and of course, how to work with our own trauma when it shows up in these spaces).

I personally feel that Atira is an excellent bridge and guide into the intersectional realms of plant medicine and trauma therapy."

– Skye Cielita Flor, Wilderness Therapist, South Africa

"My mind and heart are in deep amazement and gratitude as I apply all that I learned in the Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine workshop. 

Now more than ever, the world is in need of people who have the ability to listen and hold open space, as the entire human population is currently undergoing a traumatic event. This course is filled with gems on how to meet and support those who are intensely impacted by trauma at any stage of life. I highly recommend this course/workshop, not only to those who are interested in the relationship between trauma and plant medicine but to anyone who is curious about understanding human relational patterns to self and society.

Atira shares in-depth knowledge and expertise in trauma studies while offering takeaways that are applicable for ceremonies, friendships, and even common conversations during the COVID time. Atira and Elio’s work is much needed in the world."

– Betty Gottwald, Photographer & Kambo Facilitator, USA.

"If you are ready to engage in serious trauma healing work, Atira is the practitioner to go for. Her own genuine humanness is consistently lived and embodied, and her outstandingly compassionate nature creates a strong and safe therapeutic container that cannot be surpassed. 

After a search for decades for the right trauma therapist, all thumbs up for her, as the healing and transformation, I’ve been looking for has finally become real!"

– Jessica Bertram, Eco-Tour Guide, Germany.

"Learning from Atira is a reconnecting journey of the mind, heart, and soul. Her caring empathy, sensitivity, and guiding leadership are only shadowed by her multi-faceted and deep knowledge of the matter of trauma. 

With her guidance as an experienced teacher, I felt truly grateful for discovering and learning about new perspectives which will make me not only a better teacher in the future, but a more understanding and loving human being towards anyone I encounter. And all of that in a welcoming community of like-minded, caring individuals. I wholeheartedly recommend Atira to anyone who desires to learn more about understanding and healing trauma, and the human experience as a whole."

- Kai York, Photographer, Art Director, New York

"Atira’s course is a valuable in-depth introduction to trauma and the various ways it can manifest in a ceremonial setting. 

Since taking the course, I’ve changed the lens through which I review applications and screen potential journeyers. The course has taught me how to use trauma-informed language to empower people to make their own decisions. 

Atira creates a beautiful, safe container for her students to dive into sensitive topics. I appreciate her making herself available for questions during the class and through additional one-on-one sessions and small group calls. 

I highly recommend this program to anyone who would like to facilitate plant medicine sessions."

—Leti Passemier, co-founder of Global Alliance of Psilocybin Practitioners, France