Sacred Union: A Couples Psilocybin Immersion

Sacred Union is a couples psilocybin retreat at Ananda Lodge in Playa Grande, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. It runs six days and five nights for up to eight couples who love each other, miss who they were together, and are not in crisis. Both partners must choose to come freely. The work is held by the Ananda team, including ceremony guardians Kimberly Ocaña and Dana Mistretta, with therapeutic support from Cathi Long, MS, LMFT-QS, and co-facilitator Logan Long, MA.

What to Expect

The retreat follows one arc: first you come home to yourself, then you meet each other, then you celebrate what you rebuilt on Valentine's Day, with no medicine at all.

The first day is for arrival, an opening circle with the other couples and the team, dinner, and an evening to yourselves. The second morning begins with a cacao ceremony, ceremony preparation and individual dosage consultations. The first psilocybin ceremony, "Coming home to yourself," starts at 6 PM. Partners sit side by side, each on their own inner path.

The third day is for integration and play: an integration circle, a men's circle and a women's circle, sensate focus teaching with private practice, a couples cooking experience with the private chef, and early rest. The second ceremony, "Meeting each other," begins at 5 AM on day four, with crystal bowls, drums and sound as the sun rises over the Pacific. Couples sit together with one shared intention. The rest of the day is quiet: a fruit offering, rest, a couples massage, a beach walk and private practice.

Day five is Valentine's Day. It brings a communication workshop with Cathi and Logan, a sensory experience, a re-choosing ritual in which you speak aloud what you choose, a sunset sail and a celebration dinner. On the last day there is a closing circle where couples make their go-forward agreements, then breakfast, a post-retreat consultation and departure. The schedule is a shape, not a script, and timings shift with what the group needs.

Sensate focus is a structured practice of gentle, non-sexual touch, first developed by Masters and Johnson to help couples release performance pressure. Cathi teaches it in the group. You practice it privately in your own suite, at your own pace. All intimate practice stays between you and your partner.

Who Leads It

Kimberly Ocaña is co-founder of Ananda Lodge and a ceremony guardian. She is a certified somatic, trauma-informed medicine facilitator trained through Atira Tan, and an ICF coach of over fifteen years.

Dana Mistretta is a ceremony guardian, a Reiki Master Teacher and a ceremonialist with twenty-seven years in health and wellness. She is co-founder of the Sanctuary of Consciousness.

Cathi Long, MS, LMFT-QS offers therapeutic support. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Qualified Supervisor, trained in the Gottman Method, EMDR and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.

Logan Long, MA is a former police officer who co-develops trainings on first responder trauma. He brings the partner's perspective and holds the men's circle.

The Setting

Couples stay at Ananda Lodge in Playa Grande, on Costa Rica's Pacific coast. Each couple has a private ocean-view king suite for five nights. All meals are prepared by a private chef. A round-trip group transfer from Liberia airport (LIR) is included.

Before You Go

The retreat suits couples who want tools as well as a beautiful week, and who are ready to look at themselves, not only their partner. It is not the right fit if you are in crisis or separating, if there is any violence or coercion in the relationship, if one partner is coming to please the other, or if either of you has contraindicated conditions or medications. Each partner completes a confidential intake and screening individually before taking part.

Included are both psilocybin ceremonies, the cacao ceremony, sensate focus teaching, the men's and women's circles, the communication workshop, the cooking experience, the couples massage, the sunset sail, the suite, all meals, individual intakes and a post-retreat couples consultation. Airfare and the per-person plant medicine fee, paid on site, are not included.