If you’re a high performer, entrepreneur, or leader navigating stress, questions around purpose, or emotional disconnection
You’ve likely read the research. You know psychedelics can help with depression, trauma, anxiety, and burnout. But when it comes to experiencing it for yourself, something in you wants more clarity:
What does it feel like? What happens in the room—or in nature—while I’m in the medicine? Will I lose control? Will I come back different?
These are good, healthy questions. Because psilocybin is more than a tool—it’s a very wise and ancient teacher. And how you approach it shapes your journey.
This post is for you if you’re considering psilocybin therapy in Portugal and want a grounded, honest, and experience-based look at what a journey entails.
Let’s walk through it together.
Before stepping into the medicine space, it’s normal to feel anxious.
Here are some common questions I hear from clients:
These are valid questions, and they point to the gravity of the experience you’re considering.
That’s why proper preparation is essential. It helps ground your intention, establishes safety, and builds trust with your guide, allowing the process to unfold in a supported way.
A therapeutic psilocybin journey doesn’t begin the moment you take the medicine. It begins the moment you say yes to the process.
Before any session, there’s a careful preparation phase. This might include one or more conversations with your guide or therapist to explore:
This is also when we begin building the most essential ingredient of the process: trust.
In my practice, this often looks like:
We also talk about the outer preparation:
This phase is about setting yourself up for success. Because how you enter the experience—emotionally, physically, spiritually—shapes the entire journey.
It’s where you begin the shift from everyday consciousness into a more intentional, receptive state of being.
Many people imagine a psilocybin journey as something that happens in a clinical white room or a wild forest. In truth, it can be either—or somewhere in between.
In Portugal, psilocybin is decriminalised for personal use. While not yet formally legalised for therapy, many guides (myself included) operate within a harm-reduction, preparation, and integration framework to offer private, intentional, and safe spaces for this work. This might look like:
Whether you choose a private 1:1 journey or a small group retreat, the setting matters. It’s not just about ambience—it’s about safety.
Safety allows the nervous system to soften. And when the body can relax and the ego feels safe, the soul can speak.
Some people feel called to do this work outdoors—in connection with rivers, trees, and earth. Others feel safest in a container where every element is held. Whichever setting you choose, the space will support you in turning inward, letting go of what no longer serves you, and reconnecting with your deepest truth.
As your guide, I meet you where you are. We co-create the environment to support the unfolding of your unique journey.
No two psilocybin journeys are alike. Your current state, your intention, the medicine, the dose, and the setting shape each journey differently.
We begin by opening the space shamanically—calling in the directions, honouring the medicine, and creating an energetic container where your journey can safely unfold.
A beautiful altar is prepared with fresh flowers, symbols, and elements from nature. This isn’t just about beauty or aesthetics—it’s part of anchoring the space in intention, reverence, and presence.
After taking the medicine, most people lie down with their eyes covered and allow the journey to begin. The effects typically start within 20–40 minutes, reaching a peak around the one-hour mark.
The journey often comes in waves. The first wave—usually the most intense—lasts about 2–3 hours. After that, each wave becomes progressively shorter and gentler, allowing space for reflection and rest.
Throughout the experience, music helps guide the rhythm of the inner process. Your body may feel warm, heavy, cold, or expanded. Emotions can rise unexpectedly—grief, joy, fear, release, or wonder. Some people experience rich imagery or archetypal visions, while others drop into deep stillness or boundless spaciousness.
Unprocessed memories, long-buried truths, or deeply held emotions may resurface. These are moments of opportunity—tender and often deeply healing.
As guides, we are here to support you. That might mean helping you breathe through intensity, sitting with you in silence, or offering gentle touch with permission. I usually work alongside my wife, Beáta Alföldi, an experienced guide and shamanic practitioner. Together, we bring a balanced masculine and feminine presence that creates a strong, intuitive, and safe field for deep emotional and energetic work.
This co-guidance enables us to hold a broader range of what may arise, especially those related to trauma, relational wounds, or spiritual emergence.
Unlike recreational use, this work isn’t about escape. It’s about revealing what’s ready to be seen, felt, or released.
One of the most powerful aspects of this phase is surrender. Letting go of the mind’s need to understand or manage and trusting the inner intelligence of the medicine, your body, and your soul.
Toward the end of the journey, people often shift into a quieter state of mind. The nervous system begins to settle. The mind and heart integrate what’s been experienced. You may feel introspective, soft, tired, or quietly moved. We encourage you to take your time here to rest, reflect, journal, or simply be.
This post-journey space is sacred. It’s when insights begin to land in the body and heart.
As the effects of the psilocybin gently fade, the world as you know it begins to reassemble itself.
This is the landing phase. A time of soft return and reflection. Often, it’s characterised by a deep stillness. Words come slowly. Emotions may still ripple beneath the surface. Your body might feel both light and exhausted.
In this space, we don’t rush. We breathe. We sit. We drink tea, have a snack, or take a slow walk in nature. Sometimes there’s a natural impulse to speak and share. Other times, silence feels like the most honest expression.
You may feel raw, open, or tender. Or you may feel relief, gratitude, or quiet awe. All of it is welcome.
This phase is an important part of therapeutic psychedelics. It’s where we begin to translate the experience into meaning. Not with analysis, but with presence. We ask:
This phase is also when we begin laying the groundwork for the integration that will take place the day after the journey.
We’ll explore integration more deeply in the next section.
Many people assume the transformation happens during the psychedelic journey. But often, that’s just the beginning.
Integration is where the real work begins.
It’s the ongoing process of making sense of what has been revealed and allowing it to direct your life toward authentic alignment. This might look like:
In my experience, integration is not a linear process. Insights often arrive like seeds and need time and care to root and blossom. You might feel clear and energised one day, then tender or disoriented the next. This is normal.
Having someone to walk with you during this phase—a therapist, coach, or experienced guide—can make a significant difference.
In our work together, we bring the experience back into your body, breath, and daily life. We revisit your intentions. We explore what’s emerging, what’s shifting, and what’s being asked of you now.
Integration can include:
This is the steady alchemy of transformation. And it’s what makes psychedelic therapy more than an experience, but something that creates lasting change in your life.
Every guide works differently. My approach is deeply personal, shaped by years of experience in high-performance coaching, therapeutic work, ceremonial practice, and plant medicine retreats.
I hold a space that’s gentle yet grounded, sacred but not rigid. I blend structure with intuition. Offering enough containment for safety, and enough openness for the mystery to unfold.
You can expect:
Most of all, I walk beside you, not in front. You are the one with the answers. I am simply here to hold the lamp, to witness your process, and to remind you of your inner wisdom.
Ready to Begin?
If you feel the call to explore this work together, I invite you to reach out. Whether you’re new to psychedelics or experienced and seeking deeper integration, we’ll start with a conversation. No pressure. Just presence.
Let’s explore if this path—and this partnership—feels right for you.
A therapeutic psilocybin journey is not a magic fix. It’s a doorway.
What lies on the other side depends on your willingness to listen, feel, and show up for yourself, your truth, and your community.
In Portugal, we’re fortunate to have a landscape, culture, and openness that allow us to do this work in a grounded and intentional way. If you feel called, know this: the path is here, and you are not alone.
If you’re curious about what this could look like for you, feel free to reach out. I’m happy to explore whether this path is the right one for you at this stage of your journey.
Your next step doesn’t have to be big.
It can start as small as an honest conversation.
→ Schedule an honest, complimentary conversation with Martin
or you can read more about how I facilitate psilocybin-assisted therapy in Portugal here.
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