Dimensions Retreats combine ancient practices with modern neuroscience, braiding the practices of poly-vagal theory (calming the nervous system, pendulation of emotional states, self-regulation, titrating approaches to challenging material and stored trauma) with psychedelic medicine, all within the context of nature-oriented retreats. In this way, Dimensions leverages the healing power of nature with the transformational possibilities of psychedelics, couched within a supportive, guided, safe and informed therapeutic environment oriented towards calming and restoring self-regulation to the nervous system.
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Introducing Dimensions Algonquin Highlands.
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Facilitators
Donald Currie, RP
Clinical Director, Dimensions Algonquin Highlands
A registered psychotherapist and integrative mental health provider with over 20 years of experience, Donald leads Retreat programming at Dimensions Algonquin Highlands. His clinical work focuses on healing through somatic and trauma therapies that are evidence-based and supported by neuroscience research. To guide Dimensions guests in the process of preparing and integrating their ceremonial experiences, he integrates relational somatic psychotherapy, sensorimotor psychotherapy, EMDR, Acceptance and commitment therapy, and internal family systems therapy with complementary wellness practices. He has received training and certification in psychedelic guiding, psychedelic assisted psychotherapy, Somatic Psychedelic Psychotherapy, and ethical right relationship in psychedelic therapy.
Over the course of his career he has worked entirely with people looking to improve their mental health. He has extensive experience in working with PTSD, depression, anxiety, trauma, complex family dynamics, grief and relationship challenges. Donald was a key member of the clinical team at Helix Healthcare Group, a treatment facility for mental health and addiction. For over two decades Donald has based his own private practice in Toronto. He believes in the importance of reciprocity and worked to remove the barriers of access by providing free mental health services to marginalized individuals at his private practice.
Gina Miranda
Registered Psychotherapist
Gina studied transpersonal psychotherapy at the Transformational Arts College of Spiritual and Holistic Training and is a registered psychotherapist with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. She is trained in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, structural dissociation, sensorimotor psychotherapy, relational somatic psychotherapy, deep brain reorienting and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Gina co-founded the Healing Therapy Alliance in Toronto.
Helena Borgers
Registered Psychotherapist
Helena’s key belief for optimal mental health and emotional well-being is “the body wants to feel good and the mind wants to know.” In addition to running her private practice, Helena is a clinical supervisor and teaches at the Transformational Arts College. She specializes in trauma and complex post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and grief. Her clinical work focuses on neuroscientific evidence-based treatments utilizing neuro-experiential and somatic therapies as well as transpersonal psychotherapy.
Don Khalsa
Plant Elder
Over Don’s 30-year journey with plant medicine, he has been fortunate enough to study with plant elders who carry the knowledge and sacred practices of their lineages. As a medicine carrier, he holds this knowledge with deep gratitude and respect. He draws on his skills and wisdom to create and hold ritual space during Ceremony.
Jennifer Maleus
Registered Psychotherapist
Jennifer Maleus, RP, provides clinical supervision and mentorship for the Dimensions clinical team. She is a psychodynamic trauma therapist with nearly two decades of clinical experience, and she practices Internal Family Systems Therapy and Somatic Interventions. Jennifer employs psychotherapeutic body-based techniques to steward clinicians and clients toward exploring the root causes of activation, creating healing conditions, and repatterning the brain and body towards new responses.
About Dimensions
Combining neuroscientific research with Plant Ceremony and luxurious hospitality, Dimensions focuses on restorative well-being and transformational growth. Dimensions Retreats help improve and transform lives by drawing on the restorative power of nature, spa rituals, remarkable cuisine and psychedelic Plant Ceremony in a growing collection of safe, legal and luxurious accommodations in natural settings.
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Algonquin Highlands
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Retreat
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Reset
Make time for a Reset. Increased urbanization, decreases in horticulture, deforestation, loss of bio-diversity and human dependence on information technologies, electronic devices and the looming meta-verse have increasingly created a widespread nature-deficit disorder.
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Transform
Dimensions retreat participants return home not simply with transformational experiences, but with a clear plan to sustain life improvements. Integration at Dimensions includes an after-care plan with specific attention directed at the following areas: diet and nutrition, movement and exercise, personalized meditation, visualization and movement practices, access to curated Dimensions playlists, mudras and chants to practice, plans for integration therapy, herbal and supplement planning, virtual group sessions and plans for follow-up and check-ins with Dimension’s therapists.
full program details
The Ascend Four Week program
Your introductory ASCEND Retreat includes one week of preparation and features:
- One virtual group meeting – A virtual group meeting establishes a connection between facilitators and guests. The meeting is designed to prepare our guests for their four night ASCEND Retreat experience at Dimensions Algonquin Highlands. Our guests will begin connecting with their intentions, receive psychoeducation on cannabis as a psychedelic, Plant Medicine and ceremonial experiences, window of tolerance and emotional regulation, trauma, and how to create the appropriate mindset for plant medicine ceremonies.
- Dietary advice – Dietary guidelines and plant medicine will be provided in preparation for the Retreat. This helps to prepare the body by purification. As a result of these dietary recommendations, the physical body is prepared to receive plant medicine while improving brain and brain-gut health.
- Videos – Dimensions offers psychoeducation to provide information on trauma, dissociation, window of tolerance, emotional regulation, clinical issues (Anxiety, Depression, PTSD), Polyvagal theory, Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy, and Plant Medicines (Cannabis, Psilocybin, Ayahuasca, etc.)
- Worksheets – Through our worksheets, we help guests develop a deeper understanding of themselves, their current issues, and their intentions for healing.
- Audio Meditations – These audio meditations teach our guests self-regulation skills, mindfulness-based practices, self-reflection, and self-exploration practices to prepare for their Retreat experience.
- Packing Lists – Guests are encouraged to bring small, cherished items for use in ceremony (sacred objects, photos of loved ones, or personal belongings that make one feel secure and connected)
- Our Dimensions staff and therapists follow all regulatory guidelines and do not provide cannabis to our guests for their ceremonial experience. Retreat guests are advised to procure cannabis for their personal Plant Medicine use. We have developed professional relationships with local dispensaries. All cannabis purchases must be made in cash, in person, for personal use, and in accordance with local regulations.
- For the optimal psychedelic experience, our team will guide guests in purchasing, measuring, and identifying the ideal strains of cannabis to vaporize the Plant Medicine. Our recommendations for specific strains of cannabis are key to the success of the Retreat experience. Every ASCEND program held at Dimensions Algonquin Highlands includes the provision of guidance and education in making a psychedelic cannabis blend. Through our preliminary evaluation process, our medical team is authorised to recommend cannabis assisted therapy. Our on-site therapists provide ceremonial support for all guests to use their own Plant Medicine while participating in a Dimensions Retreat.
Your introductory ASCEND Retreat includes all-inclusive accommodations featuring:
- Private cabin accommodation with en-suite bathroom (soaker tub + walk-in shower)
- All meals, drinks, and snacks (healthy and organic)
- One psychedelic Plant Medicine Ceremony using cannabis
- One Ceremony preparation, group
- Five individual Body Work and Wellness selections (acupuncture, massage, Thai massage, individual breathwork, reiki, sound healing, cranial sacral therapy, hot stone massage, mindfulness meditation)
- Choice of either BioSound therapy or Floatation therapy (float tank sensory deprivation)
- One individual psychotherapy session (1 hr)
- One group psychotherapy session for integration (2 hrs)
- Daily morning group movement and/or meditation (yoga, Qigong)
- Daily nature group (forest therapy)
- One evening group Sound Bath
- One evening group breathwork
- One evening cacao Ceremony, followed by ecstatic dance
- Optional seasonal cold-exposure therapy (cold plunge)
- Seasonal outdoor activities
Your ASCEND Retreat includes two weeks of post-retreat Integration featuring:
- One Group Plant Medicine Discussion – the group will meet virtually once after the retreat to integrate the Retreat and plant medicine experiences. Through this meeting, we assist our guests in processing the profound insights that came up in Ceremony, helping them make sense of the content of their experience. Plant Medicine meeting enable our guests to translate the meaning of their experiences into tangible changes in their everyday lives.
- Videos – Psychoeducation on the different stages of integration, including remembering, reprocessing, reorienting, re-consolidating memories, and taking new actions.
- Meditations – post retreat integration through audio meditation provides a way to consolidate the new neural pathways that are created during Retreat. These include mindfulness -based meditations and hypnotherapy processes.
Dimensions Algonquin Highlands
is located at:
1218 Canopy Lane,
Maple Lake,
Stanhope Township,
Ontario.
Getting there
Map + Location
45° 06′ 22.48″ N, 78° 39′ 29.55″ W
Dimensions Algonquin Highlands can be reached from Toronto by car. Driving from Toronto via Highway 400 North with a connection to Highway 11N and then a right turn to 118 West brings guests to our door in approximately three hours. From Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport or Toronto Pearson International Airport, flight time to the nearby Stanhope Municipal Airport (CND4) is one hour. The Retreat spans nearly 16 hectares of woodlands, and is located in Stanhope Township along the shores of Maple Lake, at 1218 Canopy Lane. This forest access road leads south from the Township’s Airport Road, just 6 kilometres from the nearest community of Carnarvon and 20 kilometres from the larger town of Minden, Ontario.
Our lakeside Northern Ontario setting featuring rugged hills and an extensive network of forest trails is the optimal setting to enjoy a Canadian winter or observe the first signs of a changing season. Time spent with us off the beaten path will serve as an exclusive prelude to Dimensions Retreat’s growing curriculum and the opening of a global collection of several permanent Retreat destinations for deep healing and well-being. You will learn why the combination of natural plant medicines and psychotherapeutic technique is a powerful strategy to address issues and reduce the impact of trauma – especially when healing is set in natural surroundings.
Clinical Director at Dimensions Algonquin Highlands
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Fees + Inclusions
Accommodation and all meals during the four-night Retreat are included in your starting at rate. Accommodation in a private cabin includes all programmed activities and meals prepared daily to suit all dietary needs by Dimensions Algonquin Highlands’ Culinary Team. These all-inclusive accommodations, amenities and activities are conducted by Dimensions’ clinicians.
Our Dimensions staff and therapists follow all regulatory guidelines and do not provide cannabis to our guests for their ceremonial experience. Retreat guests are advised to procure cannabis for their personal Plant Medicine use. We have developed professional relationships with local dispensaries. All cannabis purchases must be made in cash, in person, for personal use, and in accordance with local regulations.
For the optimal psychedelic experience, our team will guide guests in purchasing, measuring, and identifying the ideal strains of cannabis to vaporize the Plant Medicine. Our recommendations for specific strains of cannabis are key to the success of the Retreat experience. Every ASCEND program held at Dimensions Algonquin Highlands includes the provision of guidance and education in making a psychedelic cannabis blend. Through our preliminary evaluation process, our medical team is authorised to recommend cannabis assisted therapy. Our on-site therapists provide ceremonial support for all guests to use their own Plant Medicine while participating in a Dimensions Retreat.
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Accomodation
Reset in comfort from any one of our 17 private cabins. Our serene accommodations and thoughtful amenities allow for complete relaxation.
Dotting the edge of a forest or overlooking the water, our cabin suites each have a footprint of about 450 square feet. The cabins feel modern and forward-thinking while remaining rooted in their context and a sense of wholesomeness. Each interior is simple, luxurious and light-filled, with a window seat and private deck that encourage you to immerse yourself in nature, quiet your mind and rest your body.
Cabins
Forest View
Tucked under the boughs of majestic poplar, maple and oak trees, our 12 forest view cabins feel like hidden havens. Their traditional forms echo local architectural vernacular but are rendered absolutely modern through their cedar cladding, porches and minimalist detailing. Skylights and large picture windows fill each cabin with natural light and open them to late-night stargazing. At once minimal and sumptuous, our forest view cabins bring contemporary comfort to the doorstep of nature.
Cabins
Lake View
Watch the sun rise and set from our four south-facing lake view cabins nestled along the shoreline of Maple Lake. Designed to sit discreetly within the landscape, each cedar-clad cabin has a gently sloped roof that rises to allow for sweeping views through a large lake-facing window. Quietly beautiful interiors keep your focus on yourself and your surroundings.
Terms and conditions
Payment guidelines
An initial 25% deposit (non-refundable) is applicable to all ASCEND retreat and program registrations. including taxes (13% HST). The balance is due six weeks (45 days) in advance of arrival.
Cancellations made within 45 days of the planned arrival date will be subject to a charge of 100% of the cost of the retreat reservation, 75% of which may be credited to another Dimensions Retreat, and is redeemable within 12 months from final receipt of payment.
Use Your Health Insurance on a Dimensions Retreat
You may be eligible for certain treatments on your health benefits plan. Do you contribute to a private or occupational health and wellness benefits program? You may be eligible for claiming one or more of those benefits at Dimensions. Find out more
Q + A
Published trials and recent research show that psychedelics are useful in treating depression, anxiety, stress, trauma, addictions, migraines, post-traumatic stress, obsessive–compulsive disorder, eating disorders and end-of-life distress, as well as in improving general well-being. Importantly, psychedelics also show promise in safely and efficiently treating many of these conditions where other approaches have failed.
In conjunction with Queen’s University and Health Canada, Dimensions is developing a robust research agenda to continue exploring the benefits and limits of psychedelics. Read our blog for more information about current research trials and findings.
Participation in our programs is not dependent on a physician’s referral, but all guests must participate in our intake and assessment process prior to Retreat, including a medical and psychological assessment to determine your physical and mental readiness for our programs.
Dimensions believes in whole plant medicine. The type of plant-based psychedelics offered at our safe, legal and luxurious Retreats differs depending on local laws in the regions where our locations operate.
Yes, we do have two-night retreat options at our Dimensions Algonquin Highlands property and upon request we do conduct ceremonies with guests who wish to abstain from plant medicines.
Without exception, Dimensions complies with local laws and only provides plant-based medicines that are legal in a Retreat’s location.
When used therapeutically in professionally supervised treatments, psychedelics can help you safely explore past experiences and memories that are normally difficult to tolerate or access. By quieting the part of the brain associated with ego, psychedelics disrupt patterns of negative thinking and allow for the creation of new perceptions. In these expanded states of consciousness, you’re better able to develop – and maintain – a deeper, more compassionate sense of yourself and your place in the world, leading to better mental health and improved well-being.
Used therapeutically, psychedelics are low-risk. At Dimensions, safety is our priority. We incorporate multiple measures to optimize your wellness journey and ensure your stay with us is safe and effective from beginning to end.
Psychedelic-assisted therapy combines psychedelic experiences with complementary therapeutic processes to help you reflect, reset and reconnect.
The therapeutic effects of psychedelics are not due simply to their physiological effects. Rather, they are the result of interactions between these physiological effects, the therapeutic setting and your mindset. Dimensions wellness programs offer a diverse array of therapeutic somatic modalities such as massage, float tanks and acupuncture to help you reconnect to your body. Instruction in breathing, meditation, mindfulness and similar practices deepens your experience. Activities in nature, exceptional culinary selections and the serene design at our luxurious Retreats are essential supports on your journey to well-being. Through all of these elements, our expert team pays careful attention to your emotional, physical, mental and spiritual development.
When specific strains of cannabis sativa are blended together in a particular way, their psychoactive components – notably, THC, CBD, CBN, CBG and CBC, as well as the terpene profile – can elicit deep psychedelic states similar to other classic psychedelics such as ayahuasca and psilocybin. When used in a therapeutic or ceremonial setting, cannabis addresses physical traumas in the fascia, tendons, muscles and bones – not just the trauma held in nervous system memories, emotions and personality structures.
However, cannabis differs from other psychedelics because you can retain your agency or sense of control. This often means you can navigate the experience more skilfully and with greater ease, and you can pause the experience.
Our guests’ privacy is paramount. Any information shared during the Retreat is confidential. Dimensions’ therapeutic staff comprises professionals who hold designations from recognized licensing bodies, and the entire staff have received extensive training on privacy protocols. Our digital platforms and guest services systems comply fully with HIPAA and PHIPA privacy regulations. Your fellow guests must also agree to maintain the confidentiality of other participants’ experiences and identities.
Planning your Ascend Retreat
