Meet Dr. Tom Garcia | Psychedelic guide, integration coach, and chiropractor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Tom Garcia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Tom, other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision you made that contributed to your success?
The single most important decision that has contributed to my success is following my intuition–an inner sense of being guided. I’ve been in the healthcare field for over 30 years as a chiropractor. For more than half of those years I’ve had significant deep personal experience with psychedelics in a therapeutic framework as a psychedelic guide and integration coach.

What should our readers know about your business?
My business is called Reclaim the Sacred. I run private retreats in the mountains of Colorado where I guide and coach individuals, small groups and entrepreneurial teams using psychedelic plant medicine. My unique way of working with plant medicine is on the cutting edge of personal transformation. My clientele are successful by any measure—empty nesters, entrepreneurs, executives, doctors, attorneys, athletes, engineers, coaches, consultants, and business owners.

In a conventional therapeutic setting the patient is diagnosed with a condition like PTSD, anxiety, depression, addiction, etc. and monitored by a therapist in a safe and comfortable environment. Typically the patient lies recumbent on a couch or bed with a blanket, eye shades, and head phones. Later the patient may share with the therapist what transpired in the session.

I work with clients in a ceremonial setting which creates a safe, sacred space, and provides a powerful container for deep inner work. I don’t provide a diagnosis, because we are not treating, curing or fixing anything. During the retreat we “clear the deck” to create spaciousness for the work ahead.

In warmer months we are outside on the earth, under an open sky, around the fire. In colder months we work inside a yurt (a large, round canvas structure with a wood floor) with a wood burning stove. My approach is decidedly unconventional and works extraordinarily well—the psychedelic plant medicine experience is life changing. We work to unearth the deeper wisdom that lies within each person in a process that includes deep listening, reflection, ritual and ceremony. We discover what called them to the plant medicine and what they most need to learn about themselves.

The hardest part for me was “coming out of the closet” with regard to my work with psychedelics. As a chiropractor and community member, I was concerned about being judged, ridiculed, and marginalized. For 15 years I worked underground as it were and people learned of me by word of mouth and personal referral. As I became more forthcoming and vocal about my work, I realized I was part of a psychedelic renaissance happening around the world. With changes in the legal status of psilocybin (magic mushrooms) in Colorado, I am completely out in the open now.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Let me take you on a private psychedelic retreat. After you’ve arrived and settled in, we’d go up to my fire circle at sunset. The fire is mesmerizing, and for the next 2 hours we’d sit in a ceremonial space talking about what’s next in your life, what you’re up against, the things you’re most excited about, and what you’re calling in.
In effect we are preparing for our plant medicine journey the following night, getting clear about why you’re here, what’s at stake, and what you want from the experience.
After we return from the fire we’d have a gourmet meal—homemade chicken noodle soup, fresh baked bread, organic green salad, and chocolate goddess cake for dessert.

The next day, after coffee and a hearty breakfast, we’d go on a hike in the woods and continue our conversation. After a light lunch we’d take a mid afternoon siesta and then come back together, load up our gear, and head back to the fire for our psychedelic medicine journey. What happens during the journey is epic. We’d spend the night in deep conversation immersed in nature and the enchantment of the fire. As the conversation winds down, we’d call it a night and sleep under the stars.

After breakfast the next day we’d head out for a day long world class soak at Pagosa Hot Springs within a short drive of our retreat center, and integrate the experience from the night before, and after that we’d go out for a wonderful dinner.

The next day would be in preparation for another medicine journey at the fire, which would take us into a deeper and more profound experience. At the end of the night, we’d sleep indoors to awake in comfort and another day of engaging conversation to ground the medicine experience into our memory. We have a choice of things to do in the new day: go for a mountain bike ride, raft the Animas River, take a ride on the Durango-Silverton train, hike Engineer Mountain, have a late lunch or early dinner at one of Durango’s fine restaurants, relax in a coffee shop in downtown Durango, or stop for organic ice cream after our meal.

All the while we are engaged in powerful discussions that continue to unfold to reveal new insights and new possibilities. One of the essential characteristics of our time is fun, ease, lots of laughter, and time in nature.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to my wife, Carin, for her great love and unflagging support.

Website: drtomgarcia.com

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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@drtomgarcia

Image Credits
Photo Divine