Complex and childhood trauma
Since 2012 we have held a medically supervised iboga retreat on the Mayan Riviera near Cancun, Mexico. A traditional Missoko Bwiti ceremony is paired with a psychologist, then three months of follow-up at home. Guests who carry trauma from childhood often describe seeing old scenes from a distance, as the adult they are now. If what happened long ago still shapes how you feel about yourself and other people, here is how we help.
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The Long Way Home
Complex trauma: the ceremony, the numbers, the research and how to prepare.
How we help
No study has tested iboga or ibogaine for complex or childhood trauma. What we can share is our experience with 7,677 guests since 2012: many describe a long, lucid review of the past without being thrown back into it.
We offer it as a supervised opening alongside trauma therapy, never in place of it. For a single traumatic event, combat or first-responder trauma, see our page on iboga for PTSD.
Years of living on alert leave their mark: poor sleep, a fast startle, tension. Every guest has a medical screening and bloodwork before travel, and the physician stays in the room all night.
The nganga, initiated in the Missoko lineage, opens the space and keeps it protected. At the fire talk you say your intention aloud. In the life review the next day, what came up is put into words and given its place.
Tania, our psychologist, screens for dissociation, prepares you and paces the work with you. Three months of integration calls follow. With your consent, we send a summary to your trauma therapist at home.
Who holds it
Michael and Cory open and hold the ceremony; Tania, our psychologist with close to a decade at Mexico's National Institute of Psychiatry, screens for what iboga cannot hold and carries the integration; Dr Villarreal keeps the body safe.
Who it is for
Adults 18 and over who lived through abuse, neglect or years of trauma that was hard to escape, with or without a diagnosis of complex PTSD. People already in trauma-focused therapy, or willing to start it at home, who want to look at the past with support.
Active psychosis or recent mania, an unstable eating disorder, acute suicidality, a medication that cannot be tapered in time, or pregnancy. A heart condition needs a careful look first: read how we protect your heart. Frequent dissociation that is not yet stable, or a crisis at home that is still going on, comes first. The psychologist and the physician decide together, and sometimes the answer is a later date.
Why it is hard
Complex PTSD, in the ICD-11, is PTSD plus lasting trouble with emotions, a harsh view of yourself and difficulty in relationships. It usually follows trauma that went on for a long time, such as abuse in childhood. In a US survey, 3.8% of adults met its criteria, slightly more than for PTSD alone (3.4%).
Trauma models describe a threat system stuck on alert, with avoidance that keeps the memories unprocessed. Adverse childhood experiences are common: 63.9% of US adults report at least one, and 17.3% report four or more. More of them go with higher risk of depression and addiction, a link and not a destiny.
The strongest evidence is for trauma-focused therapies: cognitive processing therapy, prolonged exposure, and trauma-focused CBT for young people. EMDR is also recommended by the World Health Organization. Some clinicians begin with a stabilization phase, such as STAIR, before working on memories; experts still debate whether it is always needed.
Look for a therapist trained in CPT, PE, TF-CBT or EMDR. The US National Center for PTSD (ptsd.va.gov) has free information and self-help tools. MDMA-assisted therapy is not approved: the FDA declined it in August 2024 and asked for another trial.
If you have thoughts of ending your life, call or text 988 in the United States or Canada. Survivors of sexual violence can reach RAINN at 800-656-HOPE (4673), or text HOPE to 64673; in Canada, the Ending Sexual Violence Association of Canada links to local centres (endingviolencecanada.org).
If you are worried that a child is being abused now, the Childhelp hotline answers at 1-800-422-4453. Indigenous people in Canada can call the Hope for Wellness Helpline at 1-855-242-3310, 24/7.
Dates
Open retreats and the dedicated veterans' dates. Eight guests each; full list on the schedule.
We look forward to welcoming you, as you are. Thank you for trusting us with your healing.
Pricing, US dollars
All inclusive from Cancún airport: screening, ceremonies, room, meals, three months of follow-up. All payments are final, see the terms. Full pricing.
Questions about complex trauma
No study has tested iboga or ibogaine for complex or childhood trauma, so we will not say it treats it. What guests describe since 2012 is seeing old events with distance, and a body that begins to settle. We offer it as a supervised opening alongside trauma therapy.
A diagnosis in the ICD-11 (code 6B41): the symptoms of PTSD, plus long-term trouble with emotions, self-worth and relationships. It usually follows prolonged or repeated trauma that is hard to escape, such as childhood abuse.
No. The DSM-5-TR has no separate diagnosis; these experiences fall under PTSD. Researchers still debate how clearly complex PTSD differs from PTSD with other diagnoses.
Abuse, neglect and serious problems at home before age 18. The original ACE Study followed more than 17,000 adults in San Diego in the 1990s. Today, 63.9% of US adults report at least one.
It is linked to a higher risk of addiction, depression and other problems, but it is not destiny. Many people with a hard childhood never develop an addiction.
One Stanford study (2024) followed 30 male special operations veterans with brain injuries treated in Mexico. One month later, PTSD symptoms had fallen by 88% on average, with no serious adverse events. It had no control group, and it says nothing yet about childhood trauma. More on our PTSD page.
Guests describe seeing it with distance rather than reliving it: the observer's seat, not the child's. It can still be intense, which is why someone stays beside you all night and the psychologist works with it after.
No. You share what you are ready to share, at your pace. The psychologist needs to know enough to keep you safe, not every detail.
Dissociation is common with complex trauma. The screening looks for it, the practitioner gives the medicine in steps, and a person stays beside you through the night. You can ask to stop at any time.
Often, with a plan made in advance. Some antidepressants change how the body handles iboga, so our physician works out any taper with your prescribing doctor, sometimes over weeks. Never stop a medicine on your own.
No. FDA advisers voted 10 to 1 against it in June 2024, and in August 2024 the FDA asked the company for another phase 3 trial.
Ask for training in cognitive processing therapy (CPT), prolonged exposure (PE), trauma-focused CBT or EMDR. The National Center for PTSD (ptsd.va.gov) explains each approach.
Yes, with your consent. We can send a summary to your therapist, and integration calls can include them if you want. Many guests find the ceremony gives their therapy somewhere new to begin.
No. Belief is not required. Telling the truth helps more than any belief, and nothing is asked of you that goes against your own faith.
You've carried this long enough. Start with a conversation with our medical team.
