Living Your Legacy: Transforming Mental Health with Psilocybin

Host: Rudy Mawer
Guest: Tara Portelli (Founder, Arcadia Healing Sanctum)
Date: September 11, 2025

Episode Overview

In this compelling episode of Living Your Legacy, Rudy Mawer sits down with Tara Portelli, a transformational healer, former paramedic, and founder of Arcadia Healing Sanctum. The main theme centers on the groundbreaking use of psilocybin (the active compound in “magic mushrooms”) as a tool for mental health transformation. Through candid discussion, Tara shares her personal journey from trauma and mental health struggles to healing, and how she now helps others through immersive psilocybin retreats. The conversation uncovers practical healing modalities, safety considerations, and inspiring stories of redemption and change—aimed at anyone curious about alternative approaches to mental health.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Addressing Root Causes vs. Symptom Management

• Conventional Approaches:
  • Mental health treatment often involves lifetime pharmaceutical use, which manages symptoms but rarely addresses underlying causes.
  • Quote (Rudy, 04:51): “Mental health is treated just like general health, where you take medication to lower the symptoms versus address the root cause often.”
• Alternative with Psilocybin:
  • Psilocybin-assisted therapy offers the possibility of deep, root-level healing and self-discovery, often outlasting pharmaceutical interventions.

2. Tara Portelli’s Background and Personal Journey

• From Paramedic to Healer:
  • Tara’s firsthand struggles with PTSD, anxiety, and depression as a paramedic led her to seek alternatives.
  • A life-changing psilocybin experience in Mexico redirected her career to focus on guiding others through similar transformations.
• Personal Motivation:
  • “I watched my family struggle with mental health and seeing that there was really no solution, it's just treatments of the symptoms. ... I ended up packing up my whole life after having my first experience of psilocybin, realizing that this was my path I wanted to follow.” (Tara, 13:33)

3. The Retreat Experience: Structure & Modalities

• Preparation (Pre-Retreat):
  • Five-week preparation process ensures readiness for deep work (02:24).
• On-Retreat Practices:
  • Shadow work: Facing and accepting inner darkness to find acceptance and transformation.
  • Meditation: Guided meditations facilitate emotional release and self-discovery.
  • Sound healing: Uses vibration and frequency to open up energetic pathways, preparing participants for deeper experiences (11:41).
  • Indigenous Sweat Lodges: Traditional ceremonies foster resilience and reconnection with ancient wisdom (12:13).
• Integration:
  • Post-retreat support is vital to embed changes into daily life.

4. How Psilocybin Works

• Neuroscientific Basis:
  • Psilocybin impacts the same brain receptors as antidepressants, boosting neuroplasticity and allowing the brain to rewire entrenched patterns (05:27).
  • Emotional catharsis: Helps surface and release long-buried grief and trauma.
  • Quote (Tara, 06:24): “When you have these experiences, it can be so profound. They say it's the equivalent of 20 years of therapy.”

5. Client Transformations: The Case of "Jeff"

• Example Story:
  • “Jeff,” a former police officer with severe PTSD, finds no relief from traditional methods.
  • After an immersive retreat (sometimes even without the psychedelic experience), he shifts his relationship with himself, leading to the complete alleviation of PTSD symptoms and lasting life changes (06:41).
• Long-Term Outcomes:
  • Integration and support lead to “peeling back the layers”—progressive transformation maintained even four years on.

6. Safety Considerations

• Screening:
  • Proper medical and psychological screening is essential, including checking for medication contraindications (09:36).
• Guided Setting:
  • Experiences should only occur under trained guidance for maximum benefit and risk minimization.

7. Self-Help Techniques for Listeners

• Shadow Work at Home:
  • Tara offers recorded guided meditations as a starting point for self-exploration (11:05).
  • Example exercise: Reflecting on and integrating “unlikable” aspects of yourself (e.g., manipulation), reframing them as survival skills (11:19).

8. Who Benefits?

• Diverse Clientele:
  • Not limited to trauma survivors; high-achieving CEOs and entrepreneurs often attend seeking purpose and fulfillment beyond conventional success (12:46).
  • “I work with a lot of people who, you know, have their life together, but there's still something feels like it's missing.” (Tara, 12:59)

9. A Legacy of Change

• Shifting the Paradigm:
  • Tara aspires to change the way mental health is viewed—moving from symptom suppression to root-cause healing, leveraging ancient plant medicines.
  • Quote (Tara, 16:21): “If we can shift our perspective and perception on how they are used and what they can be used for, then I'm hopeful that this will shift mental health for the greater.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Healing Deep Pain:

  • “Once you go into psilocybin and once you have that experience, that deep inner work within yourself, it can shift and change everything.” (Tara, 08:50)

• Transformational Realizations:

  • “It's almost like he has this bird's eye view of his life and understanding what happened.” (Tara on client Jeff, 06:56)

• Metaphor to Mold and True Change:

  • “You have to go screw it, you know, rip it out to the brick and redo it. ... If you actually address the problem, that's when it becomes more long-term and everlasting.” (Rudy, 07:58)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:24] Retreat structure and preparation
• [03:37] Tara’s origin story—meeting a “mushroom healer” in Mexico
• [05:27] How psilocybin rewires the brain
• [06:41] Client transformation story: Jeff
• [09:36] Safety and medical screening
• [11:05] Shadow work meditations for home use
• [12:13] Sound healing and sweat lodge explained
• [12:59] Entrepreneurs and “successful but unfulfilled” clients
• [13:33] Tara’s personal journey and motivation
• [16:21] What legacy means to Tara

Takeaways & Resources

• For those interested in exploring shadow work, Tara offers recorded meditations available on her Instagram @IAmTaraPortelli and at taraportelli.com ([17:27]).
• Psilocybin isn’t for everyone, but with careful screening and expert guidance, it can offer profound, lasting mental health shifts.
• Approaching personal growth holistically—with sound healing, meditation, indigenous practices, and integration—enhances and sustains transformation.

This episode offers hope, practical wisdom, and first-hand testimony for anyone seeking innovative paths toward mental wellbeing. Tara’s story and rigorous approach make the case for a paradigm shift in mental health—one that prioritizes true healing and self-realization over symptom suppression.