Omnia plans to begin offering therapeutic sessions later this month near Safeway

By Damian Mann for Ashland.news

A quiet oasis near downtown Ashland will offer a soothing setting for personalized, guided mental health journeys under the influence of psilocybin, better known as magic mushrooms.

Tucked into a garden setting in a 3,500-square-foot building a short distance from Safeway, Omnia Group Ashland plans to open on the last weekend of August at 607 Siskiyou Blvd.

Owners Brian and Michelle Lindley say they want to create a space of wellness, creativity and community that will help those with chronic mental health conditions, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression and other life issues.

An atrium, along with quiet spaces, communal spaces and decompression spaces, will be made available for those on a mushroom journey, including cozy chairs, blankets, music, soothing sounds, eye masks and headphones.

“It is something we are doing from our hearts,” said Michelle, who has a background as an educator in Ashland schools where she was a trauma-informed practitioner.

For Michelle, the location of Omnia is an experience that has come full circle for her, pointing to an adjacent building where her mother was a therapist.

Brian has a background in business and was involved in the local county effort for the rollout of the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act, created when voters approved Measure 109 in 2020.

The state has established a regulatory framework for service centers that administer psychedelic mushrooms to help ensure they operate in a controlled and supervised manner.

State law doesn’t allow retail purchase of psychedelic mushrooms, and someone has to be 21 or older to undergo the treatments.

A transportation plan to make sure someone gets home has to be in place before the session can begin.

Omnia isn’t the first mushroom therapy center in Oregon, and Satya Therapeutics at 638 N. Main St. in Ashland is another center that opened recently.

The Lindleys say they want to make sure everything is in place before they open.

They also understand that the historic legalization of this Schedule 1 substance places ever greater importance on how it is rolls out in Oregon.

“With that in mind, we want to do this the right way, and with safety and integrity,” Brian said.

Michelle said, “We can’t ignore the fact that the state is pioneering this.”

The Lindleys say Omnia will work with each individual to determine what dose is suitable, or whether mushrooms are the right fit.

There has already been strong interest in Omnia. Michelle said she’s received inquiries from as far away as Germany and from all over the U.S.

Before they can open, the Lindley’s have been interviewing for a number of facilitator positions.

“We want people participating in the creativity and building of Omnia Group,” Michelle said.

One or two facilitators, who are required to receive a license and undergo training, will be on hand while someone is experiencing a mushroom journey. Both group and individual settings will be available.

The Lindleys haven’t established a pricing structure for the sessions, though other service centers in Oregon vary from $1,500 to $3,500. “We’ll be well below that,” Brian said.

When someone comes in to Omnia, there will be a discussion and assessment about the appropriate dosage of mushrooms.

Some individuals may only want a micro dose, which provides for a barely perceptible mushroom experience. Others may want to do a “heroic” dose that could require spending six hours or more at Omnia.

Brian said the goal of Omnia is to offer a healing journey, rather than just to provide a recreational experience.

“If you’re not doing it with intention, and applying what you’ve learned with the integration aspect, then you’re just doing drugs,” he said.

The integration comes after the main portion of the mushroom experience, or trip, is dissipating. It allows individuals to discuss what transpired and put it in better context with a trauma or life event.

“That’s the biggest aspect of the journey,” Brian said. “We’re all healing in some way.”

An advisory board has been assembled to help refine Omnia’s mission and direction.

A member of the board, Ian Luepker, a medical director of Ashland Consciousness Medicine, which provides ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and integration services, said psilocybin treatment doesn’t fall easily into the idea of a typical clinical session.

“This is not fast-food medicine,” he said. “It is slow medicine.”

Each individual is also different, Luepker said. One person might require six hours or more on a low dose before being released, while someone else might need only a shorter amount of time on a higher dose.

“Good preparation should be about asking the right questions,” said Luepker, who will also be a facilitator at Omnia. “You have to go into something with your eyes wide open. That is essential.”

Luepker tried to open a mushroom service center at another location in town, but it was too close to a school to satisfy state law.

For those who are unfamiliar with psychedelic mushrooms, Luepker said ketamine provides a milder experience that may be better suited for some individuals.

“Psilocybin brings up everything in our consciousness and puts it right in front of us,” he said. “Stuff can come up that there are no words for.”

For more information about Omnia, go to omniagroupashland.com.

Reach freelance writer Damian Mann at [email protected].