The District House is a benefit of District216. Come by for a portion or all of the evening, meet amazing members + guests, and interact with speakers on a variety of topics.
Topic: "Finding Your Guide: What to Look for in a Psychedelic Facilitator"
Description: With psychedelic facilitator trainings on the rise, and with more people getting certified—what does that actually mean for those seeking support? How do you choose someone who can hold space for your pain and experience, who allows you to feel safe, and can co-create a container for deep healing work?
Beyond trusting your gut or Reddit, what qualities, skills, and embodied presence should a facilitator bring? Join Jessalyn Maguire, LMSW, and Denise Rue, LCSW—experienced retreat leaders and trauma-informed psychedelic facilitators—for a conversation about what makes a guide not just qualified, but attuned to you and your needs.
When: Wednesday, September 24, 2025 from 5pm to 9pm (Interview at 6:30pm)
Where: LoDo Studios, 216 E. Gutierrez Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101(Please only park across the street on the Office Max side of the lot.)
Members are Free to attend The District House evenings, and are prioritized when we reach capacity.
Guests Welcome to purchase $25 tickets to The District House evenings.
Note: We will be filming the speaker for the District216 Change Your Lens Series. Refreshments provided.
SPEAKER BIOS
Speaker: Jessalyn Maguire, LMSW, Trauma practitioner, and Somatic psychedelic facilitator
Jessalyn (she/they) is an artist, somatic psychedelic facilitator, trauma practitioner, doula, and co-founder of Interweave Healing offering integrative, relational care for seekers and practitioners. With a background in social work and training in psychodynamic, transpersonal, and somatic modalities, Jess supports people in reclaiming presence, wholeness, and connection through trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming, queer-affirming practice. Their work lives at the intersection of creative expression, body-based wisdom, and collective liberation. As a white, queer, gender-expansive practitioner, Jess is committed to anti-racist, postcolonial, and non-pathologizing approaches to healing —centering sovereignty, consent, and relational repair. In one-on-one sessions, immersive retreats, and collective learning spaces, Jess invites people into spacious, embodied exploration. They hold a vision of healing that is not linear or transactional—but is creative, co-regulated, and makes space for our complex human-ness.
Speaker: Denise Rue, Trauma-Informed Psychotherapist and Psychedelic Retreat Leader
Denise Rue is a licensed Clinical Social Worker, Clinical Hypnotherapist, and founder of the New Jersey Psychedelic Therapy Association. For over three years, Denise worked as a retreat leader and lead therapist at a legal psilocybin retreat center in Jamaica. Denise has had the privilege of overseeing over 1,500 psilocybin sessions, and as many group integration sessions. She has a profound respect for the healing potential of this medicine, as well as a deep sense of the responsibility practitioners hold in shepherding people on their journeys. Denise has a private practice in New Jersey, specializing in individuals with complex trauma, especially adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
