Rob Ó Cobhthaigh (Inwardbound Institute (Psilocybin Retreats))

About Rob

I often say this work comes from necessity rather than theory. It is rooted in lived experience, not something I simply studied in a book or followed because it became fashionable. My path has been one of healing, and psilocybin has been a vital part of that journey since my first psychedelic experience in the foothills of the Dublin mountains almost 30 years ago.

Writing in 2024, I can look back on my time as a psychedelic-assisted therapist and guide with the Inwardbound Institute in the Netherlands from 2018 to 2023. In that period, I personally supported more than 700 people through their psychedelic experiences, including preparation, the retreat process itself, and post-retreat integration.

As the work developed, the team expanded to include psychotherapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and holistic therapists. In the early years, however, I carried a large share of the responsibility for the psychological support of retreat participants. It was challenging at times, both personally and professionally, but it strengthened my conviction in the healing potential of psychedelics and, in particular, psilocybin’s capacity to reconnect people with themselves, with others, and with the natural world.

My Background

I was born in 1978 and grew up on the outskirts of Dublin, Ireland, in Knocklyon, where the city gave way to fields and the Dublin mountains. From an early age, I felt like an outsider, more drawn to the edges of things than to the centre. Once I could ride a BMX, I spent my days exploring estates, riverbanks, and open land, pushing further into the unknown.

I was also a voracious reader, captivated by mythology, fairy tales, and the ancient stories of Ireland. The heroes, gods, and goddesses of Irish tradition spoke to me in a way that the grey suburban landscape never quite did. I grew up near the Dodder river and would follow it toward its source in the mountains, where I found a sense of magic and belonging in places like Glenn na Smól, the Valley of the Thrush.

Alongside this imaginative and outdoorsy side, I was also deeply academic and introspective. Between the ages of 8 and 12, during a difficult family period, I turned to books for refuge and became intensely inward-looking. Later, at 12 or 13, I discovered whitewater kayaking, which became an obsession for nearly two decades. I travelled widely, worked on the Zambezi River in Africa, represented Ireland in extreme kayaking, completed first descents in Norway and Iran, and led high-altitude expeditions in places including Kilimanjaro, Peru, and the Himalayas.

To support my travels, I also taught Outdoor Adventure Management in Dublin for more than a decade, working with young adults and teenagers in adventurous environments. That role taught me about risk, leadership, resilience, fear, and human behaviour under pressure—lessons that continue to inform my work today.

My Training

One of the most influential trainings I completed was a year-long facilitation course at Sport Coaching Ireland with Liam Moggin. A core principle from that training stays with me: it is never about the facilitator. It is always about the people we serve.

That same principle applies to psychedelic-assisted therapy. Over time, my work in nature shifted from simply doing to being, and my years on rivers and mountains became, in many ways, a form of personal therapy. I came to understand my own unresolved wounds, including the impact of a chaotic home environment and inherited Irish trauma shaped by colonialism, disempowerment, abuse, and addiction.

I did not arrive here as part of a career plan. I came because I had to. I began working with psilocybin in order to heal myself, and over time I learned how to accompany others on their healing path. My psychotherapy training at Turning Point Training Institute in Ireland, followed by more than eight years of accreditation work with the Irish Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, gave me a strong clinical foundation.

Alongside that, I trained for over a decade at the Irish Center for Transpersonal and Shamanic Studies under Martin Duffy, whom I regard as one of my great teachers and mentors. His lineage includes work with Stan Grof, Dr. Ivor Browne, and Michael Harner, and his guidance shaped much of what I do. I also had the privilege of knowing Dr. Ivor Browne personally and spending time in his meditation group in Dublin.

My First Experience with Psilocybin

My relationship with psilocybin began almost 30 years ago, when I was around 17 and went with friends to the foothills of the Dublin mountains in Glen na Smól to pick liberty caps, psilocybin semilanceata. A few days later, I accidentally took a very large dose—several hundred mushrooms—during Halloween, long before the internet or any real understanding of dosage or set and setting.

What followed was a profound experience that changed me completely. I felt connected to the universe, saw the stars in three dimensions, and experienced the land, trees, and woods around my home in a new way. I woke the next day knowing I would never be the same again.