Information Pack

Everything you need to know about the process that can help you to cultivate connection in an increasingly disconnected world.

Contents

What is ACER Integration?

ACER Integration is a year-long process, created by Dr Rosalind Watts, that is undertaken in virtual community to support you in connecting more deeply to yourself, to others, and to nature.

It is a framework based on various psychological concepts, which enables you to integrate life experiences, as well as altered states of consciousness, in a way that is supported and sustainable. ACER Integration is not therapy, or a substitute for therapy, but is a community rich in knowledge and wisdom where you can feel safe to explore your inner landscape.

Using tools like guided visualisation, meditation, peer-support sharing circles, and breathwork you will use the metaphor of nature to create deep, lasting shifts within whilst being held in community .

 

ACER stands for

A - Accept - accepting ourselves as we are, knowing that no state of Self is ever permanent. Being patient with our own internal seasons and processes and extending that same acceptance and patience to others.

C - Connect - connecting to who we are at our core and acknowledging that we are more than just individuals. We are part of a great interconnected web of life, and that this connection to others and to nature is a critical part of our own wellbeing.

E - Embody - honouring the innate wisdom of our body and working with both body and mind in tandem. Feeling our feelings, increasing our body literacy, listening to, and learning to trust, our body.

R - Restore - restoring to the cycles and patterns of nature. Trusting in the unfolding of seasons that exists within all of us, as it does around us.

ACER Integration Elements

Click the + to reveal further information about each element.

  • Peer-led small sharing circles happen twice a month, at the start and the end of each month. Once after each Tree Journey and another to unpack and process each month's teachings.

    The ACER Integration cycle is undertaken in community, so these opportunities to share as a collective are integral to the experience.

  • Each month of the cycle will take inspiration from a different tree.

    Using guided imagery and bespoke music, these Tree Journeys are designed to cultivate a greater connection to nature, to the self, and others.

    As each month passes, participants are encouraged to become more aware of, and in tune with, the natural world. To learn new ways of applying and embodying the wisdom of the trees to stay grounded and rooted to who they are at the heart.

  • The power of sharing growth experiences with others cannot be overstated. Humans are tribal creatures and we crave connection. Everyone taking part in the 12-month cycle does so collectively, communally and connectedly..

    The ACER Integration community forum is a place where participants in the cycle can engage with each other. Here they can share ideas, knowledge and make friends.

  • All participants will be part of the wider collective community. However, participants are placed in orchards of approximately 12 people. This enables participants to unpack and process in a smaller group if so desired.

  • In addition to the Tree Journeys, there will be further guided meditations to keep participants anchored to the ACER Integration Cycle.

    These meditations are a way to stay connected to the practice in a gentle, less directive way.

    Participants can listen on the train to work or right before bed. These supplemental resources have been designed to fit into any participant’s daily life.

  • During the 12-month cycle, Dr Watts, and the ACER team will provide monthly drop-in sessions where participants will learn various breathwork practices designed to help participants to go deeper into the cycle themes, as well as increase connectedness to the wider world.

    These sessions support participants in connecting more deeply to mind and body and expanding this connection beyond the self.

  • Every month participants have the opportunity to submit questions for Dr Watts and her team to answer live.

    The focus will be on psychedelic integration to help those who have undergone a psychedelic journey to gain a greater insight into how and why integration is so necessary. However, questions on all topics are welcome.

The Twelve Trees

ACER Integration follows a process called The Twelve Trees. Each month is represented by a different tree and carries a different lesson.

We use the lens of nature within ACER Integration, remembering that we are nature and that we too have cycles and seasons we must honour.

Please watch the video to hear Dr Watts talk about the Twelve Trees Process.

Sample Calendar

Once you enter the ACER Integration community, on the first of each month, you will be provided with the Twelve Trees resources designed for that month. These will consist of a guided imagery Tree Journey, a video from Dr Watts, and journal prompts and suggestions for daily practice.

In addition to these materials, you will also have the opportunity to participate in virtual live sessions, which are outlined on the sample calendar below. Please see the key for an explination of each session.

 

This is just a sample schedule and is subject to change.

As you can see, we run the Sharing Circles at various times during the first and last week of the month. This is to ensure our global community has choices as to when they join these sessions. All times displayed are UK time but circles take place in the evenings in EST, AEST, and PT as well.

Calendar Key

TJSC - Tree Journey Sharing Circle
Participants attend one of these each month in small groups of 8-10. Everyone in attendance listens to the month’s Tree Journey together and then shares any thoughts/reflections after. These are facilitated by trained facilitators.

Breathwork - These live drop-in sessions are held monthly and ACER participants can attend as many as they like. These are light-touch and designed to help participants build out a toolkit of somatic practices to complement the inner work being done in ACER Integration.

Drop-in Chat - Casual spaces participants can drop into to chat about whatever they like. Very informal.

Q&A - Monthly sessions hosted by Dr Watts and guests. Bring questions about psychedelic integration, or anything else relevant to your personal journey through ACER Integration.

RSC - Reflections Sharing Circles - Participants attend one of these each month in small groups of 8-10. Everyone in attendance looks back on the month and shares their thoughts/reflections to deepen their own understanding of the month’s lessons. These are facilitated by trained facilitators.

Breathwork Journey - These longer, 90 minute journeys take place during the eight annual festivals that mark the Eightfold Wheel of the Year. They present an opportunity to mark the occasion with a deeply intentional somatic practice.

Book Club - Held once per month, and hosted by Dr Watts, participants read and discuss a book relevant to the month’s theme.

ACER Community Feedback

  • "What is it with ACER??? I feel grateful, but also GLAD, almost radiant - after just about any session, but maybe especially the sharing circles. It is fascinating and enriching to hear other people’s journeys, insights, challenges, perspectives – all offered up honestly and vulnerably. And comforting/affirming to have others hold space for me and my musings. The atmosphere is so trusting and open – and it’s a wonderful and quirky group. I would never in a million years encounter such a variety of thoughtful, feeling people just going through life.   Being part of this community is almost a mystical experience in itself. I think you are a visionary, Ros.”

    Meg

  • “ACER, this place, this community, has been like finding a quiet clearing in the woods, away from the noise of life. And then to find others who have happened to find their way there too, drawn to the shelter of the trees, to sit for a while, until it is time to leave, feeling a little restored. And then to return, and return again, the trees and the faces becoming each time more familiar and each time, finding you are feeling more and more yourself.”

    Maia

  • “The quality of these offerings is really off the charts— it’s remarkable to consider how much skill, heart, experience, imagination and love went into creating ACER. I initially imagined ACER would be a useful and cost- effective adjunct to the integration work I was doing individually, (The cost of ACER per month is basically less than the cost of a single session of individual therapy in the US). But it became, as the months progressed, a deeply nurturing and essential community that has shown me the very things essential for healing: safety, community, and grounding in the natural world. Incredibly grateful for this community, and really loving the idea that it will spread to more and more people with each cycle.”

    Lily

  • “I am touched and transformed by the depth of authenticity I encounter in the sharing circles. Nature outside, nature within, all the same. Thank you for this beautiful, emergent, mycelium community. I often travel for work and it is a place to call home, wherever I am in the world."

    Kosu

Join the ACER Integration cycle

Annual Payment - £1440 per year £1296 for friends of ACER.

Price is inclusive of VAT and a former clinical trial participant discount is available on request.

The roots of ACER Integration are in advocacy, which is why we offer reduced fees for those who have been through a psychedelic clinical trial.

We are self-funded and not taking any venture capital investment. Once ACER Integration becomes sustainable, we hope to offer more reduced cost and scholarship places.

How to apply

We are now taking applications for the May cycle. Please click the button below and fill in the Application Form with as much detail as you can. We will be in touch within five working days to inform you as to whether or not your application has been successful.

ACER Integration is inspired from nature, and promotes harm reduction. ACER Integration builds tools and structures to foster connection to the self, others and the natural world. ACER Integration and its collaborators do not endorse the use of illegal substances. Illegal substances do not form part of the ACER Integration cycle.

FAQs

  • This community has been designed for those wanting to connect more deeply with the self, others and nature. To work through individual life circumstances collectively.

    It’s for anyone who wishes to actively and intentionally process experiences in life which have led to a profound shift in worldview and emotion, including life events such as bereavement, illness, career change, and also 'self development' events such as engaging in meditation, psychedelic therapy, and many other holistic health approaches.

  • No, it is not. Although Dr. Watts has worked as a clinical psychologist, this program is fully educational in nature and must not be used as a substitute for psychological support.

    Anyone joining the ACER Integration community must agree and acknowledge that the community is not providing health care, medical or nutritional therapy services, or attempting to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any physical, mental or emotional issue, disease or condition.

    The information provided in or through the ACER Integration materials is not intended to be a substitute for the professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by your own health provider.

    Always seek the advice of your own medical provider and/or mental health provider regarding any questions or concerns you have about your specific health before implementing any recommendations or suggestions from our materials.

    If you have or suspect that you have a medical or mental health problem, contact your own medical provider or mental health provider expediently.

  • Although integration is typically associated with psychedelic therapy, it is a beneficial practice for anyone looking to feel more connected to the world in which we live.

    ACER Integration uses the lens of nature to take participants beyond what they know to contextualise and embody complex emotions and experiences.

    Please watch this video to hear Dr Watts speak about this further.