A group of seven female facilitators from the Inner Shift Institute standing together outdoors.

Our Team

Alice

Founder

Alice Smeets is the founder of The Inner Shift Institute and the creator of The Inner Shift Method, a groundbreaking approach that combines psychedelic ceremonies with trauma-informed techniques such as inner child work and parts work. Since 2017, she has guided more than 600 individuals through legal psychedelic journeys, facilitating profound breakthroughs and lasting change.

Known for her out-of-the-box thinking and willingness to speak the truth, even when it challenges convention, Alice is a transformation catalyst who helps people create extraordinary lives on their own terms. As a neurodivergent thinker deeply attuned to multiple perspectives, she draws from intuition as much as intellect, finding creative solutions to entrenched challenges. Her ability to ask the right question at the right time guides clients to uncover answers within themselves, often unlocking clarity they have been seeking for years.

Alice holds a Master’s degree, speaks three and a half languages, and has lived and worked across the globe, including in Haiti, Costa Rica, and Bali. She has trained extensively with both indigenous shamans and leading Western psychologists and researchers in the field of psychedelics. She is a level 2 IFS practitioner and was trained by the Santa Fe Instute for Shame Based Studies.

Her path is shaped by personal transformation. She has overcome depression, healed deeply dysfunctional family patterns, and navigated life as a bisexual woman in a world that often struggles to embrace difference. She knows what it is like to feel stuck, disconnected, and hopeless and she knows, firsthand, that it is possible to build a life worth waking up to every morning.

Specialities:

ADHD / neurodiversity

Depression / Anxiety

C-PTSD / Childhood Trauma

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Jeanne

Group Retreat Leader & Private Retreat Facilitator

Jeanne is a French-German psychotherapy practitioner, psychedelic facilitator, and certified breathwork facilitator with more than a decade of experience working with psychedelics in therapeutic settings. She is also a trained art therapist and creates her own mandala artwork.

Her focus is on guiding individuals through inner work to address what may be holding them back from living a more fulfilled and meaningful life. She helps people work through their emotions and reconnect with their inner child so they can feel more at peace with themselves.

In her practice, Jeanne draws on a range of approaches including therapeutic, coaching, meditative, and spiritual methods, tailoring each process to the needs of the individual. Her work is aimed at fostering greater self-awareness, clarity, and the ability to let go of patterns that are no longer useful.

Outside of her professional work, Jeanne enjoys spending time in nature, walking barefoot, hiking mountains, and swimming in rivers, lakes, seas, and oceans. She also has a passion for collecting wild herbs for salads, painting mandalas, practicing yoga, singing, dancing at ecstatic dance events, and spending time with her friends and family.

Location:

Group Retreats: Venlo, Netherlands

Private Retreats: Salzburg/Innsbrug, Austria

Specialities:

Heartbreak

Burnout/Depression

Transgenerational Trauma

Cony

Group Retreat Leader & Private Retreat Facilitator

Cony is a certified psychologist with more than 10 years of experience working with plant-based medicines. She combines her academic training with a broad range of additional disciplines, including yoga, tantra, reiki, dance, life coaching, sexuality work, shadow work, trauma work, and theta healing. This wide background allows her to adapt her approach to the needs of the individual.

In her work, Cony supports people in facing and processing their emotions, reconnecting with themselves, and overcoming limiting beliefs or behaviors that stand in the way of a fulfilling life. She sees each client as unique, with their own story and perspective, and offers a space where they can be open, honest, and understood.

Her intention is to help people develop clarity, resilience, and confidence, while also strengthening their ability to live in alignment with their values and personal direction. She brings together psychological insight with her long-standing knowledge of plants and other practices to guide clients in a grounded and practical way.

Beyond her professional practice, Cony is committed to her own ongoing development. She regularly engages in movement, ritual, and creative expression, which continue to shape her presence and attentiveness in her work with others. She is known for her dedication, warmth, and ability to meet people where they are, creating an environment that is both supportive and empowering.

Location:

Group Retreats: Venlo

Private Retreats: Lagos, Portugal

Specialities:

Depression / Anxiety

Healing Traumatic Experiences

Emotional Disconnection and Numbness

Smiling woman with glasses and a green necklace, representing a psilocybin therapy practitioner at Inner Shift Institute

Caro

Group & Private Retreat Facilitator

Caro is a mindset and personal development coach and psychedelic facilitator who helps people identify and change limiting beliefs so they can live with greater clarity and purpose.

As a neurodivergent woman, she brings a heightened awareness and unique perspective to her work, often noticing details others might miss. She supports clients in recognising self-sabotaging patterns and understanding how these influence their lives. Through this process, they learn to question old assumptions, make conscious choices, and create lives that feel meaningful to them.

Caro’s own life experiences deeply inform her work. She has let go of a long-standing sense of guilt, overcome people-pleasing tendencies, and rebuilt her self-worth. She has also addressed patterns of codependency, worked through anxiety, and recovered from two traumatic birth experiences.

By approaching her own childhood experiences with greater care, she has learned to be a more compassionate mother and to raise her children to be confident, curious, and creative individuals. Outside of her work, she enjoys dancing, spending time with her children, gardening, writing, meditating, practicing yoga, and exploring new subjects.

Location: Maastricht, Netherlands

Specialities:

ADHD / neurodiversity

Narcissistic Abuse / Parent

Sensitivity (HSP)

Rachel

Group & Private Retreat Facilitator

Rachel is a clinical psychologist, psychedelic facilitator, and Holotropic Breathwork facilitator with over 20 years of experience. She helps people find their own answers and build trust in their ability to heal. She supports them in working through their challenges and strengthening their sense of self.

In her work, Rachel follows the principle of “non-doing.” Rather than directing or deciding what someone needs, she helps clients make sense of their emotions and physical impulses, creating a wider, non-judgmental perspective from which insights can arise. She is fully present with those she works with, including during difficult and challenging moments.

Rachel first encountered Holotropic Breathwork during her psychology studies at the age of 23 and was immediately drawn to the potential of non-ordinary states of consciousness. This experience confirmed her decision to become a psychologist and shaped the direction of her professional path.

She went on to obtain a second Master’s degree in Transpersonal Psychology and Consciousness Studies, a field of psychology that recognizes spirituality as a human need. In 2016, she completed the Grof Transpersonal Training and became a certified Holotropic Breathwork facilitator. She is also trained in EMDR therapy.

Rachel holds the perspective that expanded states of consciousness can play a powerful role in healing and self-development. She believes that many healing processes are less about doing more and more about allowing space, letting go, and returning to one’s essential self.

Location: Maastricht, Netherlands

Specialities:

Depression / Anxiety

Reconnection to inner healing wisdom and inner guidance

Fear of Abandonment and Trauma

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Karlijn

Group & Private Retreat Facilitator

Karlijn is a psychedelic facilitator and therapist based in the Netherlands with 10+ years of experience. She works with individuals by creating a safe and supportive environment in which clients can explore their inner world. In her sessions, she encourages clients to acknowledge and work through whatever thoughts, emotions, or memories arise, with the goal of supporting personal growth, healing, and transformation.

Her professional focus is rooted in the belief that people hold the capacity to heal themselves. She is committed to helping clients move from a state of survival toward greater self-acceptance, trust, and resilience. Through her work, she supports individuals in developing the tools to live with more authenticity and purpose.

Karlijn’s own life experience has taught her the importance of shifting from survival patterns to a state of self-trust and openness. She recognizes that challenges and difficulties can be an important part of growth and that embracing them is often a necessary step toward positive change.

Outside of her work, Karlijn enjoys long hikes in nature and regularly attends ecstatic dance. She lives in a tiny house in the forest, where she appreciates the beauty of the seasons. She also values community life, spending time with friends and family around a fire, and engaging in meaningful conversations. Connection with herself, with others and with nature forms the foundation of how she lives and works.

Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Specialities:

Overcoming feeling stuck

Depression

Reconnecting to the heart/intuition

Melissa

Group & Private Retreat Facilitator

Melissa has over 15 years of experience working with visionary plant medicines and a strong background in personal and social development. She has travelled extensively, driven by a fascination with nature, indigenous cultures, and the pursuit of freedom. As a neurodivergent individual, her way of perceiving and connecting with the world adds depth and sensitivity to her work.

Her passion for health and wellbeing has led her to study coaching, trauma integration therapies, nutrition, and the use of visionary plant medicines. This combination of training and experience has given her a solid foundation for guiding others through challenging and meaningful personal processes in a safe and structured way.

Melissa’s clients value her attentiveness, calm presence, and ability to create a supportive environment that encourages them to step outside their comfort zones while progressing at their own pace. She helps individuals identify and work through hidden patterns, develop self-acceptance, and build a more grounded connection to themselves.

Her body–mind–centered approach incorporates self-leadership coaching, somatic Internal Family Systems therapy, inner child work, and shadow work. Alongside her facilitation work, Melissa has pursued creative and entrepreneurial projects, including designing and building several sustainable construction projects. She divides her time between Europe and Mexico, living in a way that reflects her belief in living courageously and exploring life beyond conventional paths.

Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands or Tulum, Mexico (depending on the time of the year)

Specialities:

Increased sense of self-worth, purpose and meaning Authenticity, emotional intelligence & resilience Integrating trauma and adverse experiences

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Alejandra

Group & Private Retreat Facilitator

Alejandra is a trauma-informed therapist and psychedelic guide who combines scientific training with her cultural background to support emotional healing and personal growth. She creates safe, structured spaces where individuals can work through limiting patterns, reconnect with themselves, and find their own voice.

Her approach integrates Internal Family Systems Therapy (Levels 1, 2 & 3), Somatic Psychotherapy, Nonviolent Communication, and Psychedelic Facilitation. She is also trained in Yoga and Reiki and is completing the final years of a four-year program in Body-Oriented Therapy. This diverse background allows her to adapt her methods to the needs of each individual.

Originally from Peru and now based in the Netherlands, Alejandra brings a broad perspective shaped by both scientific knowledge and her heritage. Her focus is to create environments where people feel safe, understood, and empowered to explore the full range of their experiences. She supports clients in facing painful or unacknowledged aspects of themselves with honesty and care, always at their own pace. Alejandra believes meaningful change happens when people are met with respect, compassion, and presence exactly as they are.

Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Specialities:

Trauma Healing / PTSD

Nervous System Regulation

Relationship Care & Repair

Sanne

Group & Private Retreat Facilitator

Sanne is an experienced psilocybin guide, artist, and singer-songwriter. Since 2019, she has guided more than 200 individuals in psilocybin sessions, drawing on her training in trauma work, inner child work, and parts work. Her approach is both structured and creative, combining therapeutic methods with music to create meaningful and supportive experiences.

Her path into this work began at the age of eighteen when she experienced a heart attack and near death experience. While she recovered physically, she later discovered she was living with anxiety, PTSD, and dissociation. This turning point led her to study the impact of trauma on mental, emotional, and physical health.

Over the years, she has worked with teachers and mentors who taught her how to address trauma at its roots, work with the subconscious mind, and use psilocybin in a responsible and intentional way. These studies, together with her personal journey, gave her the tools to guide others through challenging inner experiences.

Sanne believes that meaningful change is not about quick fixes but about addressing underlying patterns, living in line with one’s values, and practicing honest self-expression. She supports people in moving from disconnection to connection, from self-doubt to confidence, and toward a life that feels authentic and grounded. 

Location: Amsterdam & The Hague, Netherlands

Anxiety & Sensitivity

Connecting with Your Intuition

Creative Expression

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