Eleos was founded by Dr. Erika Czerwinski, a clinical psychologist, ceremonial guide, and expert in integrating therapeutic practices with ceremony and spiritual healing. With over 20 years of clinical experience working with individuals, couples, and groups, Dr. Czerwinski holds certifications in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies from MAPS, the Integrative Psychiatric Institute, and the Living Medicine Institute.
Since 2019, she has facilitated Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) for individuals, couples, and groups, with a particular passion for supporting physicians, young adults, and those healing from trauma. Her work is grounded in depth-oriented psychotherapy, attachment theory, and family systems, and deeply informed by over 15 years of immersion in wisdom traditions, rites of passage, yogic philosophy, and meditation. Through Eleos, she offers immersive programs and retreats that weave together relational psychotherapy, sacred ceremony, and nature-based mindfulness.Dr. Czerwinski also provides professional training and mentorship in psychedelic-assisted therapy and serves on the boards of the Western North Carolina Psychological Association.
As a family medicine trained emergency medicine physician and owner of a ketamine assisted therapy clinic, Ben is dedicated to bridging the gaps between biomedicine and more holistic perspectives of health, healing, and wellness. After studying anthropology and environmental science, Ben completed a family medicine residency and fellowships in acute care medicine and point-of-care ultrasound. Although primarily working in the emergency department, Ben works in various healthcare settings including the intensive care units, urgent care, and critical access hospitals. He is also an educator and presenter, teaching procedural medicine and ultrasound nationwide and working with the Certificate in Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Program at Naropa University.
He has completed Ketamine Assisted Therapy training at The Ketamine Training Center, MDMA Assisted Therapy educational training from the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), and has earned a certificate in Psychedelic Assisted Therapy from Naropa University. Currently he is a Primary Care Psychiatry fellow at UC Irvine Medical School and is a certification stage student of Hakomi Therapy.
As the owner and medical director of a ketamine-assisted therapy clinic in Ventura, CA, Ben is committed to the safe, intentional, and therapeutic use of ketamine, empowering individuals to explore their inner healing potential. Outside of his professional life, he finds balance through surfing, hiking, cycling, backpacking, yoga, meditation, and playing music.
JJ is a Clinical Mental Health Counseling intern with over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, facilitating community collaborations across the country, including disaster response during Hurricane Helene. For the past decade, she has led monthly groups focused on mental and emotional well-being. As a psychotherapist, JJ works with individuals facing anxiety, depression, PTSD, and parental challenges related to anger and burnout. Her research centers on the neurobiology of trauma, the long-term effects of adverse childhood experiences, and how trauma influences parenting. Since 2016, she has also supported individuals in psychedelic-assisted healing, witnessing profound transformations.
Originally from San Francisco, JJ moved to the Appalachian Mountains of Western North Carolina in 2015 to live more closely with the land and its natural cycles. She is a devoted parent, bonus parent, partner, and active community member, committed to fostering healing and connection in both personal and professional spaces.
Dr. Joe Tafur is a Colombian-American family physician and author whose career bridges Western medicine and traditional healing. His interest in integrative approaches began in 1997 at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine and deepened through his medical training at UCSD and UCLA. After completing a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship in psychiatry at UCSD, Dr. Tafur co-founded Nihue Rao Centro Espiritual, a traditional healing center in the Peruvian Amazon, where he apprenticed in Amazonian plant medicine and Peruvian curanderismo. In 2017, he published The Fellowship of the River, a highly regarded account of his journey into spiritual healing, with a foreword by Dr. Gabor Maté.
Dr. Yvan Beaussant is a palliative care physician at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and an Instructor at Harvard Medical School. He holds a Master’s in Medical Ethics, and a certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research. Dr. Beaussant’s research focuses on the existential dimension of serious illness, exploring how psychedelic-assisted therapies can provide insight into patients' psycho-existential experiences and offer novel ways to address chronic pain and existential distress. His work is particularly centered on patients with advanced cancer, where unmet needs in pain and psychosocial care remain critical.
Dr. Keith Lowenstein is a physician, interfaith minister, artist, and meditation teacher who has taught the art and science of yogic meditation since 1980. He holds a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts and a Master’s in Interfaith Divinity, and his extensive training spans integrative medicine, psychiatry, somatic and psychedelic therapies, nutrition, acupuncture, cranial osteopathy, and the visual arts. He serves on the faculty at the University of Arizona’s Integrative Psychiatry Program, All Faiths International Seminary in New York, and Polaris Insight Center in San Francisco.
In 1980, Keith met his teacher, Sri Mahant Swami Ganesh Anand Saraswati Giri (Ganesh Baba), a revered Kriya Yoga Master who became his mentor and spiritual guide. Under Ganesh Baba’s instruction, Keith went on to medical school and has since built a holistic private practice in Portland, Oregon, offering medical care, spiritual counseling, and lifestyle coaching. He teaches Kriya (Raja) Yoga meditation in person and online through www.KriyaBreath.com, and is dedicated to supporting psycho-spiritual growth through contemplative practice and embodied healing.
It allowed me to connect deeply with people who understand my work experience in a way that non-medical professionals cannot. I was able to connect with people like me, who commit their lives to helping others—while often abandoning themselves. I rediscovered how I want to show up both personally and professionally.
Our upcoming retreats are filling fast—take the next step in your professional journey and be part of a movement that creates real change in the medical field.