Barbora Alegría, Mgr.
Psychologist, Integration Facilitator & Interpreter
Retreat Support and Integration After Ceremonies
Barbora Alegría, Mgr., also known in our team as Bára or Baru, is a psychologist, integration facilitator and interpreter. She completed her master’s degree in Psychology at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic, in 2014.
At Feather Crown, she supports participants during ceremonies and the sharing circles that follow. She brings a psychological perspective to their experiences, helps them relate those experiences to everyday life and supports communication with Spanish-speaking healers.
Her work draws on her university education, personal experience of Amazonian traditions and an interest in people, nature and music.
Education in Psychology
Barbora studied Psychology at the Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University. She completed her master’s degree in 2014 under her former name, Barbora Řehová. Her Czech academic title is Mgr.
Her master’s thesis, Music as a Means for Influencing Psychological and Physical Well-Being of Man, explored the relationship between music, emotions and personal well-being. She successfully defended it on 15 January 2014. The thesis record, abstract and full text are available in Masaryk University’s official thesis archive.
Her education informs the psychological perspective she brings to emotions, relationships and personal questions that participants bring to the retreat or encounter during their stay.
Further Learning: Focusing
She also completed the course Body-Anchored Experiencing – Focusing (Tělesně zakotvené prožívání – Focusing) with PhDr. Ing. Karel Hájek, Ph.D. The course focuses on noticing bodily experience and understanding its meaning. Further information is available on Karel Hájek’s course page.
Her Role in Ayahuasca Integration
An intense ceremony experience is not always immediately easy to understand. It may bring joy or a clear insight, but it can also leave questions, unfamiliar feelings or difficult emotions. During integration circles, Barbora helps participants make space for these experiences, put them into words and explore how they relate to everyday life.
Our team brings together the Indigenous healer’s traditional perspective, the organizer’s experience and a psychological perspective. Barbora focuses primarily on the psychological aspects of the experience: emotions, relationships, personal questions and how to continue working with what has emerged.
Participants can share at their own pace, keep some experiences private and allow their understanding to develop gradually. The aim is to support each person’s own understanding and help identify practical steps that make sense in their life.
Barbora does not hold a clinical qualification. Retreat integration support does not replace individual psychotherapy, psychiatric treatment or medical care. Read more about our approach to ayahuasca integration after ceremonies.
Experience in the Peruvian Amazon
Barbora spent three years in the Peruvian rainforest, where she learned and worked at a traditional healing center. She assisted a local shaman and personally undertook several traditional plant dietas.
This gave her experience of Amazonian ceremonies through both personal participation and an extended stay in that environment. It helps her understand cultural differences and support communication between traditional healers and participants arriving from Europe and other parts of the world.
Interpretation and Support During Your Stay
Barbora has also studied and worked in translation. She interprets between Czech and Spanish, helping participants communicate with Indigenous healers, ask questions and understand what is said during sharing circles.
She is part of the support team during ceremonies, integration meetings, forest walks and plant baths. Participants can approach her when they need something explained, want help communicating with a healer or wish to discuss a personal topic that is better addressed outside the group circle.
Nature, Music and Her Personal Path
Barbora comes from the Czech Highlands. A close relationship with nature has been part of her life since childhood. She has also explored meditation.
Her personal and spiritual development has included energy work based on Barbara Brennan’s approach, studied with Jiří Král.
Music also has an important place in her life. Before some ceremonies, she accompanies shared moments by playing the santoor, a stringed instrument. Her interest in music and human experience was also reflected in her master’s thesis.
You can explore her personal work and other interests on the Baru Alegria YouTube channel.
