Inside the $6,000 Retreat That Entrepreneurs Are Raving About
Brannagan estimates that somewhere between 150,000 and 160,000 people have completed the course to date, with a gender split of around 54% women, 46% men, and less than one percent non-binary. But despite the considerable size of its clientele, the Hoffman Process has long carried a reputation for being secretive and esoteric. “Everybody that comes back says… ‘I’m not allowed to explain it to you,’” Oprah Winfrey said on an episode of her podcast last year, where she also revealed that she has sponsored people to take part in the program. (The Hoffman Institute Foundation offers grants of $350 to $3,100 to those who need financial assistance.) Though Brannagan says there has never been a non-disclosure rule for participants, the institute does maintain “a strong rule of confidentiality where you can’t talk about someone else’s experience.”
In recent years, a host of celebrities and influential names have been vocal about their Hoffman experiences. Orlando Bloom told Winfrey (on the same podcast episode) that it was one of “the most revealing experiences” of his life and helped him become a better parent. Speaking on The Diary of a CEO, music mogul Scooter Braun revealed he enrolled in the program when he was suicidal and his marriage was falling apart, and said that after completing it he “never was depressed again.” Neuroscientist and podcaster Andrew Huberman told Tim Ferris the process “completely erased all feelings that I was wronged by anybody or anything.” Also speaking on the Tim Ferris podcast, Twitter co-founder Evan Williams insisted the retreat was more like 20 years of therapy in a week, saying, “You go in, you hand over your phone, do a bunch of exercises with 36 strangers, and come out a new person.”
So what actually happens during the Hoffman Process? While it may come with a luxury price tag, this is no White Lotus-style retreat. Meaning many of the typical valves you might use to blow off steam on vacation are off-limits. According to Adam Garfield, 38, a Miami-based entrepreneur who completed the program in Petaluma last September, the institute forbids recreational reading, conversation topics unrelated to the program, and anything else that may serve as a distraction to self-discovery. “There’s no gym, and you’re not allowed to work out,” says Garfield, whose software company was acquired a few years ago. “That was a big thing for me, like, ‘What do you mean I can’t get up and go running in the morning?’ But it all comes back to instead of expending energy outwardly, focus that internally and don’t use these escapes to handle everything. You need to really focus on yourself in order to maximize the impact.”
Tasked with around 12 hours of homework prior to arrival, participants work from 7 a.m. to 9.30 p.m. each day under the guidance of coaches, completing group and solo activities such as directed journaling, visualization and meditation, designed according to Hoffman’s theoretical framework, the core tenet of which is a concept called Negative Love Syndrome. Drawing on Jungian and Gestalt psychology principles, Hoffman, who died in 1997, believed that children, in an attempt to gain love and attention from their parents, imitate their parents’ behaviors, both good and bad. These patterns, rather than disappearing in adulthood, become subconsciously ingrained, and are the cause of issues such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and self-sabotage. The Quadrinity model (as seen in tattoo form on Berger’s forearm) is, according to the institute’s teachings, the antidote. By bringing four elements—intellect, emotions, body, and spirit—into alignment, one can heal the wounds caused by Negative Love Syndrome, and leave the retreat with greater self-knowledge and a set of tools to help you handle life’s struggles. At least, so the theory goes.
