I've done a bunch of these, even went to a jungle for two weeks. After a deep examination of years of this journey the experiences and getting to know the participants I found this to be very shallow kind of temporary relief, also putting aside the fact that it's quite a shitshow and as a man you'll lose a bit of a self respect.
I often looked around and all I've seen was men who don't need more softness but more discipline. And women past their prime who are still childless but looking to find "a meaning of life" while continuing to delude themselves that the natural purpose of breasts and vagina was sexual pleasure.
On the contrary, I found the greatest relief in training Brazilian jiu-jitsu and joining a muay thai camp for a month.
It wasn't far from a popular hippie site. But I looked around and I saw a big difference. A lot of these people on 'retreats' aren't seeking change, they are seeking a pleasurable and an EASY kind of change.
You have people there that cry a little take some drugs hug each other, some hoping to get laid and basically chill on a "retreat" thinking they're doing 'hard spiritual work.
On the contrary, I saw people in the camp that trained for 4-5 hours and woke up early morning, conquered the pain and comfort, got out of the bed and went on to train on their bruised feet. Every day.
And when you're down, your muscles are out of your oxygen and you suffocate wrestling but still have time to go you start to converse with a voice on your head that wants you to give up and you'll question a lot of things and learn a lot about who you really are but you will have to find energy where you think there's none.
This rewires your brain not whining in the woods.
No you don't need drugs and it doesn't take strength to cry in a group where everyone cries.
The reason why all the westernized forms of buddhism and all sorts modified of Eastern practices and drugs like ayahuasca gain popularity is because people look for easy "fast-food" change.
Ironically people despair in comfort but look for comfortable way to get out of it.
Everyone who tried ayahuasca or crying in woods, or some other form of 'retreat' knows the change lasts about a week.
Worse, some people get addicted to seeking this relief and continue falling back to depression actively, just so they can get back and get some hugs. I know it's over-simplified but a lot of them will get addicted to the community and other paying attention to them even though it's artificial they get more of it than in their real lives.
In better case, you'll become a bozo kind of like Jim Carrey and crash parties just to tell everyone how deluded they are and how enlightened you are ... because duh fools, can't you see what I see "we're all one."
Finally, after a decade of searching I found that classical philosophy and in fact christian philosophy, as ridiculed as it is in media and the western society, the true deep philosophy, not the shallow popularized image, it offers all of the hard work and depth none of these 'retreats' will ever provide.