To be clear, the likelihood of negative consequences from psychedelic use is minimal, it does exist and should be taken into consideration. I mention this because using these sacred medicines comes with risk, as is the case with any treatment modality. The avantgarde, “everyone should take it” ethos we’re seeing flying around is simply not true. It’s also important to point out the study authors said while there are risks for folx with personality disorders taking these medicines, that doesn’t mean they can’t benefit from psychedelics, especially if coupled with psychological support.

The medical profession is becoming increasingly interested in using psychedelics for deeper healing and given the resurgence in the West (note that using psychedelics for healing has been practiced indigenously for millennia), it’s no wonder people from all backgrounds, including those in recovery from addiction, are curious whether psychedelics can help them.

When I work doing psychedelic integration, I invite people to dive deep into a shorter-term intense exploration that can be done in conjunction with any other longer therapy or coaching that person already has in place. I have different options to do this type of work.

In this instance, I’m referring to an altar. An altar can be as simple or complex as you’d like. It acts as a focal point for prayer, worship, ritual, and healing. It can be a specific place, or various places, in your home, or it can be something you make outside, with elements from the earth, which can be a component of ecopsychology.

"Practically everybody reports peak exper­iences if approached and questioned and encouraged in the right way,”

Ketamine is lumped into the same category as psychedelics but it works differently than classical psychedelics like psilocybin or LSD. Ketamine relaxes chandelier cells in the brain, which control pyramidal cells. The pyramidal cells are the “thinking” cells and pass on messages to other neurons. By relaxing that grip, ketamine can produce a dissociative effect; a person can feel “floaty” or like they’re in a different reality

In my practice, I bring in somatic, or body-oriented techniques because doing allows for a person to embody the processing of the experience. It puts the person more deeply in touch with their physical form. This is very important because many people are dissociated from their bodies for a variety of reasons. Being dissociated has become the new norm for how to navigate this modern world of lived trauma, high-pressure school and work, and relationship/family tension. You can read more about psychedelics and the body in this post.

Ideally, there needs to be someone present who is trained in trauma-informed work, the human psyche, somatic-oriented understanding of the human experience, and psychedelics. This person would know how to hold the depths of the realms that people go to, and someone to adequately conduct in-depth integration after the psychedelic journey.

Change is hard. By nature, it’s scary and unfamiliar. So too is the process of integration for some. Nevertheless, the only constant in life is change, so how do we navigate this inevitable aspect? How do we integrate change, whether we asked for it or not?

It’s a taboo topic in 12-step groups: the use of psychedelics to aid recovery. I’ve worked with patients, clients, and students who felt ostracized and bullied if they spoke about using ibogaine or psilocybin or ayahuasca (three common psychedelics showing promising results in addiction recovery)