For individuals and parents
As you step aboard the ship to cross the vast river of life that already knows your every move,
will you awaken or will you fall?
You might have experienced some states of mind that stick with you, even today. To make sense of distressing or challenging experiences, “integration” sessions following psychedelic journeys with a therapist are strongly recommended.
Especially if you have experienced yourself disintegrating, dissolving, or have disturbing dreams, integration therapy can give you a chance to reintegrate yourself, to put yourself back together like a puzzle.
Because psychedelics allow vastly altered ways of thinking, understanding, or believing, integration therapy can support the process of gaining a well-balanced understanding of the distressing and disturbing states of consciousness you may have experienced.
As if waking from a dream, most of which we soon forget, the lessons of a psychedelic experience can quickly submerge. This makes it crucial to allow ourselves the opportunity to explore – better yet, to carefully examine – what the psychedelic experience means for your life-map.
Research suggests that after the intense alterations of perception induced by psychedelics have worn off, challenging or disturbing parts of the journey can remain. For this reason, it can be helpful to do at least a few sessions of “integration” to process these with a therapist. Though psychedelic alterations in consciousness can be therapeutic without integration sessions, follow-up with a professional therapist is strongly recommended to ensure a balanced re-entry into ordinary life.
My Background
With a background of recreational use of psychedelics in my youth, and now moving into my third decade of clinical psychology practice, I recently decided to learn more about the risks and therapeutic effects of psychedelics (for example, Cannabis, Psilocybin, LSD, and Ketamine). With the decision to include psychedelic integration therapy in my clinical practice, I recently completed training in psychedelic-assisted therapy with Therapsil and Numinus.
What I Offer
Because the most important part of a psychedelic journey is how the experience is interwoven into daily life AFTER the experience, I offer integrative therapy to people who have had PAST life-changing psychedelic experiences that are difficult to process.
With the help of psychedelic integration therapy, you can give yourself the opportunity to emerge with a renewed sense of who you are and what life means to you.
I provide Psychedelic Integration Therapy for adults seeking.
- to understand a past challenging experience under the influence of psychedelics
- to explore new insights lingering after a psychedelic journey
- to find out how to parent teens who are using psychedelics
No matter how a person prepares for a psychedelic journey, it is important to know that the usual, ordinary way we think of ourselves, how we usually feel, and even the belief systems we hold can be distorted and even dissolved during a psychedelic experience. For this reason, difficult, distressing, or challenging feelings can arise through the use of psychedelic drugs.
Especially if there are unhealthy emotional or thought patterns, research suggests that users of psychedelics may need to take some time and get professional help to rebuild their sense of themselves following distressing non-ordinary experiences that can occur on psychedelics. While drastic alterations in consciousness can be therapeutic, follow-up with a professional is strongly recommended to ensure a balanced re-entry into ordinary life.
For these reasons, I use integrative therapy to help people reintegrate with who they are AFTER they have had intensely emotional or life-changing experiences while under the influence of psychedelics. With the help of therapy, you can give yourself the opportunity to more fully emerge from the journey with a renewed sense of who you are and what life means to you. Once you decide which way you wish to proceed, the choice is yours.
You may benefit from psychedelic integration therapy, if:
- You are not feeling like yourself after using psychedelics
- Your memories of psychedelic experiences are distressing enough to distract you from your relationships, work, or ability to enjoy life
- Your everyday life carries an unreal or dream-like quality NOT there before you used psychedelics
- You are suffering from disturbing flashback experiences similar to your psychedelic experiences
- Your ongoing use of psychedelics is increasing the unreal or dream-like quality of your daily life
- You are having difficulty understanding the meaning and purpose of the insights you gained on psychedelics
- Since you have taken psychedelics, people who care about you are suggesting you seek therapy
Though this does not always happen, psychedelics can produce vastly altered ways of thinking, understanding, or believing, and can do so for long durations. As a result, it can take varying amounts of time, from a few months to several decades, or even a lifetime, to feel like one has gained a well-balanced understanding of these alterations.
To put this into perspective, research shows most people who have had a psychedelic journey after consuming psilocybin rate the experience among the top five most significant experiences of their lives.
If you want help safely integrating the meaning of past psychedelic experiences into your daily life, contact Dawson Psychological Services today.