What will your Session look like?
Psychedelic Assisted Therapy is exactly as it says, assisted therapy, it is much more than just taking a pill and lying down.
Psychedelic Assisted Therapy sessions are very different to normal therapy sessions, as the psychedelics, along with the trust and safety created between the person and the therapist allow a deeper openness of the psyche and the emotional body. This allows more ready access to deeply held unresolved material, even access to previously unrealised potential.
Using psychedelics therapeutically is also very different from using psychedelics recreationally. It is not about having a good time, or escaping from pain, it is about finding a safe, supportive way through it.
From 1/7/23, sessions are now legal in Australia under approved circumstances, with much conjecture concerning high pricing and conditional availability.
Not a Silver Bullet
Psychedelics are not a silver bullet and it is important to recognise this, as the therapy before, during and after is what makes psychedelics so powerful.
Psychedelics open a previously closed door that allows deeper access to their wounded psyche, previously denied to mainstream therapies. As this door is opened & sometimes this may take more than once session, the individual can choose to open that door and walk through it.
Psychedelics = 30%, emotional skills = 70%
The psychedelics (@30%) open this door, but the choice to walk through that door, feeling safe and supported, and do the work is what makes up the bulk (@70%) of this amazing process. That is why it is crucial that each participant has a capable level of emotional intelligence skills. Having a limited emotional skill set will greatly diminish your experience & results.
Psychedelics do open (particularly MDMA) tightly held & long closed doors that are deep in your psyche, and open them in a way that is safe, emotionally safe, even when dealing with PTSD and CPTSD. Yet the medicine still needs your permission to take you there, it needs your willingness. It can help you open doors if you choose to do so. This understanding is a crucial part of your set up
Once this door has been opened, even partially, ongoing therapy is essential to integrate as you move through what has arisen, in your way & in a way that will not re traumatise you. It is important that you learn personal development skills to support your process during this stage.
Free Preliminary Meet & Greet
Therapy with a skilled therapist is crucial, preferably someone who has experienced psychedelic assisted therapy for themselves. Your process should look something like having an online free, no obligation meet & greet, where you get to meet your team, ask questions and share a little about yourself, what you are seeking and your expectations of what this kind of therapy can do for you. And where your team can begin to assess whether psychedelic assisted therapy is a suitable fit for you. If it doesn’t feel right for you, step back until you feel confident.
Question your therapist about their experience, as it is crucial that they have experienced this process for them selves as therapists. Those therapists who haven’t experienced this for themselves can unintentionally re traumatise their client. This is why this is an important question, as modern therapists (psychiatrists, psychologists etc) are not trained for this type of therapy, while personal experience is the most important aspect or training.
Preliminary Session(s)
The minimal next step is one preliminary exploration, which can be online if needed, lasting about 1 hour. This session sets you and your therapist up for your actual medicine session. It will include exploration of your issue, your skills, expectations, intentions, risk factors and again, whether psychedelics are the best pathway for you.
Depending on what your issues are determines which medicine, or mix is used. If it is your first psychedelic assisted therapy journey, and there is any history or possibility of trauma, MDMA is safest for the first session. This will be fully discussed, including any risk factors, likely benefits and outcome and agreed with you at this time.
You should also be given more specific information about what your medicine session might look like, any side effects eg. dizziness, nausea; what precautions and preparations you need to take care of at home prior to your medicine, such as fasting for at least 12hrs. You will also need to discuss how you are getting home from your session, as you will not be able to drive.
You should be offered information about integration sessions that are required following your medicine session. In some cases, additional therapy may be required prior to the actual medicine session, as optimal results are gained if you attend your medicine session in an informed, supported and calm space.
There should never be any pressure exerted for you to undergo this kind of therapy, especially financially, and other options should be able to be discussed if medicine is not for you. Price’s can vary significantly.
Medicine Session
The medicine session will take at least six hours, and requires your physical presence at the venue. It is important that you do not drive yourself, but have some one drop you off and pick you up.
The venue should be set up specifically for this purpose, generally more relaxed than a traditional therapy office space. The session space will be quiet, physically comfortable and private, with no interruptions. There will be music playing to support your journey and you may be offered an eye mask.
Your therapist or sitter will stay with you for the whole time. They will support you to stay with your experience, especially in any moments of emotional intensity. And to access the skills of what is known as your inner healer- the part of you that knows what you most need. Towards the end of the session there may be some therapeutic tools offered to help integrate your experience.
You may be offered a light snack here to help you ground into your body.
Once your session is complete, and you’re feeling integrated, which sometimes can take a while longer, you then leave with your pick up person.
You will most likely need to rest for the rest of the day and require little to eat, just something light and nourishing. It is important to rest the day following as well, giving your medicine the respect it deserves.
Integration
Follow up integration and support is essential, and should be part of your package. The next day or so after your medicine is when major insights and shifts can still happen, so it is important to keep your focus inward, doing some reflection, meditation, journaling. Having access to your therapist during this time if needed will support your integration. This can be done via phone or online. Full integration may continue for several weeks through regular, formal sessions.
An estimated base line price, including 1x preliminary, 1x medicine session and 1x integration could cost @$2000 AUD. When pricing for your experience, access to quality integration and post session support is what will make all the difference in your experience.
The Sitter..
It is crucial in choosing a therapist and/or “sitter” very carefully. Your sitter is someone who will “sit” with you during your session, someone you trust and feel confident with, even if you’re scared stiff, someone who intimately knows and understands psychedelic assisted therapy. Currently, since 1/7/23, only a psychiatrist can prescribe with a psychologist as the sitter. Neither of these therapy’s are trained for psychedelics, especially as sitter’s and follow up integration. under psychedelics, the client is extremely vulnerable, and are exposed to being re traumatised by inexperienced therapists. Check them out first.
When choosing your sitter, look for some one who has experienced psychedelics in a therapeutic space, look for someone who has experienced for themselves on numerous occasions psychedelic assisted therapy.
Look for a therapist who has a space that feels safe, is private, quiet and comfortable.
While having tertiary qualifications is important, there is no comparable training equal to or as effective as self experiencing psychedelic assisted therapy. Current training courses, such Certificate in Psychedelic Assisted Therapy ( CPAT) offer good training but it against the law for them to experience actual P.A.T during this training
As you enter your deep vulnerability, that space where your old and deepest wounds and hurts reside, the skill of your sitter will become apparent. While modern therapists are trained in cognitive skills, in psychedelic assisted therapy space, emotional presence and deep empathy is required, and too many words (especially inappropriate ones) can be re traumatising.
Learn about what you are intending to do, ask the difficult questions…
Historically, mainstream therapy has failed in dealing with PTSD and depression, so it is crucial in choosing your sitter, that you choose wisely. Don’t be afraid to interview them, to ask about their experience, number of their own personal sessions and how much experience they have had with people with your issue.
While both psychiatry and psychology are crucial medical and mental health professions, their focus is on the science of the mind. Whilst they have been essential in society advancing this far, they are limited in their ability to fully meet the emotional vulnerability of a client under the influence of psychedelics during a session.
For this reason, ask about their hands on experience and look for someone who has had numerous sessions themselves. It can potentially be deeply re traumatising simply taking a tablet and hoping for the best. It is important that during your “pre” session, that you have a deep and intimate conversation with your sitter about what you’re seeking and how can the drug you are about to use can support you in achieving your intention.
You need the right support because it can be intense…
The below video is an example of an actual psychedelic assisted therapy session, edited to 4.5 minutes from the 6 hour session. As every session is unique and this is one example where the recording started at about 1.5 hours from commencement. The sounds, shaking and body movements are actual body releasing process’s assisted by MDMA. This tremoring is releasing early & extreme body held childhood trauma of physical & sexual abuse, carried as Complex PTSD, depression & suicidal anxiety for over 60 years.
Warning, potential trigger ; The original trauma was experienced as an infant with his mother holding him under water by the throat to silence his crying. This happened on numerous occasions. Sexual abuse happened at @18 months of age and he has cognitive recollection of this. Both his parents vehemently denied every thing. These events merged into one body held massive ball of trauma and terror, with no cognitive recollection. He had a lifetime of experiencing intense triggers or reactions, with no memory as to what was happening. Breaking this hold is seen in this video as pure terror and pain lying in the fetal position holding the pillow. He spent many hours in this position over several sessions just simply bleeding off body held trauma and terror, which was terrifying to keep choosing to go there. Eventually, he found a place of euphoria in releasing the strangle hold this terror held over him, which was motivation to keep going. He learned to trust the process, as if he was in his head, nothing happened.
This session lasted over 6 hours and was physically active all the way through. Each different tremoring activity represented body held trauma release, and was only one of many sessions required to release this example of extreme physical life threatening trauma , experienced as an infant. There was minimal cognitive memory of this early childhood trauma, except for constant physical reactions to numerous stimuli that where seemingly unrelated. During the video, you will hear the sitter asking questions. There was only fleeting cognitive indications or flashes of memories of this early trauma, such as nightmares, sexual dysfunction, fear of intimacy, fear of water to name a few. The MDMA supported significant trauma release during each session, quite often tremoring for the whole 6 hours. Each session required weeks of followup, integration, therapy and processing. Over time it was life changing.
Caution, do your homework…
In this above case, inexperienced sitters can and did re traumatise this client and is why only experienced sitters be involved if you have significant body held trauma (PTSD).
Many main stream professional therapists are not trained nor experienced in this field. This is why it is important to ask “how many sessions have you had in this therapy ? ” Psychiatrists have been given the power to control psychedelics, with little understanding, training or experience to full fill their obligations. Check them out carefully and then decide.
The purpose of this website is to support your process in choosing wisely.
Seeking out psychedelic assisted therapy may be challenging because of historical laws, prejudices and general ignorance, which are still current, so be careful. In Australia, as of July 1st, 2023, psychedelic assisted therapy will become easier because the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Association) in Australia have rescheduled MDMA and Psilocybin so they can be legally prescribed by psychiatrists. While this is a world first, there is still along way to go and why caution is urged in seeking out psychedelic assisted therapy. Psychedelic assisted therapy has been operating underground globally since the 1950’s and there exist highly skilled and competent practitioners. Most of these practitioners have come from a failed mental health system and sought out alternatives that, when used with understanding and care, have been proven to be highly effective.
There are two important aspects to a Psychedelic assisted Therapy Process
(1) The Set
This is the mindset you bring to you experience, your beliefs about what you are doing, your skillset and your state of being on the actual day.
Emotional intelligence skills
It is also important that you have sufficient emotional skills to be aware of what may happen and that your sitter can support you during this process.
Generally, people who are ready for psychedelics have hit the wall with mainstream therapy and have developed a respectable level of emotional intelligence skills.
Most people who have been battling long term PTSD and depression already possess a deep understanding of their emotionality, and these are the people who benefit from psychedelics the most.
Get clear on your intention..
Once you have your intention, which may be something like, “I really want to do this, as I am over my issues taking over my life, I am ready to create change”, the next step is finding your therapist. If you are already seeing a therapist, they will be able to support you in this process as well. Also, ask your GP about it and if you’re on any medication that potentially may interfere with your process.
Some medications may be required to stop for at least 2 weeks before your session, such as any anti depressants or sedatives, as they can create unwanted side effects, others for just 24hrs. Ask your GP and your chemist.
Psychedelic assisted therapy is about unlocking those long held blocks, most often created by trauma that your psyche has locked away. Your intention should include your desire to do this, to safely penetrate your walls and release that deeply held trauma. This is where your sitter will be worth their weight in gold… and where going through that door is your intention and your decision.
Your sitter, who may also be another therapist, will support you in refining your intention, defining a perspective that will support your psychedelic journey.
(2) The Setting…
The setting is the physical environment where you will have your session and the interpersonal relationship you have with your team.
The room will be quiet, comfortable, at a suitable temperature, with either a couch or mattress where you can lie down, with empathetic music playing in the background.
You will be in this space, feeling exposed and vulnerable in a way that may be scary, if it is unfamiliar to you.
This will be a space where you will be supported to move through your fear to feeling safe and held.
You will be in this space for 6-8 hours, until you feel clear of the medicine.
That’s why it is crucial that you are not driving yourself afterwards.
On arrival, your sitter will bring you into the space and talk about what your session may look and feel like, building on your already established relationship of trust and safety. They will be able to explain to you again what the medicine feels like and about how long it may take.
Your sitter will advise you on what is the best approach from knowing your issue, hearing your desires and generally feeling into where you are at.
A moderate dose of your agreed medicine is administered by mouth at the beginning then your sitter will ask you in about an hour to see how you’re going and how you’re feeling and if you can feel the medicine working.
A pre discussed and agreed to second dose, or top up, may be administered at this stage.
A psychedelic session will usually last @ 6 – 8 hours, sometimes longer. During your session, you will approach and maybe enter into your deep psyche, which is a rewarding, yet very vulnerable experience. This is why it is crucial to have someone with you that has been there in themselves and has the knowledge and skill to support your journey into your own unique vulnerability from a place of respectful knowing.
If you have deep resistance (otherwise known as protection, for which is there always a good reason, which needs to be validated), this may take a little longer. This is ok and it is important to be patient, encouraging focus on your breathing and relaxing into the body.
Some people with deeply held trauma may require more than one session to even relax and really develop trust in the setting with the therapist, sitter and the psychedelic.
Choosing your sitter and post session integration(s) is vitally important and can determine the ultimate level of success from your session.
As has been said, taking the psychedelic substance is only 30% of this process. Success with the majority of this therapy comes with your therapy provider, and supporters, incorporating quality set up and easily accessible integration.
Psychedelic Assisted Therapy is ineffective if you believe you can simply use the substance anytime without adequate support and still expect results. The human psyche will avoid buried trauma if it doesn’t feel safe and increasing the dose can throw you into uncontrolled terror around your buried ‘stuff’, which is mostly what a bad trip is.
More Info on MDMA:
