Co Authored by Cass Biron, LCSW, Valarie Merced, Clinical Intern, and Timothy Bidon, Sex Positive Coordinator
As entheogens and consciousness altering practices enter the cultural consciousness of the west, the mental health field is recognizing the potential and need to be trained and understand how humans are using these ancient medicines. This support group is a space for all psychonauts to create community and expand their knowledge and to integrate their personal wisdom.
Most of the language in the Western psychedelic world relies on the vocabulary from the first wave of exploration, and we strive to do our best to honor the work of our forebears.
What is integration?
In her book, Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations, Brené Brown’ writes, “I love that the Latin root of the word integrate is integrare, ‘to make whole’.” Integration with altered states of consciousness, like Spravato or other psychoactive substances, is about bringing the new ideas and ways of knowing the mind into the daily life of a person. To literally make the person more whole and embodied.
Integration often takes place in the aftermath of a peak experience and it takes practice to shift behavior and thinking patterns. The process is individualized and accounts for the human experience in an oppressive society impacted by White Supremacy and Western Capitalism through challenging the status quo and encouraging each other to thrive.
Integration is tapping into your intuition and being open to the ways humans initiate and sustain change for themselves and their communities. This mindfulness and self-reflection is about listening to your North Star for guidance.
Productive activities during integration are usually meditative. Examples include, art and music therapy, breathwork, nature bathing, and even float therapy. Part of integration is to identify the activities that are in line with your intentions while taking into account accessibility and affordability.
New and previous hobbies or childhood activities often resurface on the path to integration. In this space, the brain is asking for more play and inviting curiosity into the experience; curiosity and play are tools for self-actualization and community integration. Researchers in the Netherlands have recently alleged that curiosity plays as vital a role in our survival as feelings of hunger. Curiosity drives humans to seek out community and creative solutions to a myriad of challenges and questions we face.
Integration and encouragement of curiosity is a valuable aspect to any heightened or transcendent experience. It is the process in which one assimilates and absorbs the changes, lessons, and information recently encountered.
What is psychedelic preparation?
Preparation, by and large, is most successful when tailored to the individual. Preparation can look like exploring tools for awareness like meditation, visualization, breath-work to practice understanding the nuances of your individual nervous system.
Regular and consistent self observation and internal awareness are necessary for wholeness to be achieved post medicine/molecule. Wholeness may look different from person to person, but in essence is defined by the sense that all the disparate parts of one’s self act in conjunction towards a greater goal. A wholeness based approach encourages us to recognize and look for individualized parts of ourselves and our feelings and see the threads that connect them to the larger sense of “self.”
Navigation training is a vital part of preparation for an experience with a psychedelic substance. Perhaps this takes the form of practicing mindfulness and visualization to create anchors and comfort spaces in the mind. It is also vital to discuss expectations and concerns. Massive campaigns have been waged to discredit efficacy of psychedelics and other indigenous and non-Western healing modalities. In short, each of us comes into this space with bias, whether we realize it or not.. That is why in order to support consciousness exploration, we must unlearn the mythical narrative surrounding the drug war and the stigma surrounding molecule-users and psychonauts. After all, caffeine is a molecule as well, though we treat it differently.
Navigation also entails learning how to anchor the consciousness. Anchors are an embodiment practice through intentional use of a memory, story, feeling, or a single word that allows you to direct the consciousness back to a sort of neurological home base. Think of anchors as a baseline, a safe and warm space to return to. These mental safe zones can be helpful during a consciousness journey
This journey is meant to be individualized to you, so you should feel empowered to discern the areas of focus and first commitments you make into building your ‘why’ behind exploring these transformational molecules. Learning and practicing the tools for nervous system regulation are paramount to anchoring the consciousness during the molecule experience. You may very well be surprised by the introspection you gain into your life.
Cultivating kindness and community through integration
Questions surrounding kindness and community often highlight what personal work is next on the evolutionary timelines for you and your community. Integration and psychedelic understanding are just as much individual as they are community-based. These molecules often remind the Western mind of the interconnectedness we share, a challenge to the narrative of rugged individualism many of us were raised on.
The integration process includes discussing experiences, sharing stories, being vulnerable and feeling less alone. Support and communication create a foundation for integration and help to build community bonds. Through integration we get to fully engage with the experience and learn how to incorporate the newfound awareness into daily life. We can then feel empowered to bring these lessons out into the world and strengthen our communities.
Benefits of psychedelics?
In recent years, research of psychedelics has expanded to mental and physical wellness and rehabilitation. Studies have found that the use of psychedelics can lower anxiety, alleviate treatment resistant depression, assist in pain management, and support in addiction recovery.
NYU studies found that one dose of psychedelic medicine can have long lasting impacts on patients with cancer for years. Furthermore, psychedelics have been proven through countless research studies, as well as some breakthrough FDA approvals to help people suffering PTSD reframe their trauma and guide their brain back to a place of calm.
By reframing a sense of consciousness and looking at our perceived reality through a new lens, we often find new solutions and anchors. This knowledge is not new in indigenous communities, but as is often the case, the Western World has only begun to listen. Further research suggest psychedelics can play a vital role in chronic pain management and boast a much lower risk profile than many opiate based pain management alternatives.
Getting Started
Ideally, integration starts before the ketamine appointment or the molecule experience. Our team would seek to work with you in building a community as well as shared vocabulary to help make meaning of your future consciousness exploration journeys. We will work together to take a look at new and improved habits that may reveal themselves on your journey, and explore ways to reinforce them.
Ultimately we recognize that psychedelic assisted treatment works best when it strikes a balance between individual needs and community building. Group attendees can expect to grow and learn together, as can group leaders. Remember, this is a space we pioneer together, informed by peoples who found this knowledge millenia before us on lands we have since occupied. It is a heavy but vital ask.
Who can attend this group?
This group is for individuals partaking in clinical ketamine treatments. This group also welcomes individuals exploring psychedelic medicines on their own.
This group is not for folks experiencing psychosis. Interested in hearing more? Please reach out!
