Psychedelic Therapy

I recently finished reading How to Change Your Mind, by Michael Pollan. Which is a personal account of psychedelics, and the potential for therapeutic application. He shares about the history of psychedelics, then transitions into his personal experience with them, and ends with current research on how they can change one’s mind. There was an analogy he quoted about how neural pathways could be represented by sled tracks on a snowy hillside, and that psychedelics are the fresh layer of snow that allows us to travel in a new direction. 

What was most encouraged to Pollan during his trips, was to go towards what made him fearful, to go with the flow of the experience, to not resist where his mind wanted to travel. To set an intention before, and allow his mind to go where it needed to be. As I read through this, I could quickly hear the phrases “Go with that” or “Notice that”, phrases I say many times with my clients for EMDR. In EMDR we are encouraged to tap into our emotions, somatic responses and images tied to each negative belief, and in doing so we can lay a new neural pathway, laid fresh from our positive belief. Imagine if you tied this type of therapy with psychedelics. The research is already blooming on how these two therapies can be integrated. 

Psychedelics have gotten a bad reputation, mainly encouraged by the media. But as time has gone on, people still believed in their healing properties, and developed organizations based on proving exactly what they can do. However, there needs to be caution. Substances that will be used therapeutically, should not be obtained from illegal sources, and yet, it’s much harder to find places that allow this type of therapy. MDMA, Ketamine, Psilocybin, LSD, DMT, and Cannabis are some of the top substances being explored for their therapeutic application. Some of them are derived from organic sources such as plants, others are synthetic versions of their original sources, and some of them have always come from a lab. 

I do believe that each has a therapeutic application, but should be explored with an informed approach. If this is something that truly interests you, educate yourself. As we saw with cannabis, there is more than just a high available to us. But often “medical use” was just a safe cover to use recreationally. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe in and support medical cannabis, as well as recreational use - I just believe we could have approached it better. When it comes to psychedelic  therapy, do your research, and find the provider that resonates best with you.

Sincerely,

Sarah