Psychedelic integration - when accelerated therapy needs a gear shift

"Psychedelic" means mind-manifestation and psychedelics are also referred to as "non-specific amplifiers of the unconscious." Being on a psychedelic "journey" can therefore feel like therapy at top speed.

In recent years, interest in the healing potential of psychedelics has increased and there is diligent research on the subject. Although psychedelics are still not legal to use in most parts of the world, the increased attention on psychedelics and the results from studies of psychedelics used in connection with therapy have nevertheless meant that more people have ventured out to experiment with their use.

Psychedelics are powerful agents that can lead to major inner upheavals in a short time, and it is crucial how one meets oneself and the psychological and spiritual "material" that has emerged.

Use of psychedelics in an introspective context can bring about many insights, discoveries and emotional breakthroughs within a short time. It can create some "turbulence" in one's psyche, as psychedelics can shake up the common perceptions of oneself and of life itself.

For some, it is sufficient to process the experiences in confidential spaces with others who have tried similar things. 

For others, it may be more helpful to work with a professional who has knowledge of psychedelics, to reduce harmful effects and increase the positive benefit.

Psychedelics can create a "destabilization" of the existing psychological structures in the mind/body and it can sometimes be so intense that one needs to work with the insights and emotional/spiritual openings at a calmer and more thorough pace.

This is where integration of psychedelic experiences with a professional comes in. This is based on a principle of harm reduction, where use is not encouraged, but non-judgmental help is offered to you who have already used psychedelics. This is for you to make sense of the experiences you have had and translate them into positive changes in your life.

Therapies such as IFS and EMDR can help you "tie the loose ends together," so you can calm your nervous system again. The insights and experiences from psychedelic openings can then be used constructively in your life.

The same applies, of course, if you have had other emotional crises or spiritual openings that have emerged spontaneously or in a completely sober way, for example through breathwork, body therapy, meditation or other psychosomatic/spiritual practice.

Love's altar - when "the love drug" no longer feels so loving

I have been particularly interested in research on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, as I have worked with psychological trauma for many years and there is research suggesting a markedly positive effect of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD.

This has meant that I have the theoretical part of MAPS' training in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD. I am thus not a practitioner of MDMA-assisted therapy, as this is only legal in research contexts in Denmark.

For some, MDMA can work as a "milder" form of psychedelics. Some know it as a "party drug" that can improve connection with other people and provide ecstatic experiences to music (which, however, is typically a form of use that comes with a price "the Monday after").

With MDMA the hallucinatory experiences are less powerful  than with more classic psychedelics and under the influence of MDMA, anxiety and shame are reduced. 

This means that under the influence of MDMA, one is typically much less defensive than usual, as our defenses protect us from unpleasant realizations about ourselves and our lives. But it's not always so easy afterwards, where the usual defenses are back. Sometimes, the realizations one was able to easily "take in" about oneself and life under the influence awaken shame or anxiety in a sober state. This makes it difficult to translate these realizations into changed behavior.

Sometimes material has emerged under the influence that seems like previously unrecognized trauma, which can be shocking to deal with afterwards.

So it could be the case that some "truths" have come to the table that one was capable of dealing with under the influence, but which are harder to grasp afterwards.

For example, it is a known phenomenon for couples who have taken MDMA together to get closer to each other that they start revealing "all good from under the carpet." When they are still under the influence they can still stomach it - but in the time afterwards, without the effect of MDMA to soften the blows, they are "hit by reality."

A quote from the movie "A Few Good Men" comes to mind. In a hectic cross-examination in a court case Jack Nicholson's character shouts out: 

"You want truth? You can't handle the truth!" 

If one has nevertheless ventured into the use of what is probably the closest we get to "truth serum," it can be well worth getting a little help to lovingly look it in the eye.

Because when all is said and done, secrets cannot just be rolled back under the rug.

And authenticity in relationships is what gives oxygen anyway, so the flame doesn't die.

(More on this in a later blog post).