What I believe about Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy

Psychedelic is from the Greek words psyche and delos: Mind Manifesting.

Humans access and live in a small percentage of their brains.  The conscious mind, or what Rajvi refers to as secondary consciousness, is the result of the default mode network, which organizes information such as time and space and allows for abstract thinking.  Primary consciousness is a more primitive form of consciousness shared with other mammals.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0028390818301175 [Carhart-Harris]

• Psychedelics allow us to access primary consciousness.  

• They make procedural memories liable so that they can be reworked.

• The quiet the default mode network so that we have access to more synapse pathways.

Why I love CAP

As Carhart Harris described, consciousness is divided in two parts: Secondary Consciousness is normal life awarenesses and experience, while Primary Consciousness is all that occurs on a  we live in In most talk therapy, we are relying primarily on the cognitive process to help us bring meaning and value from experiences that cause us pain.  In somatic practices, we encourage the body to engage in the process of releasing the underlying trauma.  Cannabis is particularly well suited for quieting the secondary consciousness and moving our awareness toward primary consciousness.

• Accesses primary consciousness

• The more primitive parts of your brain (brain stem, emotional processing limbic system, motor control and nervous system) work together to create primary consciousness.

• SC arises out of the most recently developed areas of the brain that are organized by a key network known as the default mode network.

• Using somatic to release trauma

• Bypassing the DMN to get at the underlying trauma that causes the symptoms rather than trying to talk our way to a better understanding or treat the symptom as the problem.

• Highly relational.  Recognizes and utilizes the client-therapist relationship as a stand-in for previous relationships. For me, that means getting to use my love for the client more fully.

Why is nature important?

Nature is our primary therapist.  It receives us just as we are.  It is consistent, ever-changing, and cyclical. 

Nature demonstrates the actions of transformation (composting, cycling, igniting, feeding, cleansing, releasing, etc.)  It exists beyond our own situation and personality, so we can turn to it when our life feels encumbered, constricted, or confusing. 

When we access primary consciousness, we are fully at home in nature.  It supports the PC state of being.

How do I use nature in my practice?

My therapy cottage is nestled in nature. 

During warm weather, the doors and windows are open to allow air, sunlight, and the sound of the creek below to flow through.  In cool weather, a fire burns in the wood stove. The elements of nature are incorporated into the space and into the transition meditations that begin each session. 

After sessions, I encourage clients to rest in nature in the chairs outside or overlooking the lake or to walk on the property or nearby trails.  

What really fires me up?

Whether we engage in it consciously or let it happen to us, life is a journey of transformation. 

The non-linear process of self-development begins with healing from our past wounds and traumas.  This allows us to more deeply develop and clarify our Self and create an understanding of how we operate in the world. 

Once established, we are able to go beyond the self to recognize our transcendent nature and oneness in the universe.  

I love working with people at each stage of this process. 

I have come to see how the body holds the wounds and it is through the body that they are released. For many of us, the wounds are relational.  Many of us did not receive the attunement and attachment that healthy mammals need. As a result, our nervous systems are unsettled and often have difficulty regulating. 

While our mind wants to solve every puzzle, it’s our bodies that hold the key. 

Psychedelic medicines help the mind relax and step out of the driver’s seat so that the body can respond naturally.  The release of the trauma in a therapeutic setting provides an opportunity for attunement with another person. When we are connected to another and witnessed in our pain and suffering, there is an opening for the trauma to heal.

As we uncover those parts, we get the opportunity to understand, accept, and love them.

As Dick Schwartz, the creator of Internal Family Systems puts it: there are no bad parts.