Comprehensive 6-Month Timeline

“Psychedelics are illegal not because a loving government is concerned that you may jump out of a third-story window. Psychedelics are illegal because they dissolve opinion structures and culturally laid down models of behavior and information processing. They open you up to the possibility that everything you know is wrong.” - Terrence McKenna, ethnobotanist, mystic, and advocate for the responsible use of psychedelic medicines

McKenna's observation about the profound potential of psychedelic medicine is exactly why thorough preparation for psychedelic therapy is so crucial. Engaging with psychedelics isn't merely a recreational endeavor; it's an exploratory journey that can alter your understanding of self and reality. Adequate preparation ensures that individuals are mentally and emotionally equipped to navigate and integrate these profound shifts in perception and consciousness. It's about creating a safe and supportive context for this exploration, understanding the personal intentions behind it, and being prepared for the possible dissolution of long-held beliefs and perceptions. This level of preparation respects the power of psychedelics as tools for deep psychological and spiritual exploration, promoting a responsible and potentially healing experience.

Psychedelic therapy isn't like a conventional doctor's appointment — it's not a single, isolated event expected to yield immediate results. However, this perspective underestimates the true nature of psychedelic therapy, which, in reality, is a nuanced, multi-month journey encompassing both preparation and integration in the insights that come from your experience. Often, psychedelic therapy unfolds over several years with at least a few sessions along the way.

Equally crucial is the integration phase, where insights and experiences are thoughtfully assimilated into one's daily life over an extended period. This phase is vital for lasting change and personal growth, emphasizing that the true value of psychedelic therapy lies not just in the experience, but in the sustained effort to weave its lessons into the fabric of one’s life.

This is at least in part due to the apparent enhancement in neuroplasticity—the brain's ability to form new neural connections. The theory is that psychedelics can disrupt entrenched neural patterns and facilitate the formation of new, more flexible patterns of thought and behavior. It's during the integration phase when neuroplasticity is enhanced, hence we're more capable of rewiring entrenched nueral patterns. For detailed insights into this research, you can explore the study "Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity."

Preparation: 1-3 Months Before

Preparation focuses on preparing your mind, body, and spirit for the session. It may also involve making plans for time away from work, conversations with loved ones to inform them of what you're doing and how they can support you, and a sharpening of your focus with regards to what you want the session to be about (setting intentions). Here are some of the specifics you should expect in the ramp up toward your session:

Introduction and Intake

• A confidential kick-off call between you and the trained professional that will be guiding your session.
• You will answer a series of intake questions so that the professional can ensure that psychedelic therapy is right for you (some pre-conditions may make you ineligible for psychedelic treatment for safety reason such as bipolar disorder or a family history of schizophrenia)
• If you're concurrently working with a therapist, your psychedelic guide may offer the option to have your therapist share your medical records with the guide to help inform your psychedelic session

Family Background Questions

• You might expect some of the following questions to come up during the intake process: Is there anything about your family of origin I should know about? Neglect, violence, deaths, alcohol, religious oppression, absent parent, depressed parent, mentally unstable parent?What is happening in your life? Family situation? Work? Relationships? Any crisis or foreseeable change coming up that we should discuss?
• Understanding your family of origin is crucial. This includes exploring aspects like neglect, violence, deaths, alcoholism, religious oppression, absence of a parent, or mental health issues within the family.

Setting Expectations

The professional(s) you work with should also be setting additional expectations for the experience. Often, they will outline the follow expectations and cover them in detail, being sure to answer questions you have as they come up.

Long-Term Process

• The journey of psychedelic therapy is a long-term commitment requiring diligence and patience. It is a very powerful medicine, but it is not a silver bullet solution.
• The first journey is typically an introduction and may not give you the full solution or clarity you were looking for. Often, you will receive a portion of a much broader picture that will play out over the following months and years (even decades!)
• A six-month period is recommended, including preparation, multiple sessions, and integration phases between and after each session.

Healing Trajectory

• Healing includes periods of intensity and confusion. This is a common side effect so don't be alarmed if you feel disoriented.
• Questions about the process and experience are encouraged since a sense of confusion or disorientation is common.
• Ongoing consumption of resources and assignments such as books, articles, community engagements, and referrals to other professionals.

Setting Intentions

• Setting intentions is key, but the process of achieving them should be flexible.
• You, as the participant, are in control, with psychedelics acting as a co-pilot in our collaborative journey.
• The aim is to connect with your inner healer, emphasizing that healing comes from within, facilitated by the medicine and support.

Physical Process and Techniques

• Physical reactions like yawning, stretching, crying, shaking, and laughing are seen as signs of healing.
• It's advised to stay immersed in the experience rather than journaling during it.
• Breaks are allowed during the journey, and it's not necessary to be actively engaged throughout.

Legal Considerations

• The Good Samaritan Law (SB 982) provides legal protections for those seeking medical assistance during the experience.

Structure of the Psychedelic Journey

Psychedelic sessions are unlike any typical doctor's appointment you have experienced in the past. The professional guide you're working with should speak to the components that make up the session and what you might expect throughout it.

Phases of the Journey

• The journey is divided into onset and ascent (25%), peak (50%), and descent (25%).
• You can think of the journey as your typical bell curve distribution:

Navigation Techniques

• Mantras based on intentions are often used
• Challenging trips are seen as valuable, often carrying profound lessons.
• Skills to navigate the journey, such as acknowledging and engaging with fear and resistance, are emphasized.

Preparation Review

• A review of the preparation for the session is conducted, including discussions about dosage, music, and other logistical aspects.

Integration: 1-3 Months After

Truthfully, integration becomes a life-long process since we're constantly changing and evolving as people. However, given the period of heightened neuroplasticity (i.e. openness to change) in the first few weeks and months immediately following a psychedelic session, integration is especially important and effective during this period.

Initial Integration Session (1 to 2 hours)

• There will be the opportunity for multiple follow-up conversations with your psychedelic guide and/or therapist
• The sessions often begin with a physical, emotional, and psychological check-in.
• The journeyer (you) is invited to share their narrative and identify themes from their experience.
• Major themes are outlined and focused on during the active long-term integration phase. This is a sort of investigative process as the sessions often contain so many themes and essential messages that ongoing analysis is needed to make sense of it all.

Daily Integration Strategy (DIS)

• DIS involves daily activities and is non-negotiable.
• The time and duration of daily activities are flexible, chosen based on personal schedules and goals.
• Activities are selected based on journey insights and personal goals, with variations encouraged.
• Tracking experiences through journaling or other methods is recommended.

After the Session

• 1 Immediate Integration (90-minute) Integration approach
• Start with a check-in: how are you physically? Emotionally? Psychologically? Immediate integration techniques required?
• The guide should help you outline 3 major themes and focus on those -- set all others aside for later discussion.
• For the active integration phase (long-term integration), choose to work with those clear insights that don’t leave much doubt as to how to move forward and feel supportive of your human experience instead of challenging it; while setting aside the others and making a conscious choice to hold off on enacting on them for at least 1-3 months.
• Set up DIS (Daily Integration Strategy) to create a container at home, with activities related to these themes