PSychedelic Therapy

Doing medicine work with Deep Awakening can involve using a "psychedelic" and/or "psycholytic" approach. You and your therapist can discuss whether working in a psychedelic or psycholytic context may be the best fit for you.

Regardless of the approach, the initial phases of therapy - establishing trust, understanding the process, and clarifying your intentions - are done online and without medicine. Medicine sessions generally occur in person (in Campbell River, BC).

Further information about psychedelic therapy is provided below. For further information about psycholytic therapy, follow this link.

Psychedelic Therapy uses a high dose of a psychedelic medicine, along with professional psychotherapeutic support, to induce profound changes in perception, mood, and thought processes. Clients in psychedelic therapy typically have inward experiences in which they do not engage with the external world, but rather have deep encounters with the inner dimensions of the mind, and potentially have profoundly expansive experiences into mysterious realms that could be regarded as spiritual. Psychedelic therapy can involve a single medicine session, or multiple medicine sessions spaced out for adequate integration time.

Psychedelic therapy can promote healing in a number of ways, including: 

1. By disrupting the default mode network (DMN), a brain network associated with self-referential thought and rigid, repetitive thinking patterns common in conditions like depression and anxiety. By disrupting the DMN, the brain's communication patterns become more flexible and adaptive; 
2. By promoting neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to reorganize and form new neural connections. This allows for the development of new, healthier neural pathways and perspectives, which can help break long-standing cycles of maladaptive thoughts and behaviors;
3. By inducing intense, subjective experiences, which can include emotional breakthroughs, reliving past memories with a new emotional capacity, and/or a sense of profound connection or spiritual transcendence. These experiences can be deeply meaningful and provide insights that lead to lasting cognitive, emotional and behavioural changes.

The psychedelic therapy process is divided into three key phases: 

1. Preparation: In sessions leading up to the drug administration, the client and therapist build trust, discuss intentions, and prepare for the potential experiences of the medicine session, including challenging ones.
2. The Medicine Session: The client ingests a carefully measured dose of the psychedelic substance (in this case ketamine) in a safe, comfortable, and monitored environment. The therapist remains present throughout the experience to ensure physical and psychological safety and to provide support as needed.
3. Integration: In subsequent non-medicine therapy sessions, the client processes their experience and the insights gained during the psychedelic journey. The goal is to translate these insights into lasting, positive behavioural changes and a revised understanding of oneself and/or one's relationships.