Psychedelic Integration: Grounding the Journey
As a growing body of research supports the potential benefits of psychedelics for psychological, emotional, and spiritual health, more individuals are choosing to explore the healing properties of medicines like MDMA, ketamine, psilocybin, peyote, and ayahuasca.
While much has been shared about the importance of set and setting as it relates to the direct psychedelic experience, the discussion of post-experience integration is a relatively newer topic to the culture.
Entheogenic Research Integration & Education (ERIE) defines integration as “the process by which the material accessed and insights gained in a [psychedelic] experience are incorporated over time into one’s life in a way that benefits the individual and their community.”
From this frame, the power of psychedelic medicine work lies not only in the depth of the experience during use, but also in the post-experience exploration, processing, and application of insights that occurs days, months, and even years after a journey.
Because each psychedelic experience is unique unto itself, psychedelic integration can take many forms. Below is a list of commonly focused areas of integration.
Examining meaning of visual and/or somatic experiences that arose
Exploring the emotional impact of the psychedelic experience
Contextualizing the “story” of the journey
Grounding insights into meaningful behavior change
Understanding a “bad trip” or difficult experience
Exploring how to live from a newly recognized truth
Examining how to share your experience with others
Managing cravings or desires to continue psychedelic exploration
Setting intentions for further journeys based on what arose
Integration focuses on how these themes and experiences in a psychedelic medicine session can be implemented into action and meaningful change. Peak experiences become transformational experiences when integration is valued as highly as the psychedelic journey itself. Integration can be viewed as the ground on which psychedelic experiences root themselves. Without the ground, these experiences may simply fade away over time.
Craig Salerno Counseling LLC offers both individual and group integration support. The integration experience is a healing partnership between the explorer, the integration supporter(s), and the wisdom and intelligence of the psychedelic medicine. Whether done in an individual session or collectively as a group, the goal is catalyze a meaningful and transformational process that extends far beyond the psychedelic experience.
To learn more about psychedelic integration sessions, consult a psychedelic integration provider or check the following resources for specialists in your area.
