What I wish I knew about psychedelics 12 years ago.
I’m going to give you some info about Psychedelics that I wish I had 12 years ago. It would have saved me a lot of time, energy, pain, and confusion.
Please note this is not medical or therapeutic advice, simply education.
The first thing to know is that these substances can induce some of the most psychologically powerful experiences on earth. In one Psilocybin study, 80% of people who took a full dose reported that it was one of the most “spiritually significant” events of their life.
We’re talking about an event that some people consider as meaningful as their wedding day, the birth of their children, etc… This does not mean that a person is guaranteed to have a life changing experience the first, every, or any time they take a psychedelic. It’s just a good thing to keep in mind when considering when, where, and how to have a psychedelic experience.
In fact, the psychedelic experience is widely variable. Even Stanislav Grof, founder of the field of Transpersonal Psychology & Psychedelic Therapy Pioneer, was not able to accurately predict the content of a psychedelic session. His best guess was that it had to do with the astrological conjunctions of the planets at the time of dosing. Frankly… not very helpful.
Fortunately, we have some modern tools that are correlated with a person's readiness to have an experience as well as the potential therapeutic outcome of that experience. While these tools don’t predict the content of the experience, we can use them to get a sense of whether a person is ready to take a psychedelic or not.
My favorite of these tools is the Imperial Psychedelic Predictor Scale. Developed by the Imperial College of London, this is a 9 question survey that predicts how a psychedelic experience may unfold. It basically focuses on mindset, rapport with other people, and intention.
Inspired by this scale but informed by my direct experience, I developed my own psychedelic prep criteria that guides my work with clients as well as my own personal decisions around psychedelic use. Before I administer a psychedelic medicine or take one myself, these are the things I’m looking at.
Here are my 4 Psychedelic Preparation Foundations:
Safety
Surrender
Intention
Connection
When I am working with a person who is preparing to take a psychedelic, no matter the context, I am looking to gauge how much of each of these things is present at the time of the session. When any one of these categories is lacking, that’s where we focus our preparation work. Let’s explore each foundation a little for you.
Safety includes both the perception of safety as well as the reality. They are not always the same thing. For example, taking psilocybin can feel dangerous but it is actually a remarkably non-toxic substance. The lethal dose of psilocybin is 500x the therapeutic dose. This means you could literally fill your stomach with mushrooms and still not chemically overdose.
Safety also includes consideration of the physical environment (gravity never stops working, fire is always hot, water is always wet) as well as your physical health (if you’re at extremely high risk for a heart attack or prone to psychosis, a psychedelic experience may not be what you need at this moment). Each of my clients goes through a careful screening process designed to assess this dimension of psychedelic preparation.
Surrender is your willingness to experience what is happening to you without resistance. Taking a psychedelic is like getting in a river raft. When the water starts flowing, can you let it take you or will you turn around and try to paddle upstream?
If you and I are in a talk therapy session and you tell me there is something you don’t want to talk about, I will honor you and not immediately ask about it. Psychedelic sessions are different. While I will personally always respect your requests, medicine often has its own agenda. When you take a psychedelic, there’s no telling or controlling what the mind might show you. The medicine can bring up thoughts, emotions, and images that can be challenging. In these situations, the only thing that we can do is surrender. We point the boat down the river and paddle along with the current. That’s the best we can do. In preparation sessions I can help you practice this skill. (If you’ve been doing the 10-Minute Emotional Mastery Meditation then you have already been practicing!)
Intention is one of the most beautiful parts of this work. Put simply, it’s the reason for taking the psychedelic in the first place. It’s not necessarily a magic spell that manifests itself automatically without any work (though that does happen occasionally). It’s simply the entry point. Knowing your intention gives you a solid anchor that you can return to if things get rough. It helps you make sense of anything that happens.
In the phase of work following a psychedelic experience (called integration), we use an intention statement as a way to consciously return to valuable psychological material that arose. It is our bridge between the psychedelic state and the lasting personal traits that we are seeking to adopt or enhance.
Connection is your sense of social safety and belonging. The more you feel seen, heard, and understood by the people around you while you're on the medicine, the more likely you are to have a positive experience. This is one of the reasons many people choose psychedelic-assisted therapy. It’s our job as therapists to help you feel seen, heard, and understood. This component can also explain why taking psychedelics with people you don’t know well or who don’t genuinely support you can be a bit of a gamble.
It’s important to know that there are many other valid and legitimate ways to be in relationship with psychedelics. I am not saying that Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy is the only appropriate way to use psilocybin or other substances, just a really good one.
Here For Your Journey,
Clay Ickes, LSW, NMCF