© Radiant mind counsellors. All rights reserved.
Guidance and support for clients who choose to make use of psychedelics for healing, recreational, or spiritual purposes.
Recently, there has been a resurgence of interest in the potential healing powers of psychedelic experiences facilitated through the use of hallucinogenic, empathogenic, dissociative, or similar substances. These can include any plant or fungal- based medicines, including magic mushrooms, iboga, ayahuasca, and marijuana, or artificial psychoactive substances, including MDMA, ketamine, LSD, that are used for healing, recreational, or spiritual purposes. Regardless of the purpose to which they are put, the outcomes can be varied, and not always positive. While some people have experienced harm (“bad trips”, etc.) through psychedelic use, there is growing evidence that when used properly, psychedelics can be of incredible value. People can be naïve to the risks associated with combining different substances, and unaware of the vital role played by the participant’s mindset and the setting in which the substances are used. The profound, rapid changes many people report after a psychedelic experience may require careful reflection and integration. Put metaphorically, a pill may be far easier to swallow than it is to digest.
When a person is considering having a psychedelic experience, it is often helpful to have a guide to alert them to the potential risks and benefits, and where they have already had one, having someone assist them in integrating profound new insights (or bad experiences) into existing patterns of thought, feeling, and behaviour may be useful. A person’s psychological history, including trauma, psychosis, and other mental health factors, influence the way that these experiences may be interpreted, as well as integrated or not integrated. Our counsellors have special training and interest in this area.
Many people choose to use psychedelics and similar substances even though many of them are, in most instances, illegal in Canada and not prescribed by physicians. This may be changing. Research, which had been delayed for decades, is now progressing at an accelerated rate, and meaning that many of these substances may become more readily available for medical purposes, including the treatment of mental health issues, such as depression, PTSD, opioid and alcohol addiction. Already, ayahuasca is being used legally in some settings for spiritual purposes in Canada, and of course, cannabis is legally available medically and recreationally here. Many psychedelic and similar types of substances are legal in other jurisdictions, and illicit use in Canada remains popular.
At Radiant Mind, we do not advocate or endorse the illicit use of substances. We do, however, have an interest and responsibility to promote harm reduction. Our approach is to act within legal and ethical bounds to guide and support people who choose to make use of these substances by providing access to information and therapy in order to reduce the potential for harm, and to promote mental and spiritual health and wellbeing. We do not currently offer psychedelic-assisted counselling, but will, within the scope of our practice, help people to prepare for and consider their rationale for future psychedelic experiences, and help them to integrate past psychedelic experiences. We do not give medical or legal advice, and our counselling services are not a substitute for the medical care of licensed medical practitioners, or the spiritual care of shamanic healers with years of dedicated specialized training and practice in the ceremonial use of sacred medicines.
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© Radiant mind counsellors. All rights reserved.