What is Psychedelic Integration?
“Integration is a process in which a person revisits and actively engages in making sense of, working through, translating, and processing the content of their psychedelic experience. Through intentional effort and supportive practices, this process allows one to gradually capture and incorporate the emergent lessons and insights into their lives, thus moving toward greater balance and wholeness, both internally (mind, body, and spirit) and externally (lifestyle, social relations, and the natural world),” (Bathje et al., 2022).
History of Psychedelic Use
The use of psychedelics in psychotherapeutic environments has become more well known over the past few years, as organizations such as MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) founded in 1986, and Therapsil founded in 2019, advocate for access and support for diverse populations and mind-body conditions that people experience. Both organizations conduct ongoing evidence-based research with substances such as MDMA and psilocybin, as well as education and certification for professionals in the mental health field, and advocacy for people suffering with PTSD and/or end of life anxiety. While many people are referring to this time as the Psychedelic Renaissance, evidence shows that the earliest use of peyote by Indigenous people dates to 5700-10,000 years ago (Bruhn et al., 2002). In the Western World, psychedelics, which are a class of psychoactive substances, were studied extensively between 1943-1970 as potential therapies to treat a variety of mental health disorders, including addiction (Pen et al., 2021). Unfortunately, the war on drugs that began in the 60’s with the anti-war movement and the hippie counterculture, advocated by well known Harvard psychologist Timothy Leary who promoted the catchphrase, ‘turn on, tune in, and drop out,’ began the decades long suppression of psychedelic use in clinical trials and research. Furthermore, President Nixon’s war on drugs campaign that began in the 70’s demonized the use of psychedelics, using scare campaigns, rescheduling substances to enforce harsher sentences and jail time, and criminalized nature’s medicine and Indigenous ways and cultural practices of healing with colonial power. This dark period of time forced the use of psychedelics to go underground and stunted the growth and development that the research already supported on its use for mental health.
Current Barriers with Psychedelics in Canada
Presently, psychedelic substances such as psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine, Ibogaine or Iboga, and Ayahuasca are all being used to treat many different conditions such as end of life anxiety, relational/marriage, addiction, depression, PTSD, and anxiety with the push to make these treatments accessible without long waits for exceptions to be approved by the Canadian government. Currently in Canada, depending on the province, there are ways to access treatment to include psilocybin and MDMA, and there are more clinics that offer ketamine treatment, but there are limited prescribers and often long waits with sometimes disappointing rejections, which are not supportive, especially for people diagnosed with terminal illness. There are other options for treatment, such as the Enfold Institute, located in British Columbia, a private center that offers 5-MEO-DMT experiences for healing, growth, and self awareness, and Dimensions Retreat in the beautiful Algonquin area in Ontario that provides retreats for veterans that utilize Cannabis, as well as offering both individual and group retreats that integrate holistic and somatic practices. However, there are limited resources for people with physical and financial accessibility issues.
How to Integrate Psychedelic Experiences, or Altered States of Consciousness
There is not a standard protocol for how integration is supposed to follow. Gren et al. (2023) offer that there can be a connection and correlation between the purpose of the use of plant medicine and psychedelics, model of integration, psychotherapeutic approaches, domains, and themes that arise. Some of the approaches to therapeutic use and integration include Indigenous shamanic traditions, Transpersonal, Jungian, Nature Based, CBT and ACT. There is often a difference between Indigenous use of ceremonial plant medicine versus Western, as psychedelics are already integrated into Indigenous culture and tradition, and from a collectivist viewpoint, traditionally the integration occurs within a holistic framework that includes community (Aixala 2017 as cited by Bathje et al, 2022). Likewise, Indigenous ceremonial experiences of psychedelics are also performed within a group setting, versus Western psychedelic assisted psychotherapy (PAT), where the participant is often the only one ingesting the medicine while being monitored by a PAT trained psychotherapist, nurse practitioner, or other clinically trained professional. This also highlights the differences between shaman or medicine healer, versus clinical practitioner, and differences in approaches regarding aspects of spirituality, somatic practice, nature, community versus individual, and set and setting. It is important to remember that integration is not just about talking and intellectually processing the psychedelic experience, it’s also about bringing balance and alignment to one’s existence, integrating one’s parts, facing one’s Shadow from a Jungian perspective, examining thoughts, behaviours, and emotions, and perhaps accepting parts of oneself or the world. Integration can also include somatic and experiential practices, like mandala drawing, being out in nature, sharing circles, yoga, qi-gong, meditation, journaling, cold plunge, sauna, altering ones diet and consumption of food, social media, and beyond. There is no timeline for integration, as it may continue for a lifetime, and can be dependent on the depth of the psychedelic experience. Similar to EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), a holistic mind-body free associative modality to process trauma or other presentations such as grief, anxiety, or phobias, the reprocessing continues after the therapeutic session and may come up in dreams.
Conclusion
While altered states of consciousness are often viewed as the result of ingesting a substance with psychoactive properties, there are other modalities and experiences that can offer similar effects, such as Holotropic Breathing, Sound Baths or Journeys, sweat lodges, near death experiences, dreams, and EMDR work. Psychedelic assisted psychotherapy and plant medicine ceremonies typically include three stages: preparation (which includes assessment, being mindful of contraindicators, making sure someone has enough Ego strength and awareness, possible Dieta’s, psychoeducation, somatic grounding techniques), the experience facilitation (set and setting), and post ceremony integration (psychotherapy and putting new thoughts, and behaviours into action). There are risks involved to any plant medicine or psychedelic experience, such as emotional disturbance, processing traumatic memories, medically triggered psychosis, Ego inflation, and spiritual bypassing, so it is important to not skip the preparation and assessment phase, nor the integration post ceremony or PAT session. Mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual safety should be of upmost importance, and having ongoing bio-psycho-social-spiritual support from experienced practitioners is highly recommended.
Resources
Bathje, G.J., Majeski, E., and Kudowor, M. (2022). Psychedelic integration: An analysis of the concept and its practice. Frontiers in Psychology, 1-13, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.824077
Bruhn, J. G., De Smet, P. A., El-Seedi, H. R., and Beck, O. (2002). Mescaline use for 5700 years. Lancet 359:1866. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(02)08701-9
Dimensions (2025). Dimensions Retreats. Retrieved from January 12, 2025, https://dimensionsretreats.com/about-us/
Enfold (n.d.). Enfold. Retrieved from January 12, 2025, https://enfold.org/
Gren, J., Tyles, F., Lasocik, M., and Kiraly, C. (2023). Back from the rabbit hole. Theoretical consideratins and practical guidelines on psychedelic integration for mental health specialists. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1-18, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1054692
MAPS Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (2025). Our Mission. Retrieved from January 12, 2025, https://maps.org/about-maps/our-mission/
Penn, Andrew MS, NP, PMHNP-BC; Dorsen, Caroline G. PhD, FNP-BC; Hope, Stephanie DNP, RN, NC-BC; Rosa, William E. PhD, MBE, AGPCNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN. CE: Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy. AJN, American Journal of Nursing 121(6):p 34-40, June 2021. | DOI: 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000753464.35523.29
TheraPsil (n.d.). Psychedelic Therapy & Training for Canadians in Medical Need. Retrieved from January 12, 2025, https://therapsil.ca/about/
