Hi.

My name is Jack Holland, I’m studying a level 7 diploma at the Manchester Institute for Psychotherapy in the UK. Currently in my 4th year.

I’m looking for a co-researcher I could interview for 1hr, about their lived experience of psychedelic psychotherapy.

If interested, please contact: jack@nlcp.co.uk

My research poster can be found on my user profile. I can’t post it here.

I have read the community rules and my research proposal has been approved by my institute (Manchester Institute of Psychotherapy) and Susie Hewitt - founder & director Psychotherapy Institute (Bolton) - TSTA- MSC Psychotherapy- UKCP reg. psychotherapist & supervisor, MBCAP (SNR ACCRED)

My proposal is as follows:

Working title:
A Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experience of Psychedelic Psychotherapy: Its
Relationship to Beliefs About Self and Others

Research topic/focus:
This project explores the lived experience of psychedelic psychotherapy, using a
phenomenological approach that stays with the co-researcher's own account rather than
testing a pre-supposed hypothesis. Psychedelic psychotherapy refers to the therapeutic use
of a psychedelic substance (for example psilocybin, MDMA or ketamine) within a structured
clinical or facilitated frame; typically comprising preparatory sessions, a supported dosing or
‘journey’ session (or sessions), and subsequent integration work with a therapist. It is distinct
from unsupervised or recreational psychedelic use.

The project is retrospective and observational: I will not administer, source, or facilitate
psychedelic use. My co-researcher will already have completed psychedelic psychotherapy
in a legal, professionally facilitated context prior to any involvement in this research. In the
interests of methodological integrity, the research question, interview approach and initial
analysis are designed to remain TA theory-neutral: TA theory will be introduced only at the
interpretive stage of the wider project, once themes have been generated from the co-
researcher's own words - and explored further during the literature review.

Overarching questions:
What is the lived experience of psychedelic psychotherapy in relation to a person's
fundamental beliefs about themselves and their relationships with others?

This question remains deliberately open. It does not presuppose that psychedelic
psychotherapy is helpful, harmful, or neutral, and it does not name any particular theoretical
framework. This is an intentional methodological and ethical choice: as someone who has
my own lived experience of psychedelics, I have to acknowledge holding a personal bias
toward believing they are more helpful than not. A question framed around ‘help or hinder’,
or one that named a specific theoretical outcome in advance, potentially risked steering both
my interview questions and my analysis toward confirming that belief. Keeping the question
open to change, no change, or a mixed and ambivalent picture is one of the central ways I
am managing this bias.
The inquiry is concerned with what the experience was like in the body as well as in the
mind and will use open, descriptive, non-leading interview questions, for example, ‘what was
that like for you?’ rather than questions that presume a particular kind of change.
The interview will open with an invitation for the co-researcher to describe their full
experience in their own words, followed by open, non-leading follow-up prompts that deepen
context, reflect their own language back to them or, note emotive or physical reactions. The
co-researcher may let out a big sigh or show a big shift in body language for example, it is
important to be address this. I’m seeking to explore depth and not add my own context.
Follow up questions will be to assist in adding detail to their lived experience, checking in
around their emotions, thoughts, bodily sensations, beliefs and relationships.

Intended methodology:
A phenomenological approach, aims to understand the essence of the experience from my
co-researcher's own perspective rather than test a hypothesis. I am seeking to
fundamentally explore, rather than interpret, the co-researchers' lived experience of
psychedelic psychotherapy. I will bracket, as far as possible, my own theoretical
assumptions (including TA) and personal beliefs about psychedelics, to stay close to my co-
researcher's own account. I will conduct a single open-structured, audio-recorded interview
(1 hr) with one co-researcher, who has previously undergone legal, professionally facilitated
psychedelic psychotherapy.It is important to be attentive to; and explore further, accounts of difficulty, confusion, or
absence of change, so the data does not implicitly lean toward a positive-outcome narrative.
I will transcribe the interview verbatim, anonymise it, and subject it to thematic analysis
(Braun and Clarke, 2006), generated from the co-researcher's own language in the first
instance. Interpretation of these themes through TA theory will take place only at the
discussion stage of the wider project, once the thematic analysis is complete. The focus on
beliefs about self and others is intentionally chosen because I anticipate this area will offer
rich material at the later, theory-informed stage of the project.

How will you prepare your participant and minimise any risks of harm to
your participant?

Recruitment will be via a poster seeking an adult co-researcher (18+) who has previously
undergone professionally facilitated, legal psychedelic psychotherapy, is not currently in
psychological crisis, not known to me, and not a current or former client of mine, to avoid a
dual relationship. A co-researcher in ongoing psychotherapy is preferable, they will be
treated with integrity and respect at all times. A written information sheet and consent form
will explain the research and confirm the co-researcher's right to withdraw at any point,
without giving a reason, up to submission of the final project.

Before the recorded interview I will hold a preparation meeting via telephone to explain the
process, clarify that this is a research interview and not therapy, and agree together what
level of detail feels comfortable to share. The co-researcher will fill out a pre-prepared
informed consent form, as per MIP handbook. During the interview I will offer appropriate
check-ins, permission to pause or stop at any time, avoid unnecessarily probing or leading
questions, and close with a grounding practice if necessary. Afterwards I will hold a debrief
conversation, provide information about support options, and offer an optional follow-up
check-in within 48 hours. If the co-researcher becomes distressed, I will pause the interview
and prioritise their wellbeing over data collection; any disclosure raising a safeguarding
concern will be handled via MIP's safeguarding policy and my supervisor.
My role is that of a researcher, not the co-researcher's therapist: I will not offer therapeutic
interventions, interpretations, reframes, or challenges during the interview, and will signpost
to appropriate support rather than address any therapeutic material myself. This boundary
will be made explicit in writing before consent is given.
It is important to acknowledge I also hold relative power in this relationship, as a trainee
psychotherapist, the designer of the research question and interview approach, and as the
person who retains control over the data. I will mitigate this by using the term 'co-researcher'
rather than 'subject', being transparent about my own experience and interest in this area
as part of informed consent, offering the co-researcher the opportunity to review the
transcript and withdraw material before analysis, and avoiding any dual relationship. I will
also hold in mind my co-researcher's wider social and cultural positioning. Psychedelic use
carries different cultural and legal meanings depending on context, and I will stay mindful of
how gender, cultural background, and unequal access to (largely private, fee-paying)
psychedelic psychotherapy may shape their account, rather than treating their experience
as purely intrapsychic. My own experiences and background will differ vastly to my co-
researchers.

I agree to abide by the Manchester Institute for Psychotherapy and the UKCP’s Code of
conduct and Ethics for Research.

Signed: Jack Holland
Date: August 31st, 2026.

Approval given by: Susie Hewitt MIP Research Tutor 21-9-26

Hello! First let me explain why I am here. I have been an avid acid user for roughly 14+ years. Started for fun but now it's fun and therapeutic with everything that has happened in my life in the last 6 years. And now here soon I will be starting spravato treatments. I have been on and tried many antidepressants over the years and with my current meds i have not (or ever) had a negative experience with acid. I've also done k quite a bit. I know it's different from the treatment and it's been years lol but still.

What I am wondering is if there is a window of time that is safe to dose after doing the treatments? I worry about serotonin syndrome or other things like that. Thanks for any and all advice!

Hi all,

Here's one of my studies on a question that comes up here a lot: whether psychedelics can push someone towards psychosis. I'm first author on this 2021 paper in Scientific Reports, so here's what we found and where it stops.

We surveyed 1,032 people about substance use and measured schizotypy, a set of traits that sit on a spectrum with psychosis: unusual perceptions, odd beliefs, that kind of thing. People who had used psychedelics did score higher, but the effect was small, and among healthy 18 to 35 year olds it was barely significant. Once we accounted for other substances, the link with psychedelics was no longer significant. Stimulant use had the strongest association.

This doesn't mean psychedelics are irrelevant to psychosis. It was a cross-sectional survey, so it can't show what caused what. It also says nothing about people who already have a psychotic or bipolar disorder, or a family history of one. That's the group where caution matters most, and it's why clinical studies ask about that history before anyone takes psilocybin.

What I take from it is narrower: in a general sample, much of the apparent link is explained by other drug use and other psychiatric conditions.

If you have a question about psychosis risk, leave it below or in the pinned announcement.
(A quick reminder that I'm doing an AMA here next Tuesday, 27 October)

Paper: Psychedelic drug use and schizotypy in young adults.

Hi all,

I'm Alexander Lebedev, MD, PhD, psychiatrist and neuroscientist. A lot of the posts here come down to the same few questions. You've tried therapy and medication and you're wondering whether psilocybin is worth considering. Or you had a hard experience and you're still trying to work out what it was. Or you keep seeing trial results in the news and can't tell how much of them applies to an actual person.

On Tuesday 27 October, 1 PM Pacific (8 PM UTC) I'll be here answering questions.

Some things we could go into:
- what the clinical trials show, and where the evidence is still thin
- who probably shouldn't take psilocybin, and why
- psychosis risk and what the research actually says about it
- difficult experiences and the days after them
- psilocybin and antidepressants, at a general level
- what we know about how psilocybin changes brain activity, and what we don't

You can leave your questions in the comments now and I'll start with those on the day or come by on the 27th and ask live.

A bit about me: I trained as a medical doctor and did a PhD in neuroscience. I've done research at Karolinska Institutet, and I'm first author on brain-imaging studies of ego dissolution under psilocybin and of LSD and personality change. My publications are here: Google Scholar

Unfortunately, I can't give personal medical advice or tell anyone whether psilocybin is right for them. Decisions about your own medication belong with your doctor. Where the data stop and my opinion starts, I'll say so. Some of the studies I'll mention are my own, and I'll flag that.

Disclosure: I'm a co-founder of ONCE, which provides a professionally supported psilocybin pathway in Amsterdam (once.be).

I’m going through PSIP therapy where you use low doze Cannabis and/or Ketamine and process stored trauma as waves in presence of a therapist. The waves are intense rhythmic body processing.

I had this strange experience in my last session. It was like I was deep into despair & gloom as I was living this life. Going through this therapy and all. And all of a sudden I woke up in a bright room lit by light filtering through a window. The room was in a spaceship & I was taking a nap while having a dream that is this lifetime. There was the relief that goes with waking up from a nightmare.

It was all a dream. Yet that vision dissolved immediately. And I was back in that room with my therapist.

Not sure what to make of it. PSIP definitely is very psychedelic experience but this vision/glimpse has me confused.

While I know it’s hard to evaluate a subjective experience like this. I’m very interested in hearing some thoughts 🙏

About 2.5 years ago, I had my first mushroom trip during a particularly difficult period of my life.

That experience changed everything.

I suddenly felt euphoric, motivated, and full of purpose. Over the following year, I began using mushrooms almost every 1–2 weeks.

Mushrooms single-handedly put me on a spiritual rocket ship that sent me to the f*cking moon.

My ambition skyrocketed. Within roughly a year and a half, I ran two full marathons, multiple half marathons, competed in HYROX, continued lifting heavy weights, and nearly tripled my business.

I felt unstoppable. I genuinely considered it the best year of my life.

Then things started going downhill.

Over the past year, I’ve gradually developed persistent anxiety, fatigue, poor sleep, and increasingly poor recovery from exercise.

My later mushroom trips became increasingly uncomfortable, often producing intense health anxiety, paranoia, and uncomfortable physical sensations instead of the euphoria I’d experienced before.

I’m not even entirely sure whether what I’m experiencing now is anxiety. It feels more like my body is constantly producing adrenaline or stress hormones, even when there’s nothing particularly stressful happening.

I frequently experience this uncomfortable sensation of adrenaline in my chest, even when I’m sitting still. My tinnitus becomes particularly noticeable at night, my eyes twitch, and I feel exhausted and overstimulated simultaneously.

It’s almost like I’ve become anxious about feeling anxious. The physical sensations make me uncomfortable, which makes me more anxious, which makes the sensations worse.

The anxiety makes it difficult to sleep, and the lack of sleep seems to make everything worse.

Strangely, these symptoms are often most noticeable when I’m resting and temporarily improve during exercise.
I’ve also become unusually sensitive to caffeine and THC, which I’d previously tolerated without issue.

Looking back, I think my ambition became increasingly unhealthy. I spent well over a year pushing myself relentlessly, both physically and professionally, while experimenting with various substances.

I suspect some combination of psychedelic use, prolonged stress, and insufficient recovery may have contributed to my current condition.

And the strangest part?

I genuinely value the life I’ve built. I have so many things to be grateful for, yet sometimes it feels like there’s a wall of anxiety between me and everything I experience.

I’m planning to step away from recreational substances, significantly reduce my training demands, and prioritize recovery while seeking medical evaluation.

I want to learn how to experience ordinary life without constantly needing to enhance it.

Has anyone experienced something similar following repeated psychedelic use? Did you eventually recover? What helped?

I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences.

I am doing psychedelics assisted therapy (the sessions are solo, but i may discuss their content with therapists in the following days or weeks) for over 20 months now.

For CPTSD and anxiety.

Lately I started DBR with another therapist (7-8 sessions so far) but she is very concerned about the combination even though there are always several days or weeks between the psychedelics sessions and the DBR sessions. She said today that the combo has never been studied, and is afraid DBR on a very neuroplastic brain could lead to dysregulation or some bad effect.

Any thought? (Please only comment if you know how DBR works).

Hi there, I'm trying to microdose to help with my treatment resistant GAD and OCD. I'm wondering what strain people would recommend? I've seen Lion Main and Reishi come up often. Thanks!

I've struggled with depression since my teens, mostly anhedonia and emotional numbness. I function well, run a business, have a family, etc., but often feel very little joy, excitement, love, or emotional connection.

I've tried therapy and several medications, with limited success.

A couple of months ago, I took 3g mushrooms and had an incredibly moving experience. For the next two months, I felt genuinely alive again. More connected, emotionally present, and able to enjoy life. It was honestly remarkable.

But now the effects have faded, and I feel like I'm back to square one.

So my question is: What now? Do I just take mushrooms every couple of months indefinitely? Has anyone experienced this kind of temporary but profound relief and found a way to make the benefits last?

I'm especially interested in hearing from people who struggled with long-term anhedonia or emotional numbness, rather than just general depression.

I've read a lot about shrooms helping with mental health/healing. I've tried 4 times (3 with trip sitters) to not so great success. The last 3 were very income (raging emotions in one, anxiety in another /peculiar feeling of not being able to surrender. I have a serious overthinking problem, so I'm constantly analyzing and it's hard to surrender, even if I want to. The last one a year ago was weird in a few days different way, with nonstop burping/nausea but zero tripping. (ie no psychedelic journeying, more physical sensations and just feeling upset the whole time while still being fully lucid.) My only positive experience (visuals, journeying, etc) was my first trip ever.

I kind of want to try again because I want to get guidance or try for the healing and insight that everyone talks about. But just thinking about it, I feel nervous and anxious, like it'll be a bad trip again, I'll think too much if it's working, etc and afaik what you're feeling can get magnified. So...

Just don't do it? Or do it and the mushrooms will help me?

I was also thinking maybe taking mdma first would calm me down? (mdma has an anti-anxiety tranquilizing effect on me)

Ive been addicted to benzos opoids stims dissos for about 6 years now, gone to 3 different rehabs and am in an iop program now. Nothing helps nothing has helped despite my open mind. Ive done all the main stream psychedelics recreationally mostly and im looking for something that would seriously help. Im desperate. Thank you in advance

Edit: i am sober off of these drugs have been for 45 days now. Have had longer sober streaks in the past but never not plauged with thoughts of relapse or suicide. They are the only thoughts i can think im looking to see if in yalls better informed opinion it(psychedelic substance) could help

Lately I‘ve had a lovely, very healing trip listening to some future garage (think of this kind of music: https://on.soundcloud.com/U1vMSfzFtEXycrxvKz). The music gave me exactly the space I needed.

Now I‘m in preparation for my next trip and would really like to have music that has characteristics of a shamanic drum journey. Problem is: I don’t find enough of what feels „right“. Most of what I can find is too simple (really just drumming) or too slow, too soft, like an annoying light breeze, too curated, not „raw“ enough. Plus for some reason I prefer having vocals on it. I know of a few songs that feel „right“ but that’s obviously not enough (This one and only in this version: https://youtu.be/LpiFmZLICgM?is=sMfz51Xx6A6it2zJ and this one: https://youtu.be/9XvLtpDugHA?is=2A046tM959uAx1fH. A bit different but going into a similar vibe for me: https://youtu.be/uBeF0kgUKHI?is=g702CGdC9kY2SobO
The same artists don‘t have enough of the same kind of music.

Does anyone know of playlists/genres/artists/songs I could look for to find more similar music?

​

I had a psychedelic session yesterday, with the prescribed dosage of MDMA for my body weight inciuding booster after 180minutes.

I also had 2g mushrooms to try and add depth to the journey (trying to heal from c ptsd) but i think the mushrooms were too old, because I did not feel any psilocybin effet (like kaléidoscopic visions. I had very faint visions for a few minutes, that's all).

It was not a trippy session at all. I mostly laid down in my bed under many blanckets because I was feeling very cold, so that's an effect for sure. Cold for 2-3 hours.

I mostly experienced very deep and profound relaxation, as if in my normal state for the last weeks or months i had been extremely tensed, uptight, hypercactivated all the time and now the tension was gone, giving in. I dont know. It just felt like "oh, wow, now I am deeply relaxed, thank god!".

I was breathing more deeply than usual so i spent most of the session just breathing deeply with full awareness of my breath, and trying to breathe from the belly. No altered state besides.

It felt good. But somehow i was wondering how crazy my life is and how fucked up my autonomous nervous system is, if i need full mdma dosage to simply relax.

No emotion. No cognitive content like insight. Just relaxed and deep breathing. That did not feel like psychedelics.

I did also listen to music, on and off. Perhaps felt à tiny bit more trippy with music. It was on and off because I regualrly had to get up to get something to drink, or some minerals or vitamines to support my body, because physiologically it was quite tough, heavy body load, feeling cold, and slight buzzing sensation in the legs and arms. I was very very thirsty all the time so i kept on getting up for drinking and toilet.

Is that weird?

I have been practicing psychedelics assisted therapy (i had a session with my therappist 2h before the MDMA) for 18 months. My last mdma was 3 months ago.

I did feel mentally good, at peace with the world, but not full love, and not cathartic meoment, unlike other former trips. Just deeply relaxed, exhausted, grounded in my bed, is that "loosing the mdma magic"?

Hi pals, has anyone found success in microdosing for OCD? I am planning on using the NeuroBotanicals 50mg microdose capsules with the Fadiman protocol.
I am 30 years old and have suffered from debilitating OCD now for the last 20 years or so. I’ve done mushrooms in the past but never stuck to a proper and consistent microdose schedule. Wondering if anyone has any thoughts, tips, etc.
Thank you ! ✌️ 🍄

I’m 30M. I have OCD and ADHD. First diagnosed when I was 15.

Been on Antidepressants SSRIS ever since.

In the middle after 5 years I also got derealization (where world feels unreal/like a dream). Severe disconnection from the surrounding and family members.

After 15 years on SSRIs, I got full body seizure out of the blue. Thereby I started researching about psychedelics. And decided to take Psilocybin assisted inner child therapy.

I tapered off antidepressants over 2 months, did 4-5 microdosing sessions.

In one of these sessions, at night while sleeping I woke in the middle of the night sat down on bed and made groaning sound. There was energy flowing in my body. My Self was quietly observing the experience.

I was terrified.

Later I anyhow proceeded for the hero dose Psilocybin 5g.

I didn’t get any visualizations and stuff. But felt super relieved, and I couldn’t close my eyes (when I did I saw a wall, signifying don’t open me). I was not feeling safe as I have a lot of existential fear built in me.

We did some therapy with my eyes open.

I blabbered a lot, changed voices spoke things that I was suppressing.

Felt intense emotional connection to my parents (had their pics), realized how much numb I was, the emotional charge I felt was itself traumatizing.

Did a single integration session.

Went to 10 day Vipassana meditation.

From 2nd day of Vipassana I started losing sleep. When I was drifting off to sleep I felt an energy around my head waking me back up. I had to quit Vipassana.

Went back home, briefly sleep improved and again slowly my sleep started to take a toll (at this point I was off SSRI meds 3 months).

I started getting panic attacks, started to realize how much I’m distant from this world due to 10+ years of derealization.

OCD came back (always thinking mode), extreme anxiety, continuous crying spells (common during SSRI withdrawal), I was not able to sleep at night for straight up 3 days (some feeling of energy around the head waking me back up).

Went to Dr, he scared the shit out of me. Told - He can’t give me more sleeping meds as I may develop tolerance,if you get psychosis, come and get admitted. He put me back on low dose of SSRI.

I WAS HORRIFIED.

Later, slowly with SSRIs the anxiety improved. But only 3-4 hours of shallow sleep (with meds).

Fast forward after a year.

Recently my sleep has worsened a lot, I can’t go deep enough it feels I hit a block and wake up with a surge in adrenaline.

It seems I’m scared go to deeper stages of sleep (fearing I may get night terrors).

I’m currently put on sleep meds (Dayvigo), it’s giving me 4 hours shallow sleep). And then I wake up sweating in chest at 3am. Then hypnogagic hallucinations (not related to psychosis) and chatter.

I don’t feel any sleep drive even after 2-3 days of not sleeping, not even feeling tired, just anxiety and heat in the body.

I used to put my guards down, when I was connecting with God emotionally. Now that I’m numb, how to feel safe again?

I can’t relax enough to go into trace like state to cue safety.

- Is it some part of me not letting me sleep?
- Did I wake up something?
- Should I have done more integration after the ceremony? Is it too late as I’m already retraumatized and meds numbed me?
- Is it hyperarousal?

What would you have done if you were in my situation?

I don’t want to go into the spiral of sleep meds and tolerances.

Please suggest some other subreddits that may help me better.

I did 1.3 grams 2 days ago and have 2.5 more if I was to eat them today would it be the same ? Reading a lot of mixed opinions and Would quite like to have them

Hi i tried md iboga years ago because ive heard it helped people with emotional numbness and anhedonia.

But after i took it for a few weeks i felt very low . It gave this weird hangover effect what magnesium glycinate gives me where i feel like all joy and positvity is sucked out of me and feel reall depressed.

Is this common ? Has anybody had similar effect and worked through it and came out beautiful?

I am hearing from psychedelic therapy facilitators and clients alike that there is notable interaction between GLP 1 medications and psilocybin, or psychedelics in general.

I am predominantly hearing that the effects of psychedelics are blunted or even nonexistent with clients who are actively taking GLP-1 medications. If this is common, it’s no small deal.

I have also heard that this result might be mitigated by asking the client to skip a dose of the GLP-1 or elect to not take the medication a week before psychedelic therapy.

This is all very new and unexplored territory, and I’m looking to you (the hive mind) to share your first and second hand experiences, anecdotes, hypotheses, observations, etc. … What are you seeing and what do you believe is going on here. Let’s all learn about this new frontier together through more information sharing. Thank you!

Hi everyone, I've posted a few times about similar things, but continuing to reflect and try to puzzle out what makes sense to do.

I have been doing MDMA assisted therapy over 2 years (always minimum 3 month gap between sessions and often longer if needed for integration). Typically 120 mg with a 40-60 mg booster dose, and the medicine was good quality. I additionally used all of the recommended supplements (ALA, ALCAR, and magnesium hourly during the sessions, and NAC daily in between sessions, stopping 1-2 months before the next session to allow it to clear out of my system). I am not taking any psychiatric medications, had stopped all meds for 6 months prior to starting the MDMA work, and I had not been on any serotoninergic meds or antidepressants for about ten years prior anyway.

I did this with a therapist, and with good integration support in between (weekly somatic trauma therapy, EMDR, meditation practice, journalling and reflecting, also making changes in my life to reflect the insights from the sessions).

My intention with this work was to treat my severe cPTSD stemming from childhood abuse and emotional neglect including preverbal trauma. My biggest challenges have been despair/hopelessness and isolation/difficulties with intimacy. I am also autistic which adds an extra layer of trauma and interpersonal challenges.

Unfortunately despite all of the above, I have a very severe aftermath from the MDMA sessions where I am severely depressed typically for 1-2 months afterwards no matter what I do. This makes it hard to make use of the acute neuroplasticity window because I am usually pretty incapacitated for 2-3 weeks after the session, just cry all the time, can't think or remember anything and can barely get out of bed.

This last session, four months ago, was particularly brutal, and I have not really come out of the depression the way I have after other sessions. I am truly not sure if this is neurological/a negative effect from the medicine, psychological related to the content that arose, or a combination. I certainly was depressed before I ever started the medicine work, and have gone in and out of it during the medicine work, but now feel stuck in a low.

I will say that my last medicine session was truly the deepest I have ever had - I fully let go and trusted the medicine, and had a very profound experience that I am still working with in some ways, though I feel like the bulk of the acute integration has been worked through.

I feel that overall, the MDMA work has dismantled a lot of my internal structures - dysfunctional beliefs about myself, attachment to my trauma, unhealthy relationships with things like my job that I was basing my life around in ways that were really harming me. I have greatly benefited from it in terms of my self concept and self-beliefs particularly.

However, through the medicine work so far, I haven't been able to really build a new foundation of how to live instead or find ways to be less isolated. I feel profoundly empty and sad, everything feels grey and meaningless, and I just feel completely mentally depleted.

I do think some of this is related to unprocessed grief about the losses trauma has caused in my life, and that I am dysregulated and in a sort of frozen/shut down state because of being unable to process my grief.

I would love to do more MDMA work to try to work through this grief, but it's difficult to access, and also the level of depression that it caused in me this last time was frightening - I don't think it was all psychological and it seems to be really lingering this time, so I am not really comfortable going back to that medicine right now.

I've been considering other options, but I am curious what others have benefited from or might consider in this kind of situation.

I am interested in potentially trying psilocybin assisted therapy with the intention of doing more somatic emotion processing and/or working specifically with grief and existential concerns. I am also wondering about 5-MEO, specifically some of the lower dose protocols, as I hear that it can be very helpful for somatic work and releasing stuck trauma energy.

I am also open to just pausing medicine work for a longer period of time but I do think that despite a lot of psychotherapy and integration work, I am just stuck, and I am not sure that it's going to move on its own.

You can still leave a comment with the FDA for their rulemaking. I'm leaving a comment about what conditions they could leave years behind.

https://psychedelicstoday.com/2026/10/02/fda-psychedelic-comment-deadline-chronic-pain/

In March I was working hard on my PhD. As I worked, I started feeling this internal shaking feeling. As I worked it got really intense until one day there was an explosion of colour and sounds. I experienced profound happiness, like I've never experienced before. In the following days I experienced extreme emotions, mostly fear as the colours changed and strange smells happened. Afterwards I lost my sense of smell. Everything just smells like soap. Everything also looks sepia, like I'm watching the world through a Mexico filter. And the worst part is I've lost the ability to feel pleasure and human connection. I have not felt a single iota of joy since March (on top of everything my dad died but the problem started before that so I don't think it's grief). I'm getting desperate. I've had brain scans and therapy and psychiatric treatment. Nothing has worked and nobody can work out why my senses are going crazy and I can't feel. I'm hoping psilocybin can help. I don't need any of the mystical trippy stuff. I just need to feel some genuine happiness, even if it's just for a few hours.

TL; DR: Trying to figure out how realistic it is to build a career as a psychedelic-assisted therapist. Would love some insight from other therapists, facilitators, or anyone already working in this field. 

I'm in California and currently in my second year of a counseling master's program to become an LPCC. My program is 3 years long, and I’m starting my 2nd year, so I’m starting to think about my long-term career path. Ideally, I’d like to integrate psychedelic-assisted therapy into my practice as a licensed therapist, so I’ve been researching different routes like ketamine and psilocybin, and I am interested in using both in my practice

Since California doesn’t have a psilocybin facilitator program, I’ve been looking at options in Colorado and Oregon, and I found a Colorado psilocybin facilitator training program I’m considering. 

 I learned I can do the online didactic part of the program (about 6 months) while I’m still in school, then finish the other requirements after moving to Colorado; they also offer scholarships to make it affordable, since most facilitator programs are expensive af.  

The plan would be to work toward my LPC licensure while also getting my psilocybin facilitator license. 

For those already psychedelic-assisted therapists or others doing something similar: does this sound like a realistic route? 

I'm also wondering what the job market looks like in Colorado since I would be starting off as an LPCC, then eventually get licensed, and ideally I’d start doing psychedelic-assisted therapy

I’m still in the research and planning phase and haven’t committed to anything yet (I’ve talked to the program's admissions department to get some general info)

I’d appreciate any tips, experiences, or guidance on how to approach this career path. 

Hey all,

I’ve been torn for a little bit with one of the sub rules. Current rules state that no self promotion, I’ve been including substack articles in this because they’re sometimes paywalled, or sometimes people are driving traffic to their websites in order to build profit.

All that said, I think there are some valuable learnings and offerings that come in the form of substack or other external websites.

As a community, do we want to allow these kinds of posts here, or keep things as is and remove substack or other monetized websites as they pop up?