Psychedelic Integration

Integration is the art of assimilating the Mind, Body, Spirit, Relationships and Nature post an altered state experience, with a profound focus on enhancing overall wellbeing, healing, and personal growth.

  • According to Gorman et al. (2021), psychedelic integration is a personal journey, where individuals weave the insights gained from their experiences into the fabric of their daily lives. The process involves revisiting, working through, and making sense of the rich material and content offered by psychedelic or altered states experiences (Bathje et al., 2022).

  • In our approach, we recognise the diversity of integration steps, understanding that each person's journey is unique. The actions taken are personalised, ranging from delving into the various aspects of an experience to gain insights into the past, present, and future, to using the lessons learned for positive changes in everyday life.

  • The integration process may involve adapting to new perspectives, developing strategies to cope with challenging experiences, and making sense of any confusion that may arise during the psychedelic journey. In our therapeutic integration sessions, clients may engage in additional tasks like sharing experiences, reflective journaling, and exploring expressive activities such as art, meditation, or connecting with nature.

The steps taken for integration are diverse and personalised, varying from person to person and experience to experience.

These actions may encompass…

  • Delving into the visual, physical, and psychological aspects of an experience to gain insights into the past, present, and future.

  • Using the lessons learned from psychedelic experiences to make positive changes in everyday life.

  • Adapting to new perspectives on reality or relationships that may emerge during a psychedelic experience.

  • Developing strategies to cope with any trauma resulting from challenging psychedelic experiences.

  • Understanding and making sense of any confusing aspects of the psychedelic journey.

In therapeutic integration sessions, clients may engage in additional tasks between sessions to support their integration process. This may involve:

  • Sharing Experiences: Discussing experiences with others.

  • Journaling: Reflecting on experiences and insights through journaling.

  • Expressive Activities: Exploring experiences and their meanings through art, connecting with the body, meditation, nature, or music.

Overall, the integration process is dynamic and may involve a combination of introspective activities and external expressions to fully incorporate the profound insights gained from psychedelic experiences into one's life.

“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).”

— Synthesized definition of integration from Bathje, Majeski, & Kudowor, 2022