In this episode, Kyle and Joe sit down to explore psychedelic integration. They cover different frameworks, resources and benefits of integration and coaching services.
3 Key Points:
- Integration is commonly confused as post-session only, but it includes pre-session, self care, and really begins at the point you decide to engage in self-work.
- It is important to remember the GPA framework when determining where you are at in the integration process, G - grounding, P - processing, A - action.
- Psychedelics Today offers many resources to assist with the integration process; Navigating Psychedelics Online Course (and Live Course), Coaching and Integration Calls, and books, Trip Journal and Integration Workbook.
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Show Notes
Updates
- Kyle will be attending the ACISTE Conference this November
- He is speaking and doing a breakout session with Michelle Hobart
- Kyle is going to present on using technology for support with spiritual emergence
- Kyle and Joe will not be offering any major workshops until spring.
- They will be attending a conference in Exeter UK - Psychedelics and Philosophy
Psychedelic Integration
- Kyle says his near death experience shows up in his life everyday
- Integration is not only post session, it is also pre-session
- Integration, at its root means bringing parts together into wholeness
- Joe says you don't need support to do integration, although it is helpful
- Kyle's analogy of a psychedelic experience as a big hallway with a lot of doors, and a ton of magical stuff, even scary monsters, are coming through the doors and wandering through the halls
- The goal is to realize and say "this is a part of me" and learn to be okay with all of the stuff in the hall
- Self care works until it doesn't, and that is when integration comes in
Integration Framework
- Kyle uses a framework and asks, what is your GPA?
- G - grounding, post session, how are we getting re-connected to ourselves?
- P - processing, once energy feels stable and centered, how can we process the material? It could mean journaling, therapy, body or somatic work, breathwork, yoga, etc.
- A - action, moving it forward, breaking the leanings down into goals of things to work on
- Kyle says that these things do not need to be done in order necessarily, but its a good framework to check in after an experience and see where you're at
- Joe reminds listeners of 'pre-hab', that preparation can make a world of a difference and weigh a lot more than post work in a lot of cases
- "Life is integration, call your mom, pay your rent." - Joe
- Joe mentions the quote that "the opposite of addiction is connection"
- Climate change can bring up a lot of existential dread, the connection piece, and other topics can be addressed with psychedelic integration
Resources
- The Psychedelics Today, Navigating Psychedelics Course is a great way to learn more about integration
- We offer two books, the Trip Journal and the Integration Workbook
- We also offer Psychedelic Integration coaching calls and services
- You don't need an integration coach all the time, but for someone to just be there helps
- If you have a retreat planned, integration and coaching can really help mitigate the risks
- Integration within the psychedelic community is somewhat understood
- Kyle says he gets tons of emails asking for medicine sessions
- Psychedelic Integration and coaching services do not include medicine or guiding or providing of medicine, its simply pre and post session guidance
- Psychedelics Today does not suggest underground or illegal psychedelic sessions/therapy and makes a significant effort to be ignorant of underground work, there are legal options to choose from
Links
Psychedelics Today
About Kyle
Kyle's interest in exploring non-ordinary states of consciousness began when he was 16-years-old when he suffered a traumatic snowboarding accident. Waking up after having a near-death experience changed Kyle's life. Since then, Kyle has earned his B.A. in Transpersonal Psychology, where he studied the healing potential of non-ordinary states of consciousness by exploring shamanism, plant medicine, Holotropic Breathwork, and the roots/benefits of psychedelic psychotherapy. Kyle has co-taught two college-level courses. One of the courses Kyle created as a capstone project, "Stanislav Grof's Psychology of Extraordinary Experiences," and the other one which he co-created, "The History of Psychedelics."
Kyle completed his M.S. in clinical mental health counseling with an emphasis in somatic psychology. Kyle's clinical background in mental health consists of working with at-risk teenagers in crisis and with individuals experiencing an early-episode of psychosis. Kyle also facilitates Transpersonal Breathwork workshops.
About Joe
Joe studied philosophy in New Hampshire, where he earned his B.A.. After stumbling upon the work of Stanislav Grof during his undergraduate years, Joe began participating in Holotropic Breathwork workshops in Vermont in 2003. Joe helped facilitate Holotropic and Transpersonal Breathwork workshops while he spent his time in New England. He is now working in the software industry as well as hosting a few podcasts. Joe now coordinates Dreamshadow Transpersonal Breathwork workshops, in Breckenridge, Colorado.
