As an increasing number of people worldwide become curious about the therapeutic potentials of psychedelics, education about psychedelic harm-reduction and benefit-maximisation is more crucial than ever. 

With the emerging buzz phrase "psychedelic integration" painting a vital part of this picture - it's important to understand what the term really means. 

As such, we've deconstructed the meaning and importance of psychedelic integration and highlighted the different avenues you may consider for your own healing journey.

So What Is Psychedelic Integration, and Why Is It Important? 

Integration the process of integrating. Or for a more formal definition - the practice of "forming, coordinating, or blending into a functioning or unified whole." In the context of psychedelics, this describes how we can bring insights from a psychedelic experience into our lives at large.

Since their very early use, psychotherapists and clinicians have recognised the ability of psychedelic drugs to evoke new ways of thinking and to bring to the surface repressed memories, thoughts and feelings. It's these qualities that led psychiatrist Humphrey Osmond to coin the term "psychedelic" from the Greek roots meaning "mind-manifesting."

By aiding the discovery of one's own psyche, psychedelics can have powerful therapeutic benefits. Yet, these radical changes in perspective and glimpses into hidden corners of the mind can at times be challenging. 

Sometimes these experiences can leave us feeling confused about relating to our sense of reality. Sometimes the surfacing of traumas can bring about distress associated with painful memories. 

However, through integration, we can begin to make sense of our psychedelic experiences, assimilate any realisations we might have, and transform difficulties into valuable opportunities for self-growth. 

Scientists propose that following psychedelics, a period of mental flexibility follows in which the brain becomes more flexible with thought and behaviour patterns easier to change. By taking advantage of this window of opportunity, integration is also a means to improve our everyday lives, aiding us to drop negative habits and pick up new, healthier ones. 

There are many ways people can integrate a psychedelic experience. For example, some people may choose to self-direct, whereas others may seek support from an integration therapist or coach. Some people may feel satisfied from only one or two integration sessions, whereas it can be an ongoing lifelong journey for others. And with the highly variable nature of psychedelic experiences, the way you might integrate one trip could be entirely different from another. 

By being made aware of the different integration practices and available support, you'll be able to tailor your integration based on your personal needs and experience. 

How Do I Integrate A Psychedelic Experience?

Goals of psychedelic integration

The actions taken to integrate an experience will vary from person to person and trip to trip. However, there are some common goals of integration that draw all these methods together: 

• To explore the visual, physical, and psychological experiences from a psychedelic experience to gain insight into your past, present, and future

• Using lessons from a psychedelic experience to make positive changes in your everyday life

• Managing any new perspectives around reality or relation to the self and others that may arise during a psychedelic experience

• Learning to cope with the trauma of difficult psychedelic experiences

• Making sense of any aspects of the psychedelic experience that were particularly confusing

Speaking to others

In a culture where psychedelics have traditionally been heavily stigmatised, chatting openly about a psychedelic experience with others can be highly beneficial. It can help you shed the weight of an experience from your shoulders, help you comprehend things more easily, and in group dialogues, such as psychedelic integration circles (more below), you may find solace from being able to relate to aspects of somebody's else's experience. 

One of the most central integration techniques is speaking about your psychedelic experience with somebody else. This somebody could be a licensed therapist, a specialised integration coach (more below), or in a group as part of a psychedelic integration circle. In some cases, it may also be just as valuable to talk about the experience simply with a close friend, partner or family member. 

If you're looking to speak to somebody about difficulties relating to psychedelic but are unsure where to turn - immediate and free peer support is available from the psychedelic helpline Fireside Project 

Journalling 

In the same way that speaking to others may help lift some of the heaviness and confusion associated with a psychedelic experience, transferring the memories and feelings of a trip from your inner world into writing can also help. 

You could either try placing pen on paper and seeing what arises or perhaps guiding your writing by asking yourself questions such as:

• How did you feel in your body during the different parts of the psychedelic experience?

• Did you have any meaningful hallucinations?

• What moments of the experience did you find particularly challenging?

• Did your experience fulfil your intentions and expectations before going into the trip?

• Did anything come up during the experience which you didn't expect? How has this left you feeling? 

• Did anything that came up during the experience that inspired you to work on certain aspects of yourself?

When addressing particularly distressing elements of a psychedelic experience, whether whilst speaking or journaling, it's possible to become overwhelmed by heightened emotions and sensations connected to the trip, hindering your ability to explore it more deeply. 

However, cultivating relaxation techniques, such as slow, deep breathing, can help you manage your nervous system, so it's easier to dive into the experience without feeling overwhelmed.

Using art as an integration tool

The ineffable nature of psychedelic experiences sometimes means it's difficult to process them with words. In which case, you could try to remember and explore a trip through drawing and painting. Perhaps you may even write music with lyrics or sounds that encapsulate thoughts and memories linked to the experience.

One integration technique adopted by the psychiatrist and psychedelics researcher Stanislav Grof was to encourage clients to draw a mandala - a geometric configuration of symbols - following a holotropic breathwork session. By capturing the emotions and energetics of their experiences in the drawing, his clients would then be able to use the mandala to reconnect to and reflect on the non-verbal aspects of their trip. 

Body-based techniques

Certain parts of a psychedelic journey can reveal themselves as physical sensations rather than mental narratives. For example, psychedelics can bring up unprocessed traumas, which may appear as "stuck" areas of tightness in the body. Because the body can hold onto memories, parts of the trip could also become stored away in the body rather than in the conscious mind.

Therefore physical release exercises can be of enormous benefit in your integration journey. For example, things like massage and body-shaking practices can help you release stuck areas of tension that may emerge following psychedelics. Body-based trauma-release techniques such as somatic experiencing (SE), may help you identify body areas connected to strong emotions and memories related to your psychedelic experience. 

Furthermore, incorporating physical practices such as yoga into your integration whilst the post-psychedelics brain is in a state of increased flexibility can help you re-establish your body maps and physical sense of being. For those who experience body dissociation, this can be extremely healing. 

Psychedelic Integration Therapy and Coaching

Psychedelic integration therapy vs. coaching

A psychedelic integration therapist is somebody qualified in a therapeutic practise that helps people better comprehend their psychedelic experiences. This is the type of support received by participants in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy trials.

Through utilising different therapies, such as eye movement desensitisation reprogramming therapy (EMDR) or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), integration therapists can aid people to re-explore difficulties that may have emerged during psychedelic trips, and guide them to discover how these difficulties could lead to insight and lessons for the future. 

Unlike an integration therapist, an integration coach doesn't require specific therapy qualifications and is more concerned with personal development than healing. 

Using more practical approaches, an integration coach may work with a client to identify key goals they'd like to achieve in light of a psychedelic experience, offering solutions to achieve specific goals and tracking their client's progress. 

Whether you seek guidance from a therapist or coach is dependent on what outcomes you'd like from your integration. If you're looking to dive into your mind, and heal old wounds, then therapy is for you. However, if you intend to use psychedelics to improve your skillset and make practical lifestyle changes, then a coach would be much better suited. 

There's no saying what type of specialist is best for integration support. However, it's important to note that because therapists require years of training in understanding and managing mental health, they're often more qualified to take care of psychological difficulties.

What to look for in an integration coach or therapist

With so many factors to consider, finding the right person to support you on your integration journey can sometimes be a struggle. However, the intimate nature of the guide-client relationship and the powerful transformational potentials of integration means it is a decision well-worth spending time on. 

Firstly, it's important to consider what it is you are seeking from integration. For example, if you're looking to heal the wounds of a distressing psychedelic journey, then you may look for a therapist who specialises trauma-healing. If you want to materialise a desire for lifestyle changes that emerged during a psychedelic experience, such as starting yoga or eating healthier foods, then perhaps you want to find a coach specialising in those particular domains. And if you're working with any mental health struggle, such as anxiety or an eating disorder, you may look for somebody who has either had specialist training or their own lived experience. 

Other things to consider when choosing support is whether the therapist or coach has had personal experience with the type of psychedelic substance you're working with, as this may mean they're better able to help understand and navigate that specific state-of-consciousness. 

You also want to ensure the credibility of the person you're working with. Perhaps you're recommended an integration specialist from a friend who has also worked with the same therapist or coach, or maybe you reach out to people you trust to see if they know anybody. 

And if you're looking outside of the grapevine, choosing a specialist registered with a recognised institution, such as Fluence or CIIS, will help warrant official training and ethical conduct. 

Most importantly, you should try and feel into your intuition and ask yourself, do I feel energetically connected to this person? Would I feel comfortable opening up to this person about my personal issues? Do I trust this person is honest and authentic?

Group Psychedelic Integration Support

For as long as psychedelic ceremonies have existed, people have long recognised the importance of social connectedness in supporting people through altered states. And in the West, some of the earliest psychedelic research experiments utilised group settings in their therapeutic approaches.

A psychedelic integration circle is a group meeting where people take turns to listen to and share their experiences, thoughts, and feelings relating to psychedelics. Circles may be governed and held by one or more integration specialists or may take on a more grassroots approach, directed by the individual members of the circle. 

Integration circles can take place either in-person or online, with pros and cons to both options. For example, an online circle isn't constrained by geographical barriers and allows people to remain in the safety and comfort of their own home. However, an online integration circle doesn't have the same feelings of being in the physical presence of a supporting community. 

At the Psychedelic Society, we offer a members-only integration circle - an intimate monthly event led by Ashleigh-Murphy Beiner, Michelle Baker-Jones, and Natasha Moscovici, well-experienced specialists in the field of psychedelic facilitation, integration, and transpersonal psychology. If you're seeking healing, support and connection with like-minded others or simply feeding your psychedelic curiosity, then be sure to check out our membership so we can keep you informed with upcoming circles as well as providing a 10% discount on all our events. 

Psychedelic Integration: The Bottom Line

By pulling apart, working through and learning from psychedelic experiences, a stand-alone journey can become a lifelong process and guide whole new ways of being. And this act of processing extends far beyond just psychedelics. Integration is about approaching all our experiences in life with curiosity, seeing how we’re affected by both the positive and negative, where we can begin to shed trauma, what lessons we can carry with us moving forward.

Whether a psychedelic experience is still fresh in your mind, or you would like to reconnect with a trip from many years ago - remember there’s no “best-before-date” with integration, and in our eyes, no matter what processing techniques you decide are best for you, any integration is better than none.