The Benefits of Therapeutic Psychedelic Use
As psychotherapists, with decades of healing experience, why do we work with psychedelics, both at OUR HOUSE and in our private practices? Because they help our clients do beautiful, powerful healing work! Therapeutic use needs to be clearly distinguished from recreational use. In the psychedelic world we call therapeutic use controlling for Set & Setting. What this means is that we prepare clients mentally and physically for their journeys (Set) and we create safe, supportive and caring environments and containers in which healing can take place (Setting). Knowing that our work is done legally, is also part of the set, allowing clients to drop deeper into trust and safety. All these factors contribute to clients’ journey experience. Research confirms that positive results or outcomes are related to preparation, and support. At OUR HOUSE, we take healing even further because we have supported clients through healing, life and behavior changes for decades. Our experience and knowledge continues expanding where clinical trials usually end, in understanding how to close the gap between the medicine experience and long-term transformation. All psychedelic experiences are transformative and powerful, but our brains don’t change from one day to the next. Change is a process. Unless we understand how to stay connected to our journey experiences and insights, we will convert back to baseline. And that is ok, it doesn’t make our journeys less powerful, it only means we have to understand the whole process. At OUR HOUSE, we teach the whole process to help clients continue on their healing path long after their journeys end. Understanding Integration is key. Community and co-regulation is key.
Stanislav Grof, one of the original psychedelic researchers, said that psychedelics are for psychiatry what the telescope is for Astrologers or the microscope for Scientists. As therapists, we agree. We know the research, there are decades-worth of clinical trials all over the world. And we also know that most people in the US are afraid of psychedelics, despite the vast amount of research, they continue to believe that psychedelics are dangerous and only for people who suffer deeply and would use psilocybin or ketamine as a last resort. We like to believe that as therapists we do our work gently, with care and support. It is the only way to help clients heal from trauma. Healing cannot be forced. Similarly, these medicines always work with us, not against us. At OUR HOUSE we help people understand, trust and consider psychedelics in their healing and growth journeys, not as a last resort approach, but because the healing is deep and beautiful. Clinical trials and longitudinal studies exist for substances such as psilocybin, ketamine, LSD, MDMA, ayahuasca, and DMT. Not all of these substances have found a way into our offices yet, legally. But some have - Ketamine and psilocybin, and we see incredible results in our work with these medicines for mental health conditions, but also for wellbeing and more joy in life. Psychedelic therapy helps us let go of self-doubts and inner critics, of the voices and old beliefs we developed in our childhoods. Psychedelics are always a journey towards more peace and self-compassion - not towards more harshness or harm.
On the mental health outcome front there is strong evidence for depression, anxiety (including end-of-life distress), PTSD and substance use disorders (reduced alcohol misuse, decreased tobacco dependence, decreased cocaine cravings, lower relapse rates) from trials at Johns Hopkins University, Imperial College London, MAPS (now operating as Lykos Therapeutics) and other research institutes.
There are also shifts in personality traits that we used to think of as permanent in adulthood, specifically on the personality trait of “Openness”. We become less rigid, less fixed on our versions of our life stories and our perceptions of others. Our creativity is enhanced and we have more cognitive flexibility, to be able to see and act differently.
Aspects related to mindfulness improve, as a matter of fact, some research shows that people’s brains on 5-meo-DMT are similar to expert meditators such as Buddhist monks! We gain greater emotional awareness, with reduced avoidance of difficult memories, increased self-compassion, less judgment and less reactivity.
Intense feelings of unity and transcendence can occur, with lasting shifts in openness, deeper connection to self, others and even the world. Improved relationships and increased life satisfaction are often the result of the work.
In the neurological domain, there has been much excitement for results in increased synaptic growth and a possible “reset” of maladaptive neural pathways. Gül Dölen’s research on critical learning periods published in Nature (2019 and 2023) is partcularly exciting here. Critical learning periods are known developmental windows when the brain is especially receptive to environmental stimuli and rapid learning — such as language acquisition in childhood. Once these periods close, the brain becomes less plastic, and certain kinds of learning become harder. Gül Dölen’s research focuses on whether psychedelic drugs can reopen these windows of heightened plasticity in the adult brain, potentially allowing new learning and behavioral change that is normally restricted after development.
