Tim Read - Psychedelics and Psychotherapy: The Healing Potential of Expanded States

Psychedelics and Psychotherapy

A remarkable collection of sophisticated psychedelic therapists and integration specialists sharing new methods, new models, and theoretical underpinnings for both. What makes this volume invaluable is the wide range of solutions that the writers have come up with for helping and healing. There is a richness of ideas and case histories here, and no matter what your orientation is, youre going to learn many other ways your own work might go.

JAMES FADIMAN, PH.D., MICRODOSE RESEARCHER, AUTHOR OF THE PSYCHEDELIC EXPLORERS GUIDE, AND COAUTHOR OF YOUR SYMPHONY OF SELVES

This authoritatively written and beautifully illustrated book explores perfectly the complexities and benefits of interweaving these disparate subjects into a platform of hope for our patients with unremitting mental disorders. A highly recommended read for practitioners, patients, and anyone with a keen eye on the contemporary development of psychedelic culture and medicine.

BEN SESSA, MBBS, MRCPSYCH, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER AT AWAKN LIFE SCIENCES, INC., AND PSYCHEDELIC THERAPIST

This new book provides a rich education for those seeking wisdom about the deepest varieties of psychotherapy.

ROBIN CARHART-HARRIS, PH.D., HEAD OF CENTRE FOR PSYCHEDELIC RESEARCH AT IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON

As psychedelic drugs reintegrate themselves back into our lives how are we, in turn, to reintegrate them? This timely book will serve as a roadmap to those who walk this path, bringing together indigenous cultural knowledge and modern psychotherapeutic thinking to illustrate an ancient process of deepening inner awareness that so many feel has such contemporary potential to heal.

JAMES RUCKER, PH.D., HONORARY CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST AT THE SOUTH LONDON AND MAUDSLEY NHS FOUNDATION TRUST AND NIHR CLINICIAN SCIENTIST FELLOW AT KINGS COLLEGE LONDON

This edited collection of articles by seasoned experts in psychedelic-assisted therapy fills a critical gap. This book covers what every therapist needs to know in order to be competent in helping clients integrate their psychedelic experiences.

DAVID LUKOFF, PH.D., PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY AT SOFIA UNIVERSITY

A valuable collection of experiential discoveries and research findings. A guide for those who would fathom how the competent use of psychedelics may facilitate healing and illumine the dynamics and mysteries of human consciousness.

WILLIAM A. RICHARDS, PH.D., PSYCHOTHERAPIST AT THE JOHNS HOPKINS CENTER FOR PSYCHEDELIC & CONSCIOUSNESS RESEARCH AND AUTHOR OF SACRED KNOWLEDGE

This groundbreaking volume is essential reading for all practitioners in the healing professions, especially those whose primary focus remains the biological facets of mental health. A paradigm shifttoward a deeper model of the human being recovering the soul, the feminine, and our need for a profound sense of social belonging and embeddedness in natureis absolutely essential. Our multifaceted crisis can only be resolved through the kind of integrative approaches advanced here: those that start from the inner dimension and its corresponding outer expressions.

DAVID LORIMER, MA, PGCE, PROGRAM DIRECTOR AT THE SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL NETWORK AND EDITOR OF PARADIGM EXPLORER

I could not be more appreciative for the publication of Psychedelics and Psychotherapy. It should be essential reading for anyone interested in maximizing the healing potential of expanded states of consciousness and is a MUST for anyone considering the path of becoming a psychedelic therapist, sitter, or guide. These are the wise voices of dedicated and well-seasoned practitioners.

DIANE HAUG, MA, LPCC, SENIOR STAFF MEMBER WITH GROF TRANSPERSONAL TRAINING AND CODIRECTOR OF GROF LEGACY PROJECT USA

An important book that unites the current vogue for medical application of psychedelics with the deeper spiritual understanding of humanity as interconnected, which is denied by the illness model of mental well-being. Psychedelics are identified as a means to face and heal the inner pain behind mental breakdown, and the theme is illustrated from a variety of therapeutic perspectivesusing multiple ways of exploring expanded consciousnessthe whole enlivened by the inclusion of artwork arising from the process.

ISABEL CLARKE, CONSULTANT CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST, EDITOR OF PSYCHOSIS AND SPIRITUALITY, AND AUTHOR OF MADNESS, MYSTERY AND THE SURVIVAL OF GOD

This rich, brilliant anthology is a must-read resource for anyone interested in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, covering areas such as preparation and integration, the use of evocative music, mandala drawing, bodywork, and archetypal astrology.

RENN BUTLER, AUTHOR OF PATHWAYS TO WHOLENESS AND THE ARCHETYPAL UNIVERSE

Read and Papaspyrou have years of experience in the field of healing with expanded states of consciousness and, with keen observation of what is needed as psychedelics enter the mainstream, have chosen wise authors and essential topics to include in this book. Psychedelics and Psychotherapy reflects the multi-dimensional experience of both client and therapist in psychedelic therapy and the subtle issues that arise. This book is essential reading for those just joining this important healing work. Veterans in the field will appreciate the skillful articulation of the differences between psychedelic therapy and ordinary therapy, especially regarding training, ethical awareness, presence, and supervision in supporting the inner healing intelligence of clients in the therapeutic alliance.

KYLEA TAYLOR, LMFT, AUTHOR OF THE ETHICS OF CARING

A wonderful mind-expanding book that has renewed my compassion, enthusiasm, and curiosity for the therapeutic experience. Authors with deep experience write beautifully about the transformative nature and process of psychedelic therapy.

RACHEL GIBBONS, PSYCHOANALYST, GROUP ANALYST, CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST, AND ORGANIZATIONAL CONSULTANT

An important, timely, and rich collection that should interest anyone with a serious interest in psychedelics.

JEREMY NARBY, ANTHROPOLOGIST AND AUTHOR OF THE COSMIC SERPENT

Research and reports of users in this field are gaining increasing awareness, yet the voice of those therapists who offered therapy is seldom heard. A rich, thorough resource of practitioners awaits the reader; collectively, they represent hundreds of years of experience in this growing field.

MANUEL AICHER, PSYCHOTHERAPIST

Manifold by Stuart Griggs.

FOREWORD

Psychedelics as a Pathway to the Self

Gabor Mat

P lant medicine work is becoming increasingly popular with Westerners seeking to heal physical illness or mental anguish or to gain a sense of meaning amid the growing alienation in our culture. The main reasons why people are turning to plant medicines and other psychedelic modalities are twofold. First, mental health illnesses are burgeoning in our societies. Anxiety is the fastest growing diagnosis on both sides of the Atlantic while more and more people become depressed. The loss of community and the pain of dislocation and alienation are social contributors to the rise in mental discomfort. Second, there is a nearly complete failure of the Western medical system in dealing with the crisis of mental health; we not only fail to understand mental illness but are fundamentally in denial about the unity of the human soul, mind, and body, as well as in denial about the social nature of human beings. Because Western medicine tends to look upon mental illness as a largely biological problem, prevention of and responses to it are often inadequate, which has driven people to look for solutions outside the mainstream. We can add a third reason: the search for spiritual realization.