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Psychedelic Integration Therapy

Psychedelic therapy: we’re not quite there yet…

Psychedelics such as MDMA, LSD, ayahuasca/DMT, and psilocybin are being researched for their therapeutic potential by organizations like the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (M.A.P.S.) with promising results, but the research is still in progress. Most psychedelics are classified as schedule I substances and are therefore illegal. For this reason, I do not offer guided sessions or promote the use of these substances. Psychedelic integration therapy is different than psychedelic therapy where there is a therapist or guide present during the actual psychedelic experience. In contrast, psychedelic integration therapy is the process of making sense of and reducing any harm associated with a previous psychedelic experience within the context of an ongoing therapeutic relationship. 

As a psychotherapist and integrationist, I help people who yearn to connect more deeply with themselves. I’m here to support those who fear being misunderstood or judged about their experiences with powerful psychedelic medicines like MDMA, LSD, ayahuasca/DMT, psilocybin and ketamine.

What does “psychedelic integration” mean?

Although humans have been using psychedelic substances for thousands of years, current mainstream culture lacks much awareness about both their healing potential and their dangers.

Psychedelics are inherently dis-integrating. They can disintegrate your ego or your sense of self. Things feel like they’re coming apart. You may have lost a sense of reality as you knew it.

After such an intensely fragmenting experience, coming back together can feel like assembling a jigsaw puzzle, blindfolded, with your hands tied behind your back. Everything may feel new, different, suddenly very wrong, or suddenly very right. Maybe you’re not even sure what you experienced. It may have been the single most spiritual and wonderful experience of your life, or it may have been terrifying and traumatic. Having the support of someone who’s informed about the integration of different psychedelic substances and experiences can make all the difference.

Integrating can mean continuing to process and make meaning out of what you experienced, restructuring your life on various levels, bringing awareness to what might be new for you, or paying attention to your dreams (where the journey may resume). 

If you’ve had insightful or mystical experiences with psychedelics, I can help you further understand and integrate these experiences into your everyday life. Your journey may continue to unfold for weeks, months, or even years. 

Perhaps you had a powerful vision, but the meaning isn’t clear to you yet. Maybe you’re struggling to hold onto the message you received. You may even feel greater sensitivity to noise, smells, toxins, and people.

It's been said that psychedelics will give you what you need, not necessarily what you want. So you may have found yourself suddenly faced with traumatic memories, overwhelming feelings, or revelatory insights. Because psychedelics can make our unconscious minds more accessible, possibly even exposing us to different realms or beings, sometimes this is just a lot for our bodies and psyches to handle. In our integration work together, I can help you process this intenseprofound material that may have arisen in seemingly bizarre and unexpected ways. Even if you've had a challenging experience in an expanded state, psychedelic integration therapy can help you come to deep insights by exploring the feelings, images, sensations and thoughts that came up for you.

One definition of healing is to make the self whole again. This is exactly what integration work involves. Let's get started. I'd love to hear from you.  

Call (510) 859-7724 or email for support with your psychedelic integration.

Psychedelic Harm Reduction

"Will I ever be the same again?"

Psychedelics can put people into extremely vulnerable states. When they’re used alone, in an improper context, or without adequate information about source, dosage, and likely effects, you are at risk for all kinds of unintended outcomes. I can help inform you about these risks and assist you in overcoming the harm that may have come from the use of these powerful substances.

If it already happened, we’ll work with it. In some cases, there can be complex layers of trauma when you’ve ingested something unwillingly, you were totally unprepared, something terrible happened when you were “tripping,” or you’re continuing to experience unpleasant after-effects.

Contact me to discuss how I can help you minimize risk, reduce harm and/or overcome the unwanted effects of your psychedelic use. 

— Alex Grey

To learn more about my psychedelic integration work, listen to the Psychedelic Integration episode on this podcast, or check out this article about my practice in Oakland magazine.

Please note: Consultations are strictly for people interested in psychotherapy with a therapist who has expertise in psychedelic experiences that take place independently of our therapy together. I will not respond to inquiries about where to find guides, ceremonies, or any other ways of possibly accessing illegal substances. If you are coming for therapy, please do not attend under the influence of any consciousness-altering substance unless prescribed by a physician (or unless we have previously agreed to do cannabis-assisted psychotherapy).