Psychedelics maybe a new or old subject to you, as I go into deeper explanations below everything that is underlined has a link attached to it. It will bring you to accredited resources where you can learn more. Also encourage you to do your own research about psychedelics, as they are not for everyone.

So Jo- do you give psychedelics to people?

I do not. What I can do is assist you with intention setting before a psychedelic journey and focused integration sessions after. I do not provide or know where to acquire psychedelic substances.

I work from a harm reduction stance, meaning people are going to choose to engage in psychedelic experiences with or without my integration services. Jo’s Journey work exists to focus on your personal psychedelic journey and how to weave the teachings into your day to day life.

What is a psychedelic experience?

Maybe your mind jumps back to the 70’s or music festivals. The oxford defines psychedelics as:

relating to or denoting drugs (especially LSD) that produce hallucinations and apparent expansion of consciousness.

‘Psychedelics’ can be an umbrella term that can include any of the following substances: Ayahuasca, DMT, LSD, Psilocybin (magic mushrooms), MDMA, and ketamine. The New York Times wrote an article on each one of these substances if you would like to read more.

People choose to take these substances in a range of settings from being solo to being in a large group. Some are taken in social settings, in a doctors office, with a ‘trip’ sitter, or in a religious/ceremonial way.

Psychedelic experiences are nothing new and have documented use since 7000 years ago. Research on therapeutic effects of psychedelic use was halted in the 1960’s when the ‘war on drugs’ began.

In basic terms psychedelic experiences are known to calm the amygdala, the zone in the brain responsible for the fight flight freeze response. So wether thinking of an old trauma or the persistent ‘down’ or ‘anxious’ feeling the person can relate with these thoughts, emotions or experiences in a new way.

How is psychedelic integration different than a psychedelic assisted therapy?

Psychedelic assisted therapy may look like giving a psychedelic substance, holding space while you take the substance (keeping you safe), or conducting the therapy during a psychedelic experience. As a integration therapist I am conducting therapy before or after you have a psychedelic experience. I will not be assessable as a therapist during an experience or refer you to any place you could obtain a psychedelic substances.

I get how this can be confusing and will answer any questions you may have.

How can integration help?

My work as a psychedelic integration therapist is rooted in mindfulness and curiosity. I hold a supportive, nonjudgemental container where you are able to explore your internal wisdom from your psychedelic experience.

I can help you in slowing down and connect with what the experience meant to you. This doesn’t always look like talk therapy, I bring breath-work, art, nature and somatic work into sessions. Each of these alternative modalities can assist in looking at your journey from a new lens or angle.

I believe there is a large importance placed on psychedelic journeys and not as much on the integration that happens afterwards. The actual experiences are such a small part of your life and where we work in integration is the larger part of your life. As you are your own healer, you already have everything you need inside of you. I as the therapist can meet you where you are and keep you accountable to your internal experience.

I believe this is much bigger than integration therapy. Psychedelics help you zoom out of your own life to relate with it in a new way. This paradigm shift can bring more mindfulness, gratitude, and love into your life; integration helps shift a psychedelic experience from being a life changing moment to being life changing in itself.

Why do 20% of your profits go to supporting Black, Indigenous, and people of color?

One of the core values of Jo’s Journey Work is equity. I acknowledge that BIPOC has been systemically oppressed, killed and kept our of places of power by white people. One example of this is the war on drugs. The war on drugs specifically demonized people of color for using substances that are now labeled psychedelic medicine.

Statistically 80% of people in federal prison and almost 60% of people in state prison for drug related offensives are black or Latinx. These numbers represent how people of color were profiled from police. Some of these convictions are around psychedelics that are now becoming legal or decrimalized. As psychedelics become more normalized in a therapeutic setting, companies need to be rooted in equity to bring more access to communities of color. To me this means increased access to psychedelic journeys for people of color, thus why 20% of profits are going to a fund ran by the ancestor project. They also provide a large array of services for BIPOC in the psychedelic space.

Can there be sustainability in the psychedelic therapy?

One question that was posed to me in grad school was, ‘how are you going to put yourself out of job?’. In this context I think of people who have been in therapy all of their lives to help mental health disorders like PTSD, anxiety, depression, panic and the list goes on. In this model we are purely taking a treatment perspective of the disorder. Such as putting people on anti depressants with mixed success.

Why I believe in the power of psychedelics is because of the long effects of the treatment. Here is recent article stating patients major depressive disorder could ease symptoms for up to 12 months. Psychedelic substances are getting labeled as breakthrough treatments. Psychedelics are continuing to get more money and attention funnelled at them, as we still need more research around effectiveness and long-term success.

The sustainable therapeutic container looks like having integration as a piece of this breakthrough psychedelic therapy. I believe weaving integration into psychedelic work is crucial to increase healing potential for each person.