Looking for a psychedelic experience?
If you are looking for a psychedelic experience for insight and healing, look for something that is…
Group-based
It’s usually better not to take psychedelics alone, particularly the first time.
If you get into difficulties, you need someone there to help you. Straightforwardly, this could be physical problems e.g. getting locked out of a door. What’s more likely is that you may benefit from someone to reassure you during difficult moments. If that reassurance is not there, you may have a difficult and possibly traumatic experience. You cannot guarantee your physical safety, or your emotional and spiritual safety, if you are alone.
It’s also usually better not to take psychedelics with just one other person, especially if that person is not skilled in attending to someone on psychedelics, or you haven’t known them very long.
Unfortunately, sexual abuse by facilitators is reported from time-to-time, particularly (but not only) for women. If something bad or questionable happens to you, it’s good to have someone else to help you and confirm what happened.
Group-based psychedelic sessions are considered more effective for various reasons and why groups are the main mode offered by reputable centres. If the idea of journeying in a group troubles you, that can be worth exploring in therapy.
Legal
Should you get into serious difficulty, there should be either a doctor on-hand or no hesitation in calling an ambulance, which can get you to a major hospital within 15 minutes.
Ayahuasca is legal in Costa Rica and various other Central and South American countries. Peyote is legal within religious use in the USA. Psilocybin and ibogaine retreats operate in Portugal and elsewhere. MDMA therapy is not legal anywhere, as far as I know, beyond very limited clinical trials.
“it is unlikely that a single psychedelic experience will provide an immediate, lasting change in long-term problems”
Should I take psychedelics?
Only you can decide. Good information is available online, as also is some bad information, so exercise your judgement. I don’t consider it my role to assess, validate or recommend psychedelic treatments. What I will say is that many common psychiatric drugs are considered incompatible with psychedelics (e.g. SSRIs, MAOIs), as are certain bodily states (e.g. pregnancy) and illnesses (epilepsy). After that, it becomes trickier to assess eligibility. If you have serious, frequent problems with consensus reality (e.g. psychosis) or maintaining a coherent sense of self in daily life, exercise extreme caution. Beyond that, you must do your own research.I also want to manage expectations that despite the widespread enthusiasm and hope around psychedelics at present, it is unlikely that a single psychedelic experience will provide an immediate, lasting change in long-term problems. Clinical studies almost always include psychotherapy before and after. Where change is reported, this is usually the result of extensive work in terms of changing habits and taking up other practices, including psychotherapy.
Where are legal, group-based psychedelic experiences?
If you’re interested in ayahuasca, there’s the Ayahuasca Foundation, Soltara, or Nihue Rao.
In Europe, the team at Alalaho operate psilocybin group retreats in the Netherlands, and grew from the London-based Psychedelic Society.
You might find further useful information in ‘So, You Want To Find a Psychedelic Guide?’.
“psychedelics contain powerful psycho-active compounds”
Dangers, bad trips, jumping off the balcony?
Besides their illegality in the UK, psychedelics contain powerful psycho-active compounds that merit caution and respect.
Psychedelics can have a reasonable safety profile if you follow appropriate guidelines, which many categorise as substance, setting, (mind)set and sitters/facilitators. A ‘bad trip’ may, in the right circumstances, be a spiritual challenge and an opportunity for growth. But not always.
Poor settings are when deaths and serious injury happen, of which there have been several reports. Poor facilitation and after-care can lead to challenging experiences becoming worse and longer-term.
Michael Pollan provides a worthwhile assessment in ‘What do we know about the risks of psychedelics?’