Learning About Nashville Psychedelics Therapy

Many of us have had experiences that are difficult to understand, process, or explain.  These can be painful and traumatizing, in some cases – maybe attempting to understand them causes anxiety or stress.  Healing can feel near impossible.

Traditional methods of therapy do not always work, even when we are trying our hardest in them.  Sometimes, all we might need is a little something more.  If you’re feeling hopeless or lost, and can’t explain something that has happened to you, one option might be to looking into psychedelics therapy.

Don’t let the name scare you away.  In this article, I’m going to explain to you what this method is, and why you should consider it if you’re having a difficult time with potentially unexplained or troubling events that have happened in your life.

What is Psychedelic Therapy?

Like many things in our world, the answer to this question is more than a bit nuanced.  In simple terms, however, this type of therapy includes psychedelic compounds to help with the overall process.  For some additional information, you can look here, but I can provide a bit more guidance as well.

Understandably, you might feel skeptical when I mention the use of substances in therapy.  After all, since the 1970s and Richard Nixon, the public opinion on this type of compound has been in decline.  However, don’t let this cloud your judgement or hamper you from having an open mind.

This method of therapy, while perhaps not called therapy in the past, has been used for centuries throughout many different cultures.  You may have heard it called something like holistic medicine or a spiritual practice.  Whatever you decide to call it, you should be respectful and understanding of how important it is to so many people.  It has helped many achieve a deep level of healing that other methods simply could not produce.

Types of Psychedelic Therapy

I will discuss a few different methods here.  The first I will get into is Lysergic acid diethylamide – otherwise known as LSD.  It can be used to improve mood and change our perceptions and consciousness.  It is fairly long lasting, and it has been known to help people suffering from alcohol misuse disorder or anxiety.

Another potential Psychedelics Therapy is the use of MDMA or ecstasy.  It might not be traditionally known as a psychedelic to be used in therapy, but that does not mean it is not effective.  It can provide a variety of effects for the patient, including changed perceptions, higher levels of sociability, and even higher levels of arousal.  For the most part, researchers are looking at MDMA for treating post-traumatic stress disorder.

There is also something known as psilocybin, which is the main ingredient in magic mushrooms.  As with the other substances that I have mentioned here, it usually results in altered perceptions and mood.  It can be used in the treatment of anxiety, depression, and potentially even obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The final one I will mention is ketamine.  I’ve certainly heard about this in other contexts, as you likely have as well.  However, it does indeed have therapeutic properties.  For the most part, it has been used to help treat the symptoms of depression. 

All of these have effects that show great promise and can help people in a therapy setting, especially when combined with talk therapy.  While these substances might seem scary, I promise you that they are not in this context.

How Does it Work?

This is not exactly the easiest question to answer, but I will do my best to help explain how psychedelic therapy works.  This piece from WebMD can provide some additional context as well: https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/story/how-do-psychedelic-treatments-work. 

Typically, the beginning of your journey will begin with something such as a mystical experience questionnaire.  This is to gauge what you are hoping to process or better understand.  It helps your therapist get a better sense for who you are and what your goals in this process are.

Usually, there is an emphasis placed on three different parts of a mystical experience.  These are senses of unity, sacredness, and noetics.  These experiences can help us connect with others around us and find a deeper meaning and understanding in our lives.  Feeling connected to the world around us and cherishing certain memories are some things you might be able to experience in a therapy session.

As you go through a session, your practitioner will give you a dose (usually a small one) of the psychedelic drug of choice for this experience.  The professional will supervise you during and guide you along in the mystical experience you are having.  They can help provide insights as you enjoy the moment and perhaps gain that increased awareness and spirituality that can come from these therapies.

The end goal of a session is generally to help in a process known as “integration.”  This is the way that we understand and make sense of a psychedelic experience and eventually find meaning in it.  That is generally how this therapy works.

The Benefits

As I have alluded to, there are plenty of benefits to pursuing this therapy.  Particularly, it can aid in the treatment of mental health disorders.  Mood disorders such as depression and anxiety are of particular interest for researchers in this field. 

If you are concerned that this might not be based on science, I understand that.  However, do not worry.  Scientists and doctors have in fact been looking into the positive benefits of psychedelic substances and therapies for decades now.  Since the door is at last open for it again, hopefully continued research will be done.

I did mention this above, but I would like to highlight it again.  Certain drugs in this vein have been shown to help with alcohol misuse disorder and alcoholism.  This is, obviously, something very difficult to get through.  Alongside this is the potential to heal through post-traumatic stress disorder as well.

There are so many reasons to consider this type of treatment.  Don’t let the name scare you away!