Integration
Monthly Integration Guide Appointments
Schedule your monthly Integration Guide appointment 1-on1 by clicking here.
Integration appointments are to be scheduled after completing the dose acclimation session and 3 sessions.
Integration is the process of incorporating the insights discovered during your journey back into yourself and your life. All of the information you received as well as thoughts and feelings that may have arisen need to be digested, reflected upon and consolidated into actionable behaviors. If you simply re-enter your daily routine without the reflection period you may lose out on or simply forget the lessons learned from the medicine. Integration allows for lasting changes from ketamine treatments.
Group Integrations are held on Wednesdays at 5:30PM PST on Google Meets.
To join the group integrations, click here to complete the confidentiality agreement. This form must be completed prior to joining the link.
Integration can reinforce new neural pathways through behavioral practices, giving you the opportunity to create new possibilities for operating in the world. While in this heightened state of neuroplasticity, it is easier for you to develop healthier habits and thoughts. We can break free from the cycles of negative habits, and replace them with positive and empowering patterns.
• Did you experience something that you didn’t expect? Similar to the sense of vulnerability, you may feel open and unsure about what you saw. You may be wondering what those geometric shapes or shadows mean. Or perhaps you had an experience of revisiting a loved one who had passed. You may have so many questions after, leaving you feeling confused or uncertain. Don’t worry, that is OKAY. We believe whatever you experienced has some purpose and it may take days to unpack. The key to understanding all these emotions is to unpack this with someone you trust like an Integration Guide/Therapist/Friend/Family. You should never keep your emotions bottled up after your treatment. Journal/voice record first then explore with someone you trust.
• Increased feelings of motivation are also common! We don’t want you to think that the only things you’ll only be experiencing after treatments are negative feelings.
• Increased feelings of connection, calmness and peace that you haven't felt before! Enjoy those positive feelings and be grateful! In fact, after your treatment, we highly recommend instilling good habits into your lifestyle so that you can increase these feelings in your daily routine.
• Feeling introspective - Sometimes during treatments, you will have a lot of “downloads” or lessons. Experiences such as near-death experiences or out-of-body experiences can let you have epiphany after epiphany. You may end up feeling introspective afterwards and realize things that will make you see life differently.
• Despite us listing all of the possible experiences above, each person’s experience is different and will depend on many factors such as dosage, setting, and mindset. We cannot tell you for certain what you will feel during your own sessions, so be open to the unknown and possibility that what you experienced is exactly what you needed. Trust the process and the experience.
*Please have your journal notes/reflections complete after each session readily available for your integration calls.
Intention Repetition
Remember the intention you created for yourself? Change is a journey, not a destination. Intentions are like an arrow pointing your daily choices in your life in the direction of your goals. Align your targets with goals that empower you to live the life you desire. This is the fun part. Imagine how you want to feel, what you want your life to look like, and the emotional states that you desire. Focus on those. Write that down.
• Your emotions are the bow holding the arrow, creating the tension to power the arrow of your intentions towards your goals. If you want to hit the bullseye and make your vision a reality you need to practice archery daily. Some people even go as far as to take a sugar pill (e.g. tick tack or mint) every day with their intention as a physical tool to increase their commitments to the changes they want to make happen.
*To reinforce your intention create a ritual out of this experience:
Step 1
Clear all distractions & gather your tools. Grab a glass of water and a journal and pen.
Step 2
Identify your emotional state.
• Ask yourself how you are feeling and get really clear on whatever emotions you are experiencing in the moment (e.g. excited, happy, nervous, shaky, sad, etc.).
• Write it down. If you are really worked up, meditate for a fewminutes & center yourself.
Step 3
Decide what your intention is and write it down.
• Maybe you committed to do something
• Maybe you want to feel different in some way
• Maybe you want to manifest a result out of your control.
Step 4
Describe why you want what you want.
• Keep asking “why” until you get to the core emotion you are seeking. (e.g. I want to find a new home. Why? I want a fresh start? Why? I want to start a new life somewhere else. Why? I want a new community. Why? I want to feel safe and secure. Bingo!).
Step 5
Notice if any resistance comes up.
• Really dig underneath what comes up for you when you sense this resistance.
• Do you believe you don’t deserve to heal? Can you imagine how you would feel if you did? Who would you be if you weren’t depressed?
• Are you afraid you can’t get what you want? How would you feel if you got it? Do you believe you are worth it?
• Are you apathetic about your life? What would it feel like to be free and excited about life?
• Are you afraid of being alone? Remind yourself there are billions of people in this world.
• Are you frustrated you haven’t made more progress? Think of some of the things you have made progress on.
• Are you frustrated at not being where you want to be in life? How can you appreciate what you have right now and welcome in even more?
• Do you feel a sense of scarcity or lack? Imagine what it would feel like to feel abundance and freedom from fear of not having enough.
• Are you overwhelmed? Can you sit with that feeling and really let yourself feel it until it is released and you feel peace?
• Are you confused by choices? This kind of feeling is your brain’s way of keeping you where you are as a safety mechanism. Committing to change is the first step to getting clarify and moving forward.
• Write out on a separate page what’s under your resistance, tear out the page, crumple it up, and let it go. Notice what it feels like to overcome the resistance.
Step 6
Activate your intention.
• Commitment: What would your life look like if you achieved your goal? Close your eyes, visualize it, and write it down.
• Feeling: How would you feel if your intention came true. How would that change your present experience of life? Write it down.
• Result: How would achieving this result change your life? What would having this result do for you? Write it down
Step 7
Create your statement.
• Always phrase your intentions in the positive and in the present tense and avoiding words like need, should, just, like, might, maybe.
“...I feel good no matter my circumstances”
“...I know I am worthy”“...I will land my book deal”
“...I find my next home”
“...I manifest more abundance”“...I feel safe”
“...I find a new partner”
“...I will find a new job that brings me joy”
“...I accept my circumstances and write my own story”
“...I let go of grief”
“...I feel centered and calm”
“...I release my pain and trauma”
“...I will create the vision for the life I want”
“...I will complete my to do list today with grace and ease”
“...I let go of all obstacles in the way of optimal health”
“...I let go of relationships no longer serving me”
“...I will exercise 20 minutes a day because it makes me feelgood”
“...I will pause before each meal, eat consciously, slow down and chew my food thoroughly”
Step 8:
Take action.
• Center yourself
• Say your statement
• Think of this as a daily way to connect and recommit to the vision of your life you are trying to create. Typically, life changes happen fairly quickly if you are in alignment with truth, but if you are out of alignment all of your blocks will come up (e.g. limiting beliefs, untrue programming, lack of self-worth) and you will need to work through them with yourself or ideally with a therapist to expand your belief system and grow your self-worth.
Pro-Tip: To reinforce your intention, repeat it to yourself before you go to bed as you are about to fall asleep. Repeat your intention statement aloud. You may even want to write it down and carry it with you as a visual statement and read it as often as possible throughout the day.
Self-Care
Taking time for yourself.
• Schedule self-care time after your session. I recommend sessions be performed Friday night or Saturday morning to give you a full day of integration
• Body work to help “ground” and consolidate the experience. I recommend massage therapy and bodywork to almost all of my clients.
• Infrared sauna can also be therapeutic, but please wait a few hours after your session to avoid any risk of dehydration or falls from residual medicine in your system.
• Healing modalities that may assist in your integration include yoga, acupuncture, yin yoga, Pilates, calisthenics, float tanks, tai chi, qi gong, etc.Questions to ask yourself
• Where are you neglecting yourself?
• How will you better care for your brain?
• How will you better care for your body?
• What nutritional changes do you need to make?
• What physical changes need to happen?
• How will you better nourish yourself and your spirit?
• Nature time: Spend some time in nature to cultivate a calm, reflective state of mind so you have space to connect to yourself to deepen the healing process.
• A recent study published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, found a causative connection between nature relatedness and psychedelics. In addition, nature exposure improves the human stress response and immune function.
Art Therapy
• Some people find painting, drawing, sculpture, collage, movement, or dance to work better than words. Ideally your preferred reflection modality will be something you want to do and can be preserved in some sort of record to look back upon.
• Art is a beautiful form of self-expression and can help you learn how to see and relate to yourself. It can help you examine different parts of yourself.
• Example Exercise: Artistically express your shadow self by drawing an dark emotions that came up for you during your journey.
• Example Exercise: Artistically express your higher self by drawing or painting how you feel energetically when you are operating from your highest good.
Written Integration
• Turning insights into actions: This is an initial brainstorm and meant to be an iterative process. Create a list with two columns:
- Column 1: List your most impactful insights and observations from the session. Please try to consolidate your reflections into no more than 5 key items.
- Column 2: Create a corresponding suggestion for how you can weave each insight into your day to day life.
a.) Example: Feeling of forgiveness and compassion for X
b.) Example: Write letter/ have conversation/create closure ritual
c.) Example: Felt connection to higher self or inner guide
d.) Example: Create a small altar in bedroom to honor this part of me
Journaling:
We highly encourage journaling after each session and ask yourself questions to reflect on your experience.
• What were the major themes, thoughts, emotions, somatic sensations, realizations about self and others, challenges, and/or predominant colors/imagery you experienced?• Do you recall any specific signs, visions, memories, insights, ideas, concepts, or perspectives that came up during your experience?• What is calling you to be of service to yourself or others in the world?
• How are you different?
• What has changed or shifted in you?
• What do you wish to bring back from your session or journey and incorporate into your life? Did any passions, interests, goals, desires, needs come up for you?
• In what ways did introducing ketamine shift or amplify your normative mind/body state?
• Did any challenges come up for you during your trip such as fears, judgements, blames, insecurity, sadness, guilt, jealousy, insecurity, resistance, denial, shame, or feelings of abandonment?
• How can you frame this in language that another person can understand and what are you trying to communicate?
• What does your physical body, emotional feelings, rational intelligence and transpersonal awareness tell you about what is arising in non-ordinary states of consciousness?
• Did any clear truths, intuitions, instincts, aha moments, epiphanies, breakthroughs or clarity emerge?
• Based on your answers to all these questions, how can you make meaning of your experience?
Personal Development
Journal Prompt:
• Identify your values
• Create goals in different parts of your life
• Find your dharma or purpose
• Reflect on your previous year
• Create the vision for your upcoming year
After completing these integration steps, please contact your Care Coordinator or Psychedelic Guide for ongoing integration steps.
Additional Information:
Internal Family Systems and Psychedelic Therapy: A Complementary Approach to Healing
(also known as “Parts Work”)
• Unresolved conflicts between different parts of ourselves can make us feel stuck and can underly the difficulties we have in life achieving our goals or reaching our potential. Sometimes it even impedes our ability to achieve results in therapy because part of yourself may be trying to protect you from difficult feelings that come up which we interpret as a threat to our sense of self or our psychological safety. When you give all parts of yourself a voice, it can help you resolve your trauma and develop a more embodied sense of self. So who are these different parts of ourselves? As you learn about different parts below, take some time to reflect and journal on who the parts of you are and who needs attention or recognition (who needs to be seen?)
The Internal Family Systems (IFS) model and psychedelic therapy are two innovative approaches to mental health treatment that are gaining popularity for their potential to promote deep and lasting change. While both methods offer unique benefits, they also complement each other in ways that can enhance the healing process. Let's explore the principles of IFS and psychedelic therapy and provide specific exercises to help you integrate these approaches into your healing journey.
What is Internal Family Systems (IFS)?
IFS is a therapy model developed by Richard Schwartz in the 1980s that views the mind as a system of many different parts, each with its own distinct personality, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors. These parts are referred to as "subpersonalities" or "internal family members." The goal of IFS therapy is to help the client develop a healthy relationship with these parts, so that they can be more integrated and functioning as a whole. One key concept in IFS is that all parts are trying to help the person in some way, even if their behavior is problematic. For example, a part that overeats might be trying to protect you from feeling emotional pain. By understanding the motivations of each part, it helps us connect with our internal parts, and ultimately heal the relationship with our "self."
Identifying parts: Start by journaling or meditating and asking yourself, "What are the different parts of me that are present right now?" You can give each part a name or label to help you identify them.
Connecting with parts: Once you have identified a part, imagine having a dialogue with it. Ask it what it wants or needs, and listen to its response. You can also imagine holding the part in your arms and offering it comfort and love.
Self-compassion: Practice self-compassion by treating yourself as you would a close friend. Offer yourself understanding, kindness, and encouragement.
Professional Counseling
Talk Therapy: Sublingual ketamine works best as part of a comprehensive treatment program that includes regularly meeting with a counselor, psychologist, coach, or therapist to assisting your integration and discussing life experiences that may be coming up in sessions. I recommend bringing your integration journal, voice memos, or art with you to your sessions to help you weave them into a coherent narrative during therapy.
Some examples of places you can go to find support:
§ https://www.anywhereclinic.com
§ https://psychedelic.support/network/
Group therapy
Finding support groups to help you heal (from depression, addiction, codependency, etc.) can be highly rewarding. This is especially the case for people working with addictions to food or substances.
12 Step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous or Overeaters Anonymous can produce astonishing results.
Somatic Therapy
Some people benefit dramatically from massage, bodywork, rolfing, cranio-sacral therapy, Egoscue, or other physical body based integration techniques. For many people, their pain and trauma is stored in their fascia—the connective tissue. Working with this aspect of the body can help release tension, clear negative energy, and resolve pain.
Friends
Talking to friends about your life can be deeply therapeutic. Consider asking a very close friend if they will sit with you and listen with compassion and without judgment and without advice.
Being able to express yourself openly and authentically can help with processing your experience and the emotions that come up around it.
Family
Some people find it helpful to call loved ones and make amends and find deeper healing in having difficult or long-avoided conversations.
