As I wrote about before, preparation of set and setting are crucial before engaging in a psychedelic trip. And integration afterwards is also crucial.
Preparation is to help the client who is about to undergo a psychedelic experience to be in as good an emotional state as possible, understanding what they are about to experience as much as that is possible, having appropriate expectations, and setting intentions for the work.
A positive and open mindset can lead to more profound and constructive experiences, whereas anxiety, fear, or negative thoughts might influence the journey in a challenging way. To assist with this it is recommended you do your best to keep yourself relaxed and perhaps limit exposure to negative news and media for a few days before a ceremony, fostering a conducive environment for a more beneficial experience. Meditate if you can, or walk in nature, or dance or listen to music – whatever best resources you.
Expectation management is particularly important, as any disappointment felt by the person can influence their perception of the entire psychedelic experience. Among the frequently sought-after experiences is the mystical experience: a non-ordinary state of consciousness that includes a unitive quality (being one with the universe), a feeling of awe or sacredness, ineffability (the impossibility of expressing one’s experience in words), transcendence of time and space, and a noetic quality (sense of revelation). But this can never be guaranteed and it is important for the client to be aware of this. Striving for such an experience is negatively correlated with it occurring.
After the experience comes the integration. As Nina Izel puts it: “Integrating psychedelics can be the difference between having a unique one-off experience or gaining a lifetime of healing.”
Recent academic work has produced a synthesized definition of integration. Integration is a process in which a person revisits and actively engages in making sense of, working through, translating, and processing the content of their psychedelic experience. Through intentional effort and supportive practices, this process allows one to gradually capture and incorporate the emergent lessons and insights into their lives, thus moving toward greater balance and wholeness, both internally (mind, body, and spirit) and externally (lifestyle, social relations, and the natural world).
It is recognised that there are two main streams of integration.
- Therapeutic integration has the aim of resolving certain symptomology, either pre-existing or a result of the psychedelic experience.
- Ontological integration has the aim of resolving metaphysical, spiritual, or philosophical questions arising from the experience regarding conceptions about existence, self/ego, meaning of life etc.
Abraham Maslow wrote about the innate drive to self-actualize and return to an essential human core that he saw as obstructed by his (Western) culture. He stated that what socially defines a person as normal is, in reality, “psychopathology of the average,” a widespread sickness of inauthenticity, illusion, and fear. One of the frequent issues arising after a psychedelic experience is ontological shock, if the trip has led to a mystical experience for a person previously believing entirely in a materialist paradigm. Such an experience can produce a metaphysical paradigm shift in the cognitive makeup of its experiencer resulting in an existential crisis re how to live in the day-to-day world.
It is also important to be aware that even when challenging experiences do occur they tend to resolve themselves in a way that the experiencer ultimately sees as positive and life-enhancing. When the experience has been properly integrated, there should not be any adverse effects left over, even if the experience itself was difficult, but often this requires discretion in who to talk to about the trip and guidance from a therapist who knows and understands the psychedelic landscapes.
The above is just the tip of a very large iceberg! For lots more on integration see Aixala.