Psychedelics and Psychotherapy

The Healing Potential of Expanded States

By: Tim Read - editor, Maria Papaspyrou - editor, Gabor Maté - introduction

Narrated by: Erica B. Robinson

• Examines the therapeutic potential of expanded states, underground psychedelic psychotherapy, harm reduction, new approaches for healing individual and collective trauma, and training considerations

• Addresses challenging psychedelic experiences, spiritual emergencies, and the central importance of the therapeutic relationship

• Details the use of cannabis as a psychedelic tool, spiritual exploration with LSD, micro-dosing with Iboga, and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD

Exploring the latest developments in the flourishing field of modern psychedelic psycho-therapy, this book shares practical experiences and insights from both elders and newer research voices in the psychedelic research and clinical communities.

The contributors examine new findings on safe and skillful work with psychedelic and expanded states for therapeutic, personal, and spiritual growth. They explain the dual process of opening and healing. They explore new approaches for individual inner work as well as for the healing of ancestral and collective trauma. They examine the power of expanded states for reparative attachment work and offer insights on the integration process through the lens of Holotropic Breathwork. The contributors also examine the use of cannabis as a psychedelic tool, spiritual exploration with LSD, microdosing with Iboga, treating depression with psilocybin, and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD.

Revealing diverse ways of working with psychedelics in terms of set, setting, and type of substance, the book concludes with discussions of ethics and professional development for those working in the field as well as explores considerations for training the next generation of psychedelic therapists.

Critic reviews

“Training compassionate and effective therapists is the key to scaling psychedelic-assisted therapy. Psychedelics and Psychotherapy will contribute to the training of tens of thousands of therapists who will be able to treat millions of people.”

“There is a revolution happening in mental health. Read and Papaspyrou have gathered together the world’s experts on various medication-assisted psychotherapies to explain how these molecules facilitate transformational experiences.”

“A remarkable collection of sophisticated psychedelic therapists and integration specialists sharing new methods, new models, and theoretical underpinnings for both. What makes this volume invaluable is the wide range of solutions that the writers have come up with for helping and healing. There is a richness of ideas and case histories here, and no matter what your orientation is, you’re going to learn many other ways your own work might go.”

“This authoritatively written and beautifully illustrated book explores perfectly the complexities and benefits of interweaving these disparate subjects into a platform of hope for our patients with unremitting mental disorders. A highly recommended read for practitioners, patients, and anyone with a keen eye on the contemporary development of psychedelic culture and medicine.”

“This new book provides a rich education for those seeking wisdom about the deepest varieties of psychotherapy.”

“As psychedelic drugs reintegrate themselves back into our lives how are we, in turn, to reintegrate them? This timely book will serve as a roadmap to those who walk this path, bringing together indigenous cultural knowledge and modern psychotherapeutic thinking to illustrate an ancient process of deepening inner awareness that so many feel has such contemporary potential to heal.”

“This edited collection of articles by seasoned experts in psychedelic- assisted therapy fills a critical gap. This book covers what every therapist needs to know in order to be competent in helping clients integrate their psychedelic experiences.”

“A valuable collection of experiential discoveries and research findings. A guide for those who would fathom how the competent use of psychedelics may facilitate healing and illumine the dynamics and mysteries of human consciousness.”

“This groundbreaking volume is essential reading for all practitioners in the healing professions, especially those whose primary focus remains the biological facets of mental health. A paradigm shift--toward a deeper model of the human being recovering the soul, the feminine, and our need for a profound sense of social belonging and embeddedness in nature--is absolutely essential. Our multifaceted crisis can only be resolved through the kind of integrative approaches advanced here: those that start from the inner dimension and its corresponding outer expressions.”

Very thorough info

Great resource for learning to navigate the medical implementations of plant medicines. Enjoyed the narration as well.

Love it

This was a very interesting book. I know I will keep going back to it for reference in the future.

Informative & Enlightening

Narrator was great! Very well written! Information compelling and interesting. I will listen to it again as Author provided so much valuable.

Author continued to give too many examples of his own torturous experiences.

I appreciated the thorough explanation and instructions on this subject the author gives. Although the experiences the author was having were very difficult trips. And I had to eventually stop listening due to the concerns of bringing this type of self torture he seemed to be having, into any journeys I may want to take with psychedelic medicines someday! Not a good read for newbies in my humble opinion.

Wow

Really nice, heartfelt work, folks!
Good range of ideas and approaches but very well informed by some of the mistaken pathways of which we have recently become aware.
Good future trajectory for the work. Thank you.