Psychedelic Somatic Therapy (PST)
This treatment trusts the wisdom and healing power of the psyche and soma to flow together creating impactful transformation.
Psychedelic Somatic Therapy (PST) is a unique treatment process that I have crafted as an alternative to the talk-focused therapist approach to healing and transformation with psychedelic substances.
What is PST?
I have developed a nuanced and gentle somatic approach as an alternative to the Psychedelic Assisted Therapy (PAT) that is generally offered by licensed therapists and guides. Following my personal work of diving into these medicines as agents for deep insight and transformation, coupled with my study of varied somatic approaches to healing, I have developed a practice over the last six years of helping you, my patients, to stay in closer connection with the somatic body while journeying into altered states within the PST model.
It is increasingly culturally and professionally recognized that unresolved trauma is stored in the body and that a variety of practices including acupuncture, specific touch therapies, and bodywork can help to create the stimulus and environment for the body to unwind and “release” stagnant traumas.
My work is to guide my patients to connect to the knowing that they are of their body and that mind and body are a union as well as facilitating the release of stagnant emotional blockages and unprocessed traumas.
Emotions are experiences of the body, and when they aren’t supported to move, they become lodged in the “system” creating disease and imbalance. In Chinese Medicine, this is understood through the tenet “All disease comes from the Heart”. In my sessions, I weave together the various practices that I have studied into a seamless experience, reading your body’s needs in the moment and responding in kind.
My Approach
My intention with this modality is to allow the somatic body to relax into a deep healing state and to unwind the locked-in past traumas and generate new patterns.
This treatment trusts the wisdom and healing power of the psyche and soma to flow together creating impactful transformation.
In addition, the relaxation and calm that are generated through touch therapy allow you to drop more deeply into a regulated psychedelic state and have your profound interior process.
What does it look like, what will happen?
My focus will be on staying in connection with your body’s intuitive wisdom, a skill that I have honed through my years of practice.
There are three hours allotted for the PST session.
If you feel complete before that time, we may end early. Short time to settle in together (5-15 minutes) imbibe and dive in.
There is no skin contact on the torso area, to maintain a safe container.
You will be welcome to communicate verbally, as there is no hindrance to any form of verbal or sound expression.
Prep and Integration Sessions
One-hour preparation session
The session will be focused on your chief health concern, your intention, improving physiological harmony, and regulating your autonomic nervous system. If you are a new patient, it is also an important time for you to gain comfort and confidence with me and my techniques. It will be scheduled no more than 7 days before your PST.
A time to connect with me as a practitioner so that you will be comfortable during our session.
A time to discuss with me the intention and desires of your experience. (Learn more about intentions here)
Time to set up your boundaries and guidelines for the session including what types of modalities you prefer or are comfortable with.
An intake of your health history
Why use touch in Psychedelic Therapy?
Within the right setting, there is the potential for ketamine/psychedelic substances to nurture and deeply relaxed state as well as amplifying a tuning into the subtle body’s energetic expressions and sensations.
Comfort & Grounding
There may be moments when psychedelic experiences are intense or disorienting, and touch can provide safety and grounding for you when navigating altered states of consciousness. You can imagine the feeling of a firm, gentle hold at the ankles or a soft hand resting just above your heart or cradling your head. These sensations have the ability to foster a sense of stability and reassurance during the journey. Feeling my support through touch on a physical level can nurture your willingness and curiosity and generate more strength to explore vulnerable places in the psyche as well as the body. This offering of solace and validation can help you feel safe to express and release stagnant unprocessed emotions. This somatic support can also facilitate a deeper integration of insights gained during the experience into one’s embodied existence.
Body Awareness and Integration
Body-focused awareness and somatic exploration can be amplified during psychedelic experiences, and using touch therapies during these journeys can amplify the awareness. This can create profound shifts for you in your healing process, as it is very common for new heights to occur in healing when you are able to listen and stay connected to your body’s intelligent language and can discern it’s important messages. Therapeutic touch can enhance your connection with your body, help you tune into physical sensations, release tension, and promote a deeper understanding of the mind-body connection. I strongly believe that this disconnection of the mind and body is a fundamental wound in our contemporary human experience and once integrated can profoundly change our approach and perspective to our lives.
Energetic Alignment and Flow
The touch therapies I provide will encourage movement, regulation, and harmonization of the energetic flow within the body and adjust tissues and joints. This will invigorate the free flow of emotions and sensations you will experience during a psychedelic session. Additionally, there is a nuanced coordination of healing that is amplified. Your ability to tune in more deeply allows my work to go deeper providing stronger and longer lasting positive shifts in your health.
Transpersonal Connection
Psychedelic experiences have the ability to offer you the vision to transcend individual boundaries and nurture an important connection with something greater than you. In a heightened state of awareness, touch can remind you of the interconnection between all individuals and the “broader fabric of existence”.