How to Integrate a Psychedelic Experience

What is integration, and why is it so important?

Integration is the process of applying the thoughts, ideas, or information one had or learned during a psychedelic experience into their life in a meaningful capacity. While it is often seen as something done after an experience has ended, the process is far more involved and begins even before the setting for an experience is prepared. Proper integration is important to the therapeutic application of psychedelics as it allows for the benefits of the experience to extend and develop beyond the duration of the experience. In the broadest terms possible, the fundamental goal of therapy is to develop and understanding of and facilitate a change in the framework guiding a person's view of themselves and their lives. This is not easily achieved through individual experiences, regardless of their power. The impact such experiences can have on a person and their lives should not be denied or understated, it is thorough deconstruction and analysis of the model of understanding one currently uses that yields the most effective and longest-lasting improvements.

How are psychedelic experiences integrated today?

The methods by which individuals integrate their psychedelic experience(s) vary drastically, and appear on a broad spectrum of both ideology and usefulness. This lack of organization is in large part due to the illegality of psychedelics and the misinformation about their use (both positive and negative). Among other things, these factors have reinforced the stigma against psychedelics in the medical community, restricting the exploration and development of useful and standardized therapeutic techniques. Once this changes, and the average person is better-educated on and more accepting of psychedelics, open discussion of techniques and their effectiveness will be widespread, allowing for the collaborative development of ever-improving methods of integration. For now, those who self-medicate with psychedelics often practice meditation, yoga, tantric breathing, group communication, and self-reflection to try and derive long-term benefit from the practice.

In many cases psychedelic experiences -even those undergone for therapeutic purposes - are not properly integrated, limiting their therapeutic potential and their large-scale usefulness. Modern studies of psychedelic therapy -the closest analogues to future clinical use- typically integrate psychedelic sessions through the use of general cognitive-behavioral therapeutic technique administered in the months after the experience. Unfortunately there is not yet a unified method of integration that can be applied broadly before per-person optimizations are implemented. This leaves a gap in which many modern therapists will sit in the early years of legalization. Many of those interested in using psychedelics as a tool are likely find themselves at a loss, and the lack of guidance may lead to some avoiding the practice entirely. Until further research is conducted -and with larger sample sizes- it is difficult to develop such a technique, as psychedelic therapy is in its infancy. The best that can be done with science’s current level of information is the creation of a framework to guide therapists in the process of using psychedelics in their practice.

If modern integration techniques are suboptimal, what is an improved framework?

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, despite misconceptions, the integration process begins long before the psychedelic experience is underway. This is done through the formation of one’s intention in using psychedelics as a part of their therapeutic journey. While there are numerous anecdotal reports of casual or unguided psychedelic use providing the user with life-altering improvements to their psyche, administration with specific intent is the most effective method.

Many individuals -particularly those without a history of psychedelic use- may be tempted to set multiple intentions before embarking on a psychedelic experience. This can be for a variety of reasons, but often is a byproduct of the stigma against psychedelics and those who use them. In these cases, it is a means of justifying the necessity or desire to use psychedelics to one’s self as a means of quelling the feelings of guilt or anxiety they have towards their use. In other cases, one may simply hope to reap the maximum reward from their experience possible and believe that setting more intentions will lead to a better outcome. This is most often not the case, and setting one clear and exact intention before an experience is more likely to result in noticeable improvement. Multiple intentions can be hard to track while under the influence, and people will usually gravitate toward one over the other(s), which may leave them unsatisfied with what was a genuinely productive experience. The intention should be one that aims toward whatever holds the most importance to the individual undergoing the experience, as that is what their attention and energy will focus on.

The psychedelic experience itself should be tailored to facilitate thought and progress on the intention, but should not become so rigid that the person undergoing it feels confined or stressed. Doing so can lead to the full extent of the psychedelic’s effects not being appreciated or experienced, limiting the potential benefit it will have. However, Alexander Shulgin’s revisitation method is something that should be implemented at the end of an experience, when the effects of the drug have almost completely or completely worn off. The method is simple and effective: revisiting the physical, mental, and temporal landmarks of one’s experience in reverse order. Doing so will aid in later recollection, reignite internal dialogues, and refresh the ideas formed during the experience. This is made easier if a second person is present, as they can keep track with a notebook and a stopwatch, noting the points at which each stage of the experience is reached.

Following current methods of integration, the bulk of this method’s process occurs after the experience has ended. As soon as possible -preferably the same day- after the experience ends, one should write down a report of their experience in a dedicated notebook. This will capture the details of what happened that may be useful during analysis but would have otherwise faded. While recording the fantastic elements of the experience is easy and enjoyable, the report is a powerful tool in the therapeutic process. The thoughts, ideas, and emotions one has should be granted as much -if not more- priority as the more conspicuous elements of the experience. They should be given a proportional amount of care and attention during the writing process as they will serve as the basis for future work. The report should be visited in the coming days and analyzed with a sober and well-rested mind. Just as psychedelics offer a different perspective on day-to-day sober life that can lead to insight, a sober mind can provide valuable information on a psychedelic experience from its own perspective.

An aid to this later analysis that I have not yet seen implemented is the creation of one's own or use of a preexisting standard set of questions that one answers after writing their report. These questions should capture as many of the important aspects of an experience as possible and provoke thoughts that may not have occurred during the more general reporting process, while not becoming overly burdensome. These questions serve as the minimum level of self-analysis and create a framework to provoke further analysis and exploration. The entire set should be answered after each experience, as doing so will allow for more meaningful tracking and analysis of one’s use of psychedelics spanning across multiple instances. To maximize long-term effectiveness, a set of questions should -at a minimum- provide information useful when:

1. Comparing one experience to another

2. Exploring the more nuanced actions of different compounds

3. Discovering ways to optimize and personalize the protocol one follows for their psychedelic experiences (set, setting, activities, etc.)

4. Questioning if one is using psychedelics for the correct reasons

5. Determining if continued use of psychedelics is beneficial, detrimental, or necessary

6. Expanding on ideas or thoughts through subsequent use

After the questions are answered, time should be spent away from them and the experience to allow one’s mind to relax and give their subconscious time to process what it has undergone. Revisiting the questions and one’s answers at a later time will allow them to filter through the thoughts and ideas they had, determine which ones are best, and begin the process of applying them to their lives.

Though creating a personal set of questions will provide optimal results, doing so can be difficult. To aid in this process, I have created a guided integration journal. In addition to providing space for writing reports, it includes a set of questions I developed to maximize the effectiveness and enjoyment of the integration process. Completing it will not only aid in the integration process, but will also help one create or tailor a set of questions that best suits their needs. You can buy a copy of it here! Doing so will allow me to create more and higher quality content to educate people about psychedelics.