Have you recently had a psychedelic experience and found yourself in a difficult place?

SHORT TERM INTENSIVE BAD TRIP INTEGRATION

With Sean O’Carroll

Sessions take place over ZOOM.

Background

The current swell of media interest in psychedelic psychotherapy, combined with the fact that it in very difficult to access these services in Australia, has lead to a surge in the number of people experimenting with psychedelics on their own, or seeking out others “underground” who will facilitate these experiences. Many of these people have positive experiences, but a small yet significant number come away feeling troubled - often fragmented, haunted, or confused.

Your Bad Trip

Having a bad trip can be deeply unsettling, and it can be hard to get the right kind of professional help. Unfortunately, many doctors and practitioners are unfamiliar with these experiences and may misunderstand what has happened, misinterpret your experience, or misdiagnose your symptoms.

For the past 10 years I have offered bad trip integration therapy and helped many people find their way back to a sense of normalcy and groundedness. I also offer training to therapists in “Bad Trip Integration”. (Training Info).

Most bad trips take place during recreational use or in “underground” settings such as ayahuasca circles or sessions with underground “therapists”. Very occasionally, people will also experience harm in trial or clinic settings. Broadly speaking, people tend to get into difficulty when the do not feel at ease/safe or when their trip experience is not well supported.

The difficulties people experience with psychedelics range from the unsettling to the traumatic, and clients often come to me feeling scared, worried that their brain is “broken”, or more simply confused about what happened and why. Bad trip integration involves working with me in a short term intensive format. Generally, when working with me, clients will be able to move from self-blame, confusion, fear and hopelessness to self-compassion, understanding, trust, and hope for a full recovery, within a short space of time.

While each psychedelic experience is unique, there are common experiences that that I see regularly. I share some examples below. If you’re experience includes any of these elements, please know that you are not alone and that help is available.

If you would like undertake short-term intensive bad trip integration therapy with me, please click the button at the top of this page, and fill out the form.

Common Post Bad Trip ExperiEnces

The Void/Abyss/Black Hole: This is the most common and consistent element of an existential bad trip, and often arises in conjunction with other existential themes. The experience usually involves being in or near something that feels like a void, abyss or black hole. Clients will often describe this void as having a gravitational nature, as in it “pulled me”, “sucked me down”, “drew me in”, “swallowed me”, etc.

The Fragmented Self: In which you experience a constant sense of fear, and might feel like you are in danger of “going mad/insane”,“falling apart”, “losing my mind”. At a lesser intensity, the fragmented self can also show up as a disconcerting sense that: “I just don’t feel like myself anymore”.

The Porous Self/Psychophobia: You experience a constant sense of fear, and feel like your mind is boundaryless and porous, as though anything (thought, idea, voice, vision) may enter your consciousness at any moment, without your having any control. Sometimes this boundarylessness can also be experienced as being between you and other people.  Clients sometimes describe this as feeling “energetically open” and highly vulnerable to other people’s “energy” or stuff”.

Unreality: You have a profound and lingering sense that nothing is real. Clients will often say things like life/reality seem “fake” or “like a joke”. An alternative version of this involves the sense that you are perpetually separated from the world by a “fog”, or “veil”, or similar. These experience are closely related to “derealization” and “depersonalization”.

Isolation (Existential): You have a profound sense that you are fundamentally separate (cut-off) from other people. The sense of separation feels insurmountable. This is a variation of “unreality” with a relational emphasis.

The Possession: You feel like something has gone inside you and is out of your control. Often accompanied by a sense of being talked to, or made to feel or do things.

The Haunting: You feel like you encountered something in your trip that persists and now “haunts” you, “follows” you, or is otherwise always there. This can take the form of something you see (like an ghost), sense, or feel (like a dark mood).

The New Disturbing Memory/Vision: You have the experience of recalling a disturbing memory, or witnessing an autobiographical scene. You may be certain the memory is real and is unsure what to do now that it has been recalled. Or, you may not be sure about whether the thing remembered actually happened.

The Negative/Confusing Divine Imperative: You have had an experience of receiving a command from a “divin”e authority. This may be a god, goddess, or other deity, or simply a profoundly felt sense of revelation. The content usually has the form of an imperative, and a sense that to not listen to this command would be impossible, wrong, false, sinful etc.