The Ho Tai Way – Recovery for Women offers psychedelic therapy integration for those who have had negative experiences with psychedelics in the past. We offer integration along with our evidence-based practices and other complementary therapies for the purpose of healing. 

Abstinence vs. Healing

For years, the addiction recovery industry has preached complete abstinence of all substances, even medications needed for mental or physical health purposes. While the use of any addictive substance is still widely discouraged, science and medicine recognize the value of using medically prescribed and supervised medications for mental and physical health diagnoses.

Likewise, as we expand our minds to recognize the healing value of various therapeutic modalities, psychedelic integration therapy has been proven helpful in healing trauma, and mental health disorders. This is especially the case in understanding and healing from previous negative experiences with psychedelics. The Ho Tai Way, we are always looking for the most effective practices for the individual healing experience.

Psychedelic Integration Therapy

Psychedelic-assisted therapy includes three parts:

  • Preparation
  • Psychedelic Experience 
  • Integration

With the help of a trained therapist, insights from a psychedelic experience can be brought to the conscious level after the experience ends to help bring about healing and personal transformation. Integration is important in clarifying, exploring, and deepening the insights, imagery, and other unconscious material that emerge into one’s daily life in tangible ways.

Unintegrated psychedelic experiences, even if done in a therapeutic setting, lose their benefit if not integrated. Over time, the journey, especially a meaningful one, will feel like a distant memory and old dysfunctional patterns can return. If the psychedelic experience was disorienting, it could cause further psychological deterioration. Therefore, integration is intentionally created. 

Integration Phases

There are phases of integrations including but not limited to:

  • Patient sharing the narrative of their journey
  • Teasing out the themes/patterns that emerged in the journey
  • Establishing practices and assignments to support the new insights obtained

The therapeutic integration phase can last days, weeks, months, or even a lifetime depending on the content and intensity of the psychedelic experience. 

Recreational vs. Therapeutic Use

The recreational use of illegal substances such as psychedelics is very unsafe and potentially carries significant legal and medical dangers. Psychedelics obtained from illegal sources are not always as advertised and may contain other dangerous substances such as opioids. For those who are already experiencing mental health or substance use disorders (SUDs), the risks are greatly increased. Recreational use of psychedelics can also trigger trauma which is difficult to manage alone.

Psychedelic drugs like ketamine are medically approved and have long been used as anesthetics in higher doses; however, they can temporarily modify consciousness, particularly in mood and cognition. These psychedelics are safer, especially when explored in a therapeutic setting. The purpose of psychedelic integration therapy is to heal from trauma with the help of a licensed and trained therapist.

While The Ho Tai Way – Recovery for Women does not condone illegal drug use, we offer a person-centered, non-judgmental space for those who have previously used psychedelics or other drugs to heal.

Stigma Surrounding ‘Bad Trips’

The most common stigma surrounding psychedelics is “bad trips,” or negative experiences during non-ordinary states of consciousness. These experiences can be traumatic and lasting or repeated with the subsequent use of substances. This frequently leads to further use of other drugs or alcohol in an attempt to escape the negative symptoms.

This stigma may prevent patients from accessing the healing powers available through psychedelic integration therapy. Through the use of psychedelic integration therapy, patients can access therapeutic assistance during the psychedelic episode to heal from these “bad trips.”

If you have had “bad trips” which have exacerbated your drug or alcohol use, you need structured support. The Ho Tai Way – Recovery for Women is the place for you. We will teach you to make sense of the “bad trips” and why you had them.

Psychedelics in Therapy

Psychedelics are mostly non-addictive substances. With excessive use, you may develop a tolerance or dependency on them, but through psychedelic integration therapy, they can actually help heal from addiction rather than exacerbate or create a new addiction.

Of the many psychedelics that have been used in integration therapy, research is promising for treating depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicide, and cocaine and alcohol use disorders (AUDs).

Ketamine is the only medically approved psychedelic and has been used for years in various ways pharmaceutically and, more recently, during ketamine assisted therapy. Other heavily researched psychedelics that are in clinical trials include:

  • MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine)
  • Psilocybin (hallucinogenic derived from mushrooms)
  • LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide)

By therapeutically accessing the journey from psychedelic experiences, the mind is able to use its own cognitive and creative powers to help resolve problems and heal itself. 

Integrating Therapeutic Modalities

The Ho Tai Way – Recovery for Women, we utilize a number of therapeutic techniques to create a complete healing of mind, body, and spirit. By integrating multiple treatment methods, we can provide options to develop a treatment plan that works for you. In addition to offering psychedelic integration therapy, we provide therapeutic modalities such as:

  • Talk therapy, including cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
  • Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
  • Art therapy
  • Sandplay
  • Motivational Interviewing

Our treatment program is patient-centered because we believe you already possess the inner strength and ability to reach your fullest potential. We know that the first step in healing is self-awareness, and we recognize that for some patients, psychedelics can help increase the awareness of self with the help of a trained therapist. We offer psychedelic integration therapy as another way to access the healing you hold within yourself.

Contact our Costa Mesa, California facility at (714) 581-3974 to find a peaceful place for healing. You already possess the tools inside you to achieve sobriety. We help you use them.