A story about a very well educated psychedelic drug psychotherapist and harm reductionist.
Michael, I’m already really curious about you and your exciting story. Tell us a bit about yourself and your business.
Ok, well, let’s start from scratch then. I grew up in a family with four kids, my mum is a Psychiatrist, my dad’s a psychotherapist. But right after school I didn’t plan to walk a similar path to them, I actually did my first degree in World Religions and Theology. Even though I was then an atheist, I was somehow drawn to the subject. In my college days with friends I ran the theological society, which was, to be honest, mostly an excuse to socialize, but it showed me my passion for organizing teams and events. During all of college from the ages of 18 to 25, I also worked for a homeless hostel in Dublin. Through that I met hundreds of people who had to deal with addictions, I’ve always been fascinated with why people use substances. This job showed me that I love working closely with people, to help them whatever way I can and to support them in their way through crises. But I wasn’t done with “school” yet, I did a masters in International Peace Studies because I was interested in conflict, civil society and NGOs. Though then as there weren’t too many jobs going that didn’t involve expensive unpaid internships my father gave me a little push and said
“come on, try psychotherapy” and I did. I didn’t expect it but it turned out I loved it.
So I started to train as a psychotherapist and before I finished I also worked as an advocate for refugees for one and a half years, which was again an experience that serves me well in what I’m doing now. Parallel to my professional life, since I was a teenager I have always loved (and still love) to go to festivals, enjoy live music and gather with friends. At festivals I could see how the kinds of drug users were in large part different to the drug users I saw in homeless services: people using drugs more in a recreational sense with different risks involved and different motivations behind said use. After graduating as a psychotherapist my first contact with psychedelics in a therapeutic way was while travelling in South America in a country where these drugs are legal and used in a ceremonial context. The ceremonies I had there completely changed my life and changed my views on spirituality, my life’s purpose and the healing power of some substances to heal if used appropriately. Of course, it’s not just the substances that help, but also the therapy that happens in advance and afterwards to maximize safety and good outcomes.
So, what I’m doing now combines all of what I did before (psychotherapy, drug harm reduction, advocacy, spirituality, running teams and NGOs) — and I absolutely love what I’m doing. I’m running my own psychotherapy service called Psychedelic Integration Ireland and working as a facilitator and psychotherapist with a Psilocybin retreat centre in the Netherlands. Oh, and my biggest passion right now is that I’ve brought a team together in Ireland to form a totally voluntary Drug Harm Reduction and Music Festival Welfare Organization, PsyCare Ireland, which supports people having difficult drug induced experiences at music festivals and gives advice on how to use drugs in the safest ways possible (including abstinence).
Of course we’re telling everyone the only 100% safe way to do drugs is not to do them at all, but we’re not judging anyone as the reality is that people will take drugs at parties and festivals, so with the right information they can do them in the safest ways possible.
We’re also providing psychological first aid at these festivals, for all those having bad drug experiences or any psychologically difficult experiences. We’ve been part of five events in 2022 and we have another one at halloween, it’s been an amazing experience for us, and great to help the festival punters in difficulty, overall, we’ve had a great response. On a personal level for me this has weaved all my passions, skills and interests together in a way I couldn’t have dreamed of a few years ago.
Wow, that is a great idea! I’m sure everyone who’s reading this wants to know how a psychedelic treatment works, can you tell us more about that?
Sure. Even though it’s hard to say one way it helps as the benefits are vast and there are many traditions and types of psychedelics to work with, I can say they do help but there are risks. In indiginous ceremonies it’s done differently than in say a western clinical setting in Europe or the US. All serious providers should screen you properly and ask you about your mental health history, the medications you are on and your physical health to reduce risks. You should feel safe with the people providing the experience, supported by facilitators and ideally there should be preparation sessions before and integration sessions afterwards. For working with psychedelics it’s all about curating a good sense of a prepared mind set and a safe setting — without these people should not do them at all! In indiginous settings the cultural context may be more spiritual, whereas in Europe it may be more clinical. I love working with the organization I work with in the Netherlands, InwardBound, because we combine both perspectives to hold whatever comes up for the clients.
A perspective on psychedelic treatment is that it facilitates a deep dive into the unconscious to amplify and release things contained there and release trapped emotions and trauma from the body. It can also help you re-evaluate your worldview, feel a connection to nature, feel cut off feelings, alter negative thinking and view yourself and your struggles in a beautiful compassionate way.
Of course this is just a flavour of how a psychedelic experience can be meaningful for someone. Speaking from my own experiences, It’s given me confidence and clarity about life that I wouldn’t change for anything in the world.
That sounds amazing. How are your friends and neighbors reacting to what you are doing?
Oh, well, actually the reaction is very positive. Many people are curious and want to find out more, even though I’m trying not to tell every stanger what I’m doing for a living. *laughs* But yes, I realized people are becoming more curious about the subject, especially in the last year or two. Generally, conversations to change attitudes are important.
Overall, I think it’s very important we discuss how we are all drug users of a kind — whether our drug is caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, sugar, paracetamol, sleeping tablets, cannabis or illegal drugs; we all use “drugs” sometimes to change our inner states when we want to feel a different way.
Even with food we can eat when we are hungry, or some people may overeat when they are sad or emotional. It’s not the food or any of the substances that are the issue, we need to talk about our relationships with substances and psychedelics are just another substance, albeit more complex ones.
Substances like psychedelics can help people when they are used in a therapeutic way. Even tobacco, tea or cacao ceremonies can be healing in the right context. That’s what ourselves and other retreat centres are doing and we see amazing results with clients afterwards.
Yes, I totally agree with you. It’s sad that you can’t offer psychedelic treatment in Ireland, as it’s illegal, what are you trying to achieve with the “Psychedelic Integration Ireland”?
This is a website I made that reaches out to anyone who has used psychedelics already, or who is interested in using them. Again, I base this off my personal experience of being confused and seeking answers after my own intense experiences — I want to give others the help I would have liked myself. Of course I’m not offering the treatment or psychedelics in Ireland as they are illegal. I’m aiming for harm reduction and to help people integrate the experiences. I said it before, it’s not only the experience itself that helps people, it’s the support around it that’s key too. You can compare it like this:
On a psychedelic journey you take a deep dive down to the bottom of the sea and find treasure. You bring this treasure up and lift it onto the beach. That’s what happens in the psychedelic experience itself. But the work is not done yet. The treasure was down there for years, so the integration is where you clean all the little gold nuggets, the bracelets and everything else and then find out how to bring them into your life.
Finding a treasure and then dropping it overboard again won’t help you one bit right? And that’s what the integration afterwards is, this can look like doing art, journalling, talk therapy, return visualisations, reading up on mysticism, working with your cognitive beliefs, making a behaviour change plan, etc. I love what I do and who I work with, and I know we will make a difference.
For Ireland and the world, my big hope is that attitudes are changing and that these ways of working will soon not be seen as just people taking “drugs” to get high, but as potentially life altering treatments that can play a massive role in changing how we live as individuals and as a collective.
