Head shrunk, mind expanded?
February 18, 2018 3:28 AM Subscribe
I just finished A Really Good Day, Ayelet Waldman's rather astonishing microdosing memoir. Although it's been a couple decades since my last hallucinogen-fueled adventure, my interest has been rekindled, and then some. I'm ready to take another trip... only this time, instead of hanging out at Hot Topic for hours, grooving on the blacklit Hendrix posters and watching the cashier's face melt, I want to find a therapist willing to help me maximize the benefits of the experience. Is this even possible?
After finishing Waldman's book, I did some research and learned that LSD-enhanced therapy sessions were not uncommon during the two decades between its synthesis by Albert Hoffman and its subsequent criminalization (by Nixon, natch). Over the last ten years or so, interest in hallucinogen-fueled has been revived, and several studies at John Hopkins and elsewhere have confirmed the psychological benefits of a single dose of psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) for the terminally ill. (And on a side note, MDMA, AKA ecstacy, another drug used in therapy until it was banned, has been the subject of several recent studies involving patients suffering from PTSD.)
So the winds are changing, and my odds of succeeding in my quest are better than they've been at any other point in my life. My youthful experiences with acid and 'shrooms were, without exception, some of the most profoundly transformative I've ever had. I'm certain that, with a little professional assistance, I'd be able to resolve problems I didn't even know I had. My question is, how should I go about finding a willing guide?
The main objective, it seems, would be to orchestrate things in such a way as to eliminate any chance of liability for the therapist. I figure as long as I dosed somewhere off the property before the session began, we'd both be in the clear.
But how would I locate someone likely to be comfortable with that scenario? It's the sort of subject I'd rather broach in person, but it would be a drag to have to schedule a bunch of preliminary sessions with different shrinks until I found one who seemed like they might be receptive.
The Psychology Today website has a feature that allows you to browse local therapists. After refining your search according to various criteria (insurance accepted, specialized services, etc.), you can email your choices directly. This would certainly be faster than the above method, but I don't know if email would be an appropriate medium for such a batshit request.
(Of course, I live in Portland, so batshit is sort of a given...)
Advice?
After finishing Waldman's book, I did some research and learned that LSD-enhanced therapy sessions were not uncommon during the two decades between its synthesis by Albert Hoffman and its subsequent criminalization (by Nixon, natch). Over the last ten years or so, interest in hallucinogen-fueled has been revived, and several studies at John Hopkins and elsewhere have confirmed the psychological benefits of a single dose of psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) for the terminally ill. (And on a side note, MDMA, AKA ecstacy, another drug used in therapy until it was banned, has been the subject of several recent studies involving patients suffering from PTSD.)
So the winds are changing, and my odds of succeeding in my quest are better than they've been at any other point in my life. My youthful experiences with acid and 'shrooms were, without exception, some of the most profoundly transformative I've ever had. I'm certain that, with a little professional assistance, I'd be able to resolve problems I didn't even know I had. My question is, how should I go about finding a willing guide?
The main objective, it seems, would be to orchestrate things in such a way as to eliminate any chance of liability for the therapist. I figure as long as I dosed somewhere off the property before the session began, we'd both be in the clear.
But how would I locate someone likely to be comfortable with that scenario? It's the sort of subject I'd rather broach in person, but it would be a drag to have to schedule a bunch of preliminary sessions with different shrinks until I found one who seemed like they might be receptive.
The Psychology Today website has a feature that allows you to browse local therapists. After refining your search according to various criteria (insurance accepted, specialized services, etc.), you can email your choices directly. This would certainly be faster than the above method, but I don't know if email would be an appropriate medium for such a batshit request.
(Of course, I live in Portland, so batshit is sort of a given...)
Advice?
But finding clean, pure LSD that has a controlled dosage -- good luck with that.
Clean and pure? No problem. Because the dosage is measured in micrograms there really isn't anything you can add to it that has any significant effect on the drug itself, or on lowering the cost of synthesis.
But your absolutely right about dosage, and for the same reason! Dosing in micrograms isn't easy.
It would be a long shot, but the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies sponsors research from time to time.
I'm not a psychopharmacologist. This is not medical advice.
posted by jonnay at 6:37 AM on February 18, 2018
Clean and pure? No problem. Because the dosage is measured in micrograms there really isn't anything you can add to it that has any significant effect on the drug itself, or on lowering the cost of synthesis.
But your absolutely right about dosage, and for the same reason! Dosing in micrograms isn't easy.
It would be a long shot, but the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies sponsors research from time to time.
I'm not a psychopharmacologist. This is not medical advice.
posted by jonnay at 6:37 AM on February 18, 2018
I don’t have any specific answers for you but wanted to be sure you knew about this episode of Reply All where they tried microdosing.
posted by amanda at 6:49 AM on February 18, 2018
posted by amanda at 6:49 AM on February 18, 2018
Excepting a research study, none of the therapists I know (who have personally done psychedelics and recognise its therapeutic use) would be willing to risk their professional liscences. So I see a couple of options for you, find a local shaman/informal therapist/trip guide and have them fully informed and involved, if perhaps not as adept at the therapy part as you may like. Or schedule appointments with your therapist without letting them know you are dosing. In that case, I would actually suggest a longer therapy session (a few around here offer a three hour session) since judging where you are on the spectrum can be tricky.
I know you are in Portland, so there already is quite a bit of woo, but if you have connections in BC you may find it a more fruitful atmosphere for finding a guide without judgement.
posted by saucysault at 8:05 AM on February 18, 2018
I know you are in Portland, so there already is quite a bit of woo, but if you have connections in BC you may find it a more fruitful atmosphere for finding a guide without judgement.
posted by saucysault at 8:05 AM on February 18, 2018
Asking professionals via email would never work because they would incriminate themselves if they replied. Also you could get unlucky and they report you to the police. Nevertheless this question gets asked quite a bit here and there. In 2014 someone claimed MAPS had a list of therapists with self-declared knowledge of psychedelics. Best case scenario seems that some people claim they have an informal (obviously) agreement they can turn up high to their session. I think that could get pretty intense or so I've heard. But does the reward justify the risks of losing reputation, getting a criminal score, in some cases permanent debuffs or even corrupting your save? This questline goes really deep but I'm pretty sure it's bugged in the current update.
posted by yoHighness at 9:20 AM on February 18, 2018
posted by yoHighness at 9:20 AM on February 18, 2018
In more liberal metropolitan areas there are networks for microdosing support and advocacy. Most of these groups are formed by therapists, who can’t say they do therapy like this, but totally do therapy like this. It can take some time to find the community, but here around for sure. I’ve heard that the advocacy focused groups are the least sketchy, and easier to find.
I can’t find it right now, but the willamette week in Portland ran a series of articles about that support network here, reaching out to them might get you a group in your area.
And finding pure LSD or very close analogs is not that hard. Some of the analogs are harsher, or shower acting or longer acting, but the desired results can largely be the same.
posted by furnace.heart at 10:26 AM on February 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
I can’t find it right now, but the willamette week in Portland ran a series of articles about that support network here, reaching out to them might get you a group in your area.
And finding pure LSD or very close analogs is not that hard. Some of the analogs are harsher, or shower acting or longer acting, but the desired results can largely be the same.
posted by furnace.heart at 10:26 AM on February 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
I am a therapist but not yours. I also credit psychedelics with changing my life. That said, I question the premise of your AskMe for several reasons (though I totally get the impulse behind it).
Firstly, in my opinion very few of my patients would find it helpful for the problems that brought them into therapy. What they need instead is a long term trusting relationship within which they feel safe enough to work things out. I had one patient discuss his salvia trip with me (it was legal, which helped) and I saw he had struggled with exactly the same things that were present normally. If anything, salvia had merely given him a second opinion. Which brings me to number two: I would never want to work with someone tripping when we had no prior relationship. It's too unpredictable. I would be suspicious of a therapist who would see you for a one off or who knew this was what you needed just because you told her so or because one size fits all. Thirdly, in my experience, the most important prerequisite for change is the ability to accept yourself as you are. Needing to fix things in a big hurry is the opposite of that attitude. It's an attempt to rush ahead--to get away from what you'd rather not sit with.
posted by Obscure Reference at 11:01 AM on February 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
Firstly, in my opinion very few of my patients would find it helpful for the problems that brought them into therapy. What they need instead is a long term trusting relationship within which they feel safe enough to work things out. I had one patient discuss his salvia trip with me (it was legal, which helped) and I saw he had struggled with exactly the same things that were present normally. If anything, salvia had merely given him a second opinion. Which brings me to number two: I would never want to work with someone tripping when we had no prior relationship. It's too unpredictable. I would be suspicious of a therapist who would see you for a one off or who knew this was what you needed just because you told her so or because one size fits all. Thirdly, in my experience, the most important prerequisite for change is the ability to accept yourself as you are. Needing to fix things in a big hurry is the opposite of that attitude. It's an attempt to rush ahead--to get away from what you'd rather not sit with.
posted by Obscure Reference at 11:01 AM on February 18, 2018 [10 favorites]
Or schedule appointments with your therapist without letting them know you are dosing.
Or you know, don't. This is terrible advice. As a therapist learning that my patient is in session with me while under the influence of psychedelics would be a terrible breach of trust. Because there is a good chance that would come out during the session or a later one.
Or maybe they don't, but their first impression of you is when you're tripping balls.
posted by jonnay at 7:10 PM on February 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
Or you know, don't. This is terrible advice. As a therapist learning that my patient is in session with me while under the influence of psychedelics would be a terrible breach of trust. Because there is a good chance that would come out during the session or a later one.
Or maybe they don't, but their first impression of you is when you're tripping balls.
posted by jonnay at 7:10 PM on February 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
But finding clean, pure LSD that has a controlled dosage -- good luck with that. And here's to you not getting caught by the insane police state lunacy around LSD or any controlled substance.
And think that any therapist who would agree to work with you would be endangering their livelihood, perhaps prison time. And you could end up with some prison time yourself, if you have enough to get them lit up. You could use psilocybin or mescaline but again, how are you going to verify the correct dosage?
Until the U.S. stops with the blue-nose, puritanical, batshit insane police state w/r/t drugs, I think you're out of luck.
posted by dancestoblue at 4:36 AM on February 18, 2018 [2 favorites]