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MAPS Integration Station
A Journey Beyond the Psychedelic: Embracing
Transformation Through Mindful Integration
What is Psychedelic Integration?
Integration is an important component of psychedelic healing, and there are many definitions of the practice. Integration can be done independently or supported by peers, community, coaches, or therapists. Integration incorporates a wide variety of strategies, and there are many frameworks or practices used to integrate a psychedelic experience. However, nearly every approach to integration agrees on two things: integration is an intentional process to understand a psychedelic experience and bring the lessons into daily life, and integration is a fundamental part of using psychedelics for personal growth.
“Integration is a process in which a person revisits and actively engages in making sense of, working through, translating, and processing the content of their psychedelic experience. Through intentional effort and supportive practices, this process allows one to gradually capture and incorporate the emergent lessons and insights into their lives, thus moving toward greater balance and wholeness, both internally (mind, body, and spirit) and externally (lifestyle, social relations, and the natural world).”
Synthesized definition of integration from Bathje, Majeski, & Kudowor, 2022:
The process of integration involves making sense of and incorporating the insights, emotions, and changes that may arise during a psychedelic journey into your everyday life. Integration is an essential aspect of the psychedelic experience because these substances can bring about intense and often challenging insights, emotions, and shifts in perspective.
Psychedelic integration is a personal and ongoing process. Each individual’s experience is unique, and the integration process may unfold over an extended period of time. Professional or experienced support, when available, can be beneficial in facilitating a more structured and supportive integration process.
Having a difficult time integrating a psychedelic or other experience with a non-ordinary state of consciousness? Zendo project provides onsite support at festivals and events. The Fireside Project operates a chat and phone line to help you with harm reduction or integration. Call or text 62-FIRESIDE.
Why Integrate?
Embarking on a psychedelic journey can be transformative, unfolding new perspectives and profound insights. However, the true magic lies in integrating these experiences into our daily lives. Integration is the bridge between momentary revelation and lasting change, transforming fleeting epiphanies into enduring wisdom. It allows us to weave the tapestry of our psychedelic insights into the fabric of our existence, fostering personal growth, healing, and a deeper connection with ourselves and the world around us. ‘Why Integrate?’ is not just a question—it’s the key to unlocking the full potential of your psychedelic journey, ensuring that each step towards self-discovery translates into meaningful and sustainable life changes.
“…integration requires active effort to revisit and work with psychedelic experiences and content that emerges from them. Without such active effort, valuable lessons tend to fade, and difficult experiences can reinforce traumas or existing patterns and defenses. Contrary to common belief, rather than doing the healing for us, psychedelics may give us an experience of and orientation toward wholeness, along with insight into the barriers and misalignments that will need to be addressed to continue toward or maintain wholeness.” Bathje, Majeski, & Kodowor (2022)
At MAPS, we believe that integration is a critical component of the safe and effective use of psychedelics. We encourage you to be intentional, think about structuring and planning for integration, and get support from your community. A holistic approach to integration can help you with:
Reflection and Processing
Psychedelic experiences can be intense and profound, often bringing up a range of emotions, thoughts, and insights. Integration provides a space for you to reflect on and process these experiences in a structured and intentional way.
Meaning Making
Non-ordinary states of consciousness can both support and challenge us. We need to be thoughtful and considerate as we make sense of our experiences and incorporate them into our life. Integration shares a linguistic root with integrity as it relates to the idea of being complete, intact, and whole. Using psychedelics with integrity asks us not to stop with the experience itself, but to do the work to incorporate these experiences into our lives.
Emotional Expression
Thoughtful integration allows you the opportunity to express and explore your emotions in new ways. Utilizing the support of a trained therapist or integration specialist can be especially important when dealing with intense or challenging emotions that may arise during or after a psychedelic experience.
Celebrating Progress and incorporating new insights
Regularly examining your thoughts and feelings over time allows you to celebrate your progress, growth, and changes. This can be a powerful motivator and provide a sense of accomplishment as you see how your perspectives and behaviors evolve. Additionally, integration allows you to practice new patterns and ways of being that reinforce the insights gained from your psychedelic experience, increasing the possibility for sustainable change and growth.
Need Help Getting Started?
The MAPS Integration Workbook provides exercises, practices, and structure that you can use and customize to help you build a holistic approach to your integration journey.
Integration Starts with Preparation
Integration, the art of embedding psychedelic experiences into our everyday reality, begins long before the journey itself—it starts with preparation. Preparing for a psychedelic experience is like laying the foundation for a house; it sets the stage for a stable and meaningful integration process. By cultivating intentions, fostering self-awareness, and establishing a supportive environment, we prime our minds and hearts for the profound insights and transformations that lie ahead. This preparatory phase is crucial as it aligns our mental and emotional states, ensuring we are not just physically but also psychologically ready to embrace and incorporate the lessons and revelations of our psychedelic explorations.
1
Drug
Understanding the specific psychedelic substance you plan to use is crucial, as each has its unique properties, effects, and considerations, shaping the trajectory of your experience.
2
Set
Your ‘set’ refers to the internal landscape of your mind and emotions; preparing these aspects involves self-reflection, emotional readiness, and a mindset open to transformation.
3
Setting
The ‘setting’ is the physical and social environment where your experience will take place, playing a pivotal role in influencing the comfort, safety, and overall tone of your journey.
4
Intention
Setting a clear intention acts as a guiding light for your psychedelic experience, providing direction, purpose, and a touchstone for reflection and integration post-journey.
A Synthesized Model of Integration
Integration is widely viewed as a deeply important aspect of the psychedelic experience. There are many different ways to define and conceptualize integration. There are also a variety of different cultural perspectives. But at heart, they all involve sense and meaning-making and the incorporation of learning, experience, insight, and challenge into a holistic sense of self and life.
In an attempt to unify many of the features of dozens of definitions and multiple models of integration, Bathje, Majeski, & Kudowor (2022) developed a Synthesized Model of Integration.
The Synthesized Model identifies six domains (Mind, Body, Spirit, Relationships, Lifestyle, Nature) where integration practices are applied, emphasizing the comprehensive nature of integration by planning practices across these areas. It also outlines six continuums (Contemplative-Expressive, Internal-External, Creative-Receptive, Conscious-Unconscious, Self Care-Self Challenging, and Active-Passive) that pair with the domains. Each continuum represents a spectrum of integration activities, encouraging a balanced approach that covers various aspects of experience.
The model suggests a reflective and holistic approach to integration, where individuals are encouraged to consider their preferences across the domains and continuums and engage in practices that promote balance and holistic growth. It emphasizes the significance of integrating all aspects of one’s experience, from emotions and physical health to relationships and environmental awareness. The MAPS Integration Workbook and other resources provide prompts and activities to guide individuals in this process, advocating for a responsible and comprehensive approach to working with psychedelics.
The model suggests a reflective and holistic approach to integration, where individuals are encouraged to consider their preferences across the domains and continuums and engage in practices that promote balance and holistic growth. It emphasizes the significance of integrating all aspects of one’s experience, from emotions and physical health to relationships and environmental awareness. The MAPS Integration Workbook and other resources provide prompts and activities to guide individuals in this process, advocating for a responsible and comprehensive approach to working with psychedelics.
Domains of Integration
1. Mind
Psychedelics lead to profound, often indescribable experiences, ranging from elation to challenging emotions. Integration is crucial, involving embedding these experiences into daily life and making sense of altered states. It occurs on Contemplative-Expressive and Internal-External continuums, balancing reflection and expression with a focus on mind shifts or external perceptions. Effective integration involves understanding the impact on emotions and thoughts, maintaining mental clarity through mindfulness, and applying cognitive insights to enhance daily life. Incorporating practices like gratitude and mindfulness sustains awareness, harnessing psychedelics’ transformative power for personal growth and well-being. Integration is deeply personal, requiring a balanced approach.
2. Body
Psychedelic experiences deepen our bodily connection, enhancing awareness of emotions, experiences, and physical sensations. Integration involves active engagement with physical practices, establishing healthier habits, or deepening bodily health commitments. It ranges across Active-Passive and Self Care-Self Challenging continuums, involving movement-oriented activities like yoga or stillness-focused practices for bodily awareness. Effective integration includes somatic awareness through mindful movement, nutritional adjustments reflecting new health attitudes, and aligning physical activities with psychedelic insights. A balanced approach across these continuums, staying true to personal intentions, enriches post-psychedelic life, grounding the individual in a heightened bodily consciousness.
3. Spirit
The Synthesized Integration Model emphasizes the complexity and nuance of integrating spirituality post-psychedelic experience, especially given the skepticism towards religion and spirituality in Western and Global North societies. Psychedelics are profound for their spiritual impact, often associated with generating divine experiences. Integration involves engaging across Conscious-Unconscious and Creative-Receptive continuums, reflecting on conscious insights or delving into unconscious realms, and being creative or receptive to new spiritual insights. Key integration practices include connecting to the Higher Self, exploring shifts in spiritual beliefs, and aligning mind-body-spirit for overall balance. Engaging with these dimensions deepens the spiritual connection and enriches the integration journey, honoring the profound spiritual dimension of psychedelics.
4. Lifestyle
Psychedelics, known to increase neuroplasticity, offer a valuable window post-experience to cultivate new habits and modify routines for lifestyle changes. Integration requires deliberate intention, starting with manageable steps and incorporating general mental health strategies like exercise, nutrition, and rest. It’s essential to adhere to harm reduction principles and understand the importance of a balanced, comprehensive approach to change. Integration spans Self Care-Self Challenging and Conscious-Unconscious continuums, involving both conscious choices and allowing unconscious processes. Key activities include crafting daily rituals, setting healthy boundaries, implementing sustainable lifestyle changes, and adopting actionable habits inspired by psychedelic insights. Through thoughtful consideration, individuals can enrich their lifestyles post-psychedelic experience, integrating insights for overall well-being.
5. Relationships & Community
Psychedelic experiences significantly impact relationships and community, necessitating integration in these social spheres. As inherently social beings, it’s crucial to consider how psychedelic insights might improve our connections. Safe communities and open communication are essential for sharing and integrating these experiences, potentially leading to enhanced interactions with family, friends, and colleagues. Integration should be approached holistically and intentionally, considering both Internal-External and Creative-Receptive continuums. This might involve internal reflection on personal relationship dynamics or external actions to foster authentic connections. On the creative side, individuals might build new relationships or communities, while being receptive involves open-mindedness and empathy towards others. To integrate these insights, reflect on the impact on your relationships, seek safe spaces for sharing, and evaluate and improve communication and connection strategies. Through these practices, individuals can enhance their social well-being and contribute to a more interconnected community.
6. Nature
Psychedelic experiences often deepen our connection to the natural world, prompting a reevaluation of our relationship with the environment. This reconnection is particularly significant amidst the disconnection felt in modern societies. Integration of these experiences into daily life requires thoughtful reflection and action, blending internal contemplation of one’s ecological role with external practices promoting environmental stewardship. Whether through creative expression or quiet meditation in natural settings, individuals can foster a lasting bond with nature, contributing to personal well-being and broader ecological consciousness. The journey of integration is personal, continuous, and supported by various resources for those seeking a structured approach.
Now onto the Continuums of Integration Practices
The Continuums of Integration in psychedelic therapy offer a diverse and nuanced approach to understanding and incorporating the vast range of experiences and insights gained during psychedelic journeys. They represent the dynamic interplay between different states of being and action, such as internal reflection versus external expression, creation versus reception, and activity versus passivity. Each continuum reflects a spectrum of possibilities, encouraging individuals to explore and find balance between different modes of thought, emotion, and behavior. By engaging with these continuums, individuals are guided to consider various aspects of their lives and psyche, leading to a more balanced, integrated, and holistic approach to personal growth and healing.
Continuums of Integration Practices
1. Contemplative-Expressive
Activities on this continuum can involve considering our thoughts and feelings and/or expressing them. They can occur in isolation or with a group. Meditation is on this continuum. So is ecstatic dance.
2. Internal-External
When we work with this continuum, we can turn inwards. Or, we can move our attention to the world around us. Journaling relates to this continuum. So does sharing your experience with a trusted friend, community group, or guide.
3. Creative-Receptive
Integration practices on this continuum can be very powerful. Many psychonauts have been inspired to produce art or felt as if they received deep insight through mystical experiences. Be careful of taking “received” messages literally. Drawing or even scribbling is an example of activity on the Creative-Receptive continuum. So is a simple reflection on any changes in feelings or perception that you experienced during your trip.
4. Conscious-Unconscious
Work on this continuum might be considered to blend almost by definition. As we integrate, we can reshape unconsciously held limiting beliefs. Or we can choose to make changes in our habits and routines. Creating a new bedtime routine might fall into this continuum as might pulling some tarot cards and thinking about how their symbolism and archetypes relate to our experience.
5. Self Care - Self Challenging
It’s thankfully not uncommon anymore to hear people talk about self-care in social spaces. Psychedelic experiences and integration can both be wonderful spaces for self-care, andthey often involve an element of challenge. Self challenge is an important part of growth, and it is important not to pathologize difficulties. Be willing to go deeper with yourself and your obstacles. And if you need support, ask. For many, even learning to ask for such help as a process of integration can be a crucial opportunity to challenge past behavior.
6. Active-Passive
This continuum reminds us that sense-making can occur through both action and rest. Playing a favorite sport or spending time with a hobby can be an active part of integration. Meditation could be considered more passive. And then there are all the activities in the beautiful middle like journaling, scribbling, and so much more.
A Note on ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ Trips
People often use “bad trip” to describe a range of experiences that are perceived as less-than-ideal psychedelic experiences. The reality of working with psychedelics is a lot more complicated and is not well-served by reduction, judgment, flattening, or simplification as “bad” or “good” (although we know it can sometimes be unavoidable). Almost everyone who has used psychedelics has experienced challenges before, during, and after a psychedelic journey. And, of course, our community is bound together in the belief that psychedelics have unique and valuable benefits.
It is all too easy to simply equate “pleasurable” or “fun” with “good” while labeling emotionally difficult, frightening, or somber with “bad.” Pleasure, if chased, can become part of detrimental cycles; challenges, if met, can produce some of the most meaningful and lasting impacts. We encourage you to go deeper and approach your self, world, and experiences as holistically as you can. As our friends at The Zendo Project remind us, “difficult is not necessarily bad.”
We can’t say it too many times: if you’ve had a difficult or challenging experience, you are not alone. A range of help is available, from some quick tips to volunteers and professionals who specialize in integrating challenging experiences.
Having a difficult time integrating a psychedelic or other experience with a non-ordinary state of consciousness? Zendo project provides onsite support at festivals and events. The Fireside Project operates a chat and phone line to help you with harm reduction or integration. Call or text 62-FIRESIDE.
Integrating after challenging experiences
Challenges can range from thoughts or images that you can’t really make sense of, to notions in opposition to your emotions or beliefs, to psychotic breaks and spiritual emergencies. First, make sure you are safe. Harm reduction is a critical part of responsible use of psychedelics.
With proper support and integration, most of these challenges can become meaningful and beneficial. But it’s work! Transforming challenging experiences starts with proper planning, harm reduction, and communities of support. If you need someone to sit with you as you navigate a challenging experience, consider calling or texting the Fireside Project at 62-FIRESIDE or reach out to someone you trust who has trained in peer support.
Integration and Therapy
Many therapists have begun getting trained in both Psychedelic Assisted Therapy and/or the specific skill of helping people integrate their psychedelic experiences. If you are a therapist seeking training, check out online courses offered by our friends at Beckley Academy. If you are looking for a practitioner, Psychedelic Support offers a searchable list.
With proper support and integration, most of these challenges can become meaningful and beneficial. But it’s work! Transforming challenging experiences starts with proper planning, harm reduction, and communities of support. If you need someone to sit with you as you navigate a challenging experience, consider calling or texting the Fireside Project at 62-FIRESIDE or reach out to someone you trust who has trained in peer support.
When Should I Integrate, and for How Long?
The timing and duration of psychedelic integration will vary from person to person, and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. Many choose to begin integration soon after a psychedelic experience. A period of rest and reflection can be an appropriate first step.
Psychedelic experiences are believed to lead to a period of increased neuroplasticity that lasts for anywhere from a few days to a month or so. Integrating during this time allows you to explore and process the immediate insights and emotions while they are still fresh while taking advantage of this period of receptivity to change.
Integration is not a one-time event but an ongoing process. Incorporate integration practices into your daily life. This may include mindfulness, meditation, yoga, creative expression, or any other activities that support your mental and emotional well-being. Consistent practice can help reinforce and deepen the integration process.
Integration is an ongoing process, and we may continue to integrate just one profound psychedelic experience for years or even the rest of our lives.
With proper support and integration, most of these challenges can become meaningful and beneficial. But it’s work! Transforming challenging experiences starts with proper planning, harm reduction, and communities of support. If you need someone to sit with you as you navigate a challenging experience, consider calling or texting the Fireside Project at 62-FIRESIDE or reach out to someone you trust who has trained in peer support.
Need Help Getting Started?
The MAPS Integration Workbook provides exercises, practices, and structure that you can use and customize to help you build a holistic approach to your integration journey.
- Reflection and Processing
- Meaning Making
- Emotional Expression
- Celebrating Progress and incorporating new insights
Reflection and Processing
Psychedelic experiences can be intense and profound, often bringing up a range of emotions, thoughts, and insights. Integration provides a space for you to reflect on and process these experiences in a structured and intentional way.
Meaning Making
Non-ordinary states of consciousness can both support and challenge us. We need to be thoughtful and considerate as we make sense of our experiences and incorporate them into our life. Integration shares a linguistic root with integrity as it relates to the idea of being complete, intact, and whole. Using psychedelics with integrity asks us not to stop with the experience itself, but to do the work to incorporate these experiences into our lives.
Emotional Expression
Thoughtful ntegration allows you the opportunity to express and explore your emotions in new ways . Utilizing the support of a trained therapist or integration specialistcan be especially important when dealing with intense or challenging emotions that may arise during or after a psychedelic experience.
Celebrating Progress and incorporating new insights
Regularly examining your thoughts and feelings over time allows you to celebrate your progress, growth, and changes. This can be a powerful motivator and provide a sense of accomplishment as you see how your perspectives and behaviors evolve. Additionally, integration allows you to practice new patterns and ways of being that reinforce the insights gained from your psychedelic experience, increasing the possibility for sustainable change and growth.
“We suggest that journeyers reflect on their preferences on each of these continuums and choose a balance of integration practices that addresses each side of each continuum while also drawing from each domain of experience in the Synthesized Model of Integration. Taken together, a balance of integration practices is congruent with the intention to move toward holism.” Bathje, Majeski, & Kodowor (2022)