Psychedelic Integration & Psychosynthesis

A workshop aiming to give psychosynthesis practitioners a deeper understanding of working with clients who discuss psychotropic use and experiences.

Join Thomas Shutte and Gregory Donaldson for a workshop exploring historical and recent psychedelic research, with the aim of giving psychosynthesis practitioners a deeper understanding of working with clients who discuss psychedelic experiences.

Workshop purpose:

In this one-day workshop we will explore how psychosynthesis practitioners can approach working with clients who bring psychedelic experiences to therapy, drawing on psychosynthesis models and techniques alongside findings from contemporary research.

Psychedelic substance use and interest is growing worldwide, spurred on by a second wave of research into their potential use for treating a variety of mental health conditions. Recent clinical trials results suggest that psychedelics hold promise in the treatment of anxiety disorders, addiction, depression, eating disorders and death anxiety in terminally ill patients. Although psychedelic substances have yet to be approved for medical use in the UK, many therapists have noticed that their clients are increasingly interested in discussing psychedelics and psychedelic experiences in therapy.

The workshop will include presentations, group discussion and interactive triad work through peer supervision/role-play work.

Participants are encouraged to bring examples from their case work for discussion.

Who is it for?

This workshop is open to qualified therapists, counsellors, and health practitioners, as well as those interested in learning more about psychedelic integration as seen through a psychosynthesis lens.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the workshop participants will:

• Have a basic understanding of contemporary psychedelic research
• Have learnt a framework for applying the psychosynthesis model when working with clients who have used a psychedelic substance
• Understand ethical considerations relevant to therapists when working with this client group
• Have learnt key psychedelic harm reduction principles

What to expect:

The workshop will be held in-person at the Psychosynthesis Trust building. Participants will:

• Learn about historical and recent psychedelic research
• Explore the pros and cons of the medicalisation of psychedelic substances
• Learn a framework for the integration of psychedelic experiences through a psychosynthesis lens
• Explore ethical considerations stemming from psychedelic integration work
• Work in triads to explore case studies through role-play or peer supervision
• Have time for any questions and interaction with the trainers throughout

Our Approach:

Although Assagioli did not address psychedelic experiences in his writings, others such as Stanislav Grof have recommended the psychosynthesis model for working with the expanded states of consciousness that can be catalysed by psychedelic substance use.

In this workshop we will examine ways to understand psychedelic experiences using the psychosynthesis framework and explore the different tools and techniques that the trainers have found helpful in supporting clients to integrate these experiences.

The workshop will involve a balance of the theory, experiential and clinical discussion.

Ticket price:

At the Trust we appreciate that each person has their own unique situation, so we invite you to select the price point that feels like it represents a fair contribution for attending this event.

There are three options to choose from when purchasing tickets: £75, £100, £150.

If you are a current Psychosynthesis Trust student and finances are a barrier to attending this workshop, please contact Kajal at events@ptrust.org.uk.

Refunds are available up to 7 days before the event. Eventbrite fee is non-refundable.

About Thomas Shutte:

Tom Shutte is a psychotherapist and supervisor working in private practice and as a clinical research therapist. Tom first became interested in psychosynthesis after reading Assagioli’s writings on spiritual emergency in his early 20’s. He trained at the Trust to MA level and wrote his dissertation on the use of psychosynthesis as a method for the integration of ayahuasca induced psychedelic experiences.

He is a contributing author to the Manual of Psychedelic Support (MAPS) and was previously Clinical Lead at Wavepaths, a company specialising in personalised music for psychedelic therapy. He is currently lead therapist working on research trials in the UK with 5-MeO-DMT, Methylone and Psilocybin.

About Greg Donaldson:

Greg Donaldson is a transpersonal psychotherapist working in private practice in the UK. He trained at the Psychosynthesis Trust where he gained his MA in psychosynthesis psychotherapy.

Having had a misspent youth which involved psychedelics, and sparked by a meeting with Bill Richards during his MA, Greg became deeply interested in psychedelic research which led to him to train and work as a psychedelic guide at Imperial college on the Psilodep 2 trials studying psilocybin in comparison with long term sertraline use and patients with treatment resistant depression.

Greg then went on to co-facilitate the first London psychedelic integration group with Rosalind Watts and Michelle Baker-Jones, and then became a co-founder of the Brighton psychedelics integration group.

Last year Greg teamed up with Tom Shutte and Hattie Wells to develop an integration protocol for Hammersmith Medicines Research Centre, where patients were being administered Ibogaine in clinical trials.

Greg’s interest in sub-personalities and archetypes informs his work with people who are integrating their psychedelic or peak experiences. He also hosts his own podcast the ‘Emerging Purpose Podcast.’

See Greg’s wesite: www.emergingpurpose.net

Emerging Purpose Podcast https://on.soundcloud.com/Acp3L or wherever you get your podcasts