Couples Therapy? Family Journeys? Alternative Paths to Group Psychedelic Healing

As we all know, there’s no one sanctioned path to psychedelic enlightenment. While some folks are drawn to group sessions, others opt for individual experiences here in Oregon. While both forms of therapy stress profound preparation and emphasize the inward journey, these trip do often take different trajectories given the group dynamics in play. ( In fact, I’ve written all about it here).

Rather than ping-ponging back and forth through these subtle differences for the 17th time, I’d rather talk about a different type of group healing which could be just what the mushroom doctor ordered. In the past handful of months, I’ve facilitated mini-group sessions for two sisters and a husband and wife duo. Here’s what that looks and feels like.

Case Study in Psilocybin Therapy: Husband and Wife

When I first heard the news that a husband and wife team were interested in a group experience, I admittedly was a bit skeptical. Mushrooms are powerful medicine, and no matter how strong our bonds are on the surface, we need to pry ourselves open to an uncomfortable degree to get the most out of the experience. In addition to comprehensive preparation, we want to clear an unequivocal path for ourselves, which includes a rare type of self-advocacy which exiles our immediate relationships and responsibilities to the back burner. We dispense of the people-pleaser within us, and show up for ourselves, even in a communal experience. Given the profound depth of a lot of strong marriages, this temporary estrangement is difficult to achieve with our soulmates/partners by our sides. For example, if I knew my wife was tripping in the room down the hall, I’d want to go check in on her, and while it may be a noble and loving sentiment, that interruption could easily usurp her potentially transformative experience. 

Anyhow, back to the case study in question. I met with the husband for a screening call, learned about his intentions and goals for this work and breached the complicated notion of achieving that within a container that included the most important person in his world. He seemed to implicitly understand the risk, so we got to work. First, we found a facilitator for his wife. This would keep us all in right relationship—as a facilitator, I wouldn’t have to hold two narratives that would likely overshadow each other. They were free to unabashedly look inward within their respective confidential containers. 

The next collective step was a group preparation call. We were about halfway through our individual intake, and the other facilitator and I wanted to share a vision for the group experience. After reiterating the importance of respecting their private journeys, we proposed that we ingest the medicine in a modest group ceremony, engage in a body scan breathing exercise together and then exile ourselves to our separate journey rooms. They agreed with the approach and helped us embellish the details so it would resonate.

Then we retreated back to our private preparation space, and a few weeks later, we found ourselves at Vital Reset in Hood River for their couples psilocybin experience. They grounded themselves in their individual rooms and came together in the common space for the ingestion ceremony. After exchanging a thoughtful glance or three, they drank their mushroom tea and laid down next to each other as my co-facilitator began a body scan meditation. After about 20 minutes, we parted ways and settled down in our individual rooms.

After about 4 hours of tripping–during which both of these folks had profound personal journeys (one reckoned with generational depression while the other received insight on how to combat chronic anxiety)—we brought them back to the communal space, shared a few laughs, had a snack and reflected a little on their respective journeys. Once they had adequately come down, they left together, hand in hand, with a lilt in their steps, ecstatic to go home together and rest the night away.

From my perspective, this shared journey couldn’t have gone any better. It appeared the group ingestion ceremony offered solace and empowerment; they’d prepared enough to let each other go and immerse themselves in their own journeys and they were overwhelmingly thrilled to slump back down together after such a rich and layered experience. All that said, I’m never privy to the minute nuances of the journey until we begin integration and my client is rested and ready to parse their experience. At integration, the client confirmed what the other facilitator and I has suspected. The group container alleviated apprehension, provided a loving supportive first chapter of his journey, helped him see past his depression and strengthened his relationship with his wife.

Case Study in Psilocybin Therapy: Sisters

Let’s fast forward a few months to another mini-group case study. This time around, two sisters had connected with a center and expressed interest in journeying together. Of course, we embraced the idea with a measured enthusiasm, surfaced the same reservations and hatched a plan to curate their ideal experience. Both sisters intuitively grasped the concept of honoring each other’s space and immediately welcomed a similar scenario as above. And just like that example, we held an additional prep session where all four of us (each sister had their own facilitator) reached consensus on the structure of the day. 

Their psychedelic spa day started with a group ceremony which included sharing intentions aloud and evolved into a sprawling ingestion ritual. It was serious, sacred, silly and joyful. I could tell the sisters were already subconsciously holding each other up and wielding the magic of their bond to bring a levity and tenderness to the session.

After about 45 minutes as the medicine came on, we retreated to our separate rooms where both sisters went on very different journeys. One was visited by their ancestors while the other sister traveled a cinematic timeline that included jaunts through American malls and the jungles of Guatemala. At various times throughout the 4 hour journey, my client—awash in transformative insight—really wanted to tell her sister all this stuff she was learning. I reminded her of our agreement and we settled back into the journey for more personal discovery. 

Near the end of the experience, we brought the sisters together and the gratitude and love was visceral. They laid beside each other on a communal floor mattress and were content to bask in the warmth of each other’s company. After a while, we brought up snacks and hung out together until the medicine wore off and they shuffled back home together.

So Is Couples Psilocybin Therapy a Good Thing?

I suppose you can take your own takeaways from these two case studies. I suppose that’s why I wrote them :). But in conclusion, I’ll summarize what I see as the major benefits of these kind of mini-group sessions.

Let’s begin with the fine print. Psychedelic therapy for couples or siblings is NOT for folks with acute, persistent issues in their relationship. These sessions absolutely relied on an unconditional, abiding love that cleared a path for both of them to drop into their own experience. All parties emphatically wanted the others to heal. While this group experience did strengthen their bond and deepen their relationship, that result was peripheral, and only possible because of their commitment to their original intentions. 

From my perspective, these small groups provide an extra layer of solace and courage. When you have someone you love by your side who wants the best for you, it relieves some of the apprehension surrounding a large dose of mushrooms. Additionally, it gives you a partner in preparation. As you lean into ritual on the days before your journey, you honor and cultivate that space together. And finally, a shared catharsis is a joyous one. As the mushroom journey wears off and you tumble back to Earth, it’s nice to land in the arms of someone you love and trust.