Boomers and Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy

As a longtime Marriage and Family Therapist focused on serving midlife and older adults, I noticed early on how few therapists choose to specialize in working with these populations.

This is similar to the medical field where there are very few geriatricians, for a variety of reasons I won’t go into here.

In the last few years, as I began to work in the field of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAT), I noticed the same phenomenon. That is, a community of practitioners not much interested in older people. At least, not enough to really study aging, with its inherent challenges and opportunities.

Many therapists, doctors and researchers have mistakenly assumed that older people are the same as younger people – an ageist approach in my opinion. Older folks experience unique developmental tasks – check out Erik and Joan Erikson’s book, The Life Cycle Complete, especially the brilliant 9th chapter.) Society-based pressures, shifting physiologies and often misdiagnosed and pathologized emotions push on folks in their third season of life.
Fortunately, things appear to be changing. An acknowledgment of how older people have been underacknowledged and invisible in our Western culture for the past decades is beginning to surface.
Here are two articles, one I wrote and one in which I am quoted:
“Older Adults and Psychedelics”
https://psychedelic.support/resources/older-adults-and-psychedelics/
“Older Generations Are Reclaiming Rites of Passage”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/01/health/ritual-age-rite-passage.html
A Recent research study out of UCSF called “Effects of Psychedelics in Older Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study” puts it like this:
“Importantly, a recent review found that among 1,400 participants enrolled in 36 psychedelic trials since 1967, only 19 participants (1.4%) were 65 years or older. The safety and efficacy of psychedelic treatments in older populations thus remains largely unknown, although several authors have argued for the potential of psychedelics to loosen cognitive habits in old age generally as well as more formally as treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, including mild cognitive impairment and even health cognitive decline and age-related affective changes.
Other studies coming out are publishing results on the clinical use of psychedelics for existential anxiety and depression at end of life and in palliative care situations.
Here is one from Johns Hopkins called “Psychedelics May Lessen Fear of Death and Dying, Similar to Feelings Reported by Those Who’ve Had Near Death Experiences”:

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/newsroom/news-releases/2022/08/psychedelics-may-lessen-fear-of-death-and-dying-similar-to-feelings-reported-by-those-whove-had-near-death-experiences
My opinion about the growing amount of attention on older adults and research is that it’s about time! And, much more is needed! As usual, boomers are exploring and pushing outdated boundaries.
For the past year, it is my privilege to lead two groups – one for PAT practitioners who are serving this population. We focus on the topics of aging, palliative care and end of life. Our small group includes a psychologist, therapist, social worker, hospice nurse, death doula, somatic sound healer, chaplain and more.
The second group is called EPIC which stands for Elder Psychedelic Integration Café. Participants’ ages range from 67 to 90. Each individual has experienced PAT and this setting is a place to mutually learn from and support each other’s paths of exploration.
In my private practice I work in connection with a licensed clinic, using ketamine assisted psychotherapy (KAP). KAP can be very effective in mitigating depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and end of life fears. The treatments I provide are given in my home office.
I also help clients to prepare for and integrate sessions with psilocybin and MDMA. I do not provide the substances. When people have solid preparation before and integrative support after an experience, the benefits are often profound.
It is heartening and exciting to see older people finally be included in this burgeoning field of healing!