Elders and Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy
Hello dear readers,
It’s been a while since I’ve posted a new blog entry. It is now December 9 and we are headed towards the winter solstice in the northern hemispheres. A few updates about my work. My EPIC group which stands for Elder Psychedelic Integration Café, is having a Solstice prayer meeting on the 21st. Gratitude is strong for this group of intrepid travelers and teachers who range in age from 69 to 90. We will meet together at 3:30 until 7:30, straddling the sunset, embracing the dark, and then lighting candles together as we turn towards the returning of the Light.
In the new year, I am hoping to start more EPIC groups and train facilitators to initiate and nurture the groups.
In June, I have agreed to participate on a panel at MAP’s Psychedelic Science Conference 2025 in Denver, focusing on elders and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. As I mention in other places on my website, I teach people about how to prepare for these experiences, and support them in their integration processes via zoom sessions afterwards. The panel will be facilitated by author Abbie Rosner whose new book called ELDEREVOLUTION – Psychedelics and the New Counterculture of Aging will be published in March.
When I first started learning about the research and practices of psychedelics for healing, I was surprised and dismayed to hear many practitioners say that older people were not candidates for these experiences. Too risky. As someone with a physical medicine background, I am committed to safety and harm reduction in general with all practices. I believe that older folks should be not automatically precluded from exploring via these ancient tools.
Over the years I have been heartened to see the beginnings of many more research studies emerging from universities, studying the use of psychedelics and terminal illnesses, end-of-life, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, cancer, existential questions, etc. Although some would argue that there are drawbacks to clinical settings, I think we need more research that includes older people so that clinicians, and elders themselves, can learn about and adopt safe and beneficial practices.
Wishing you all a happy holiday season,
Nancy