Non Ordinary States & Integration
Some experiences don't fit easily into our usual ways of understanding ourselves.
They may arise through meditation, breathwork, spiritual or contemplative practice, birth and significant life transitions, periods of psychological or existential change, therapeutic experiences occurring within other healthcare settings, or sometimes without a clear explanation.
These experiences can feel expansive, meaningful, disorienting, challenging, or difficult to put into words. They may bring questions about identity, relationships, spirituality, mortality, meaning, or how to return to everyday life after something significant has shifted.
My work offers a grounded therapeutic space to explore these experiences without assuming they need to be pathologised, spiritualised, or understood in any particular way.
I also work with people seeking preparation or integration alongside care they are receiving through another appropriately qualified health professional or clinical service. With your consent, I can collaborate with members of your treating team where this is appropriate.
My work with non ordinary states is informed by specific professional training in psychedelic assisted therapies, alongside my background in psychotherapy, occupational therapy and contemplative practice.
Non Ordinary States
Some experiences take us outside our usual ways of understanding ourselves and the world.
Non ordinary states can arise through meditation, breathwork, birth, grief, spiritual or contemplative practice, psychedelic experiences, significant life transitions, or sometimes unexpectedly.
They may bring shifts in our sense of self, time, perception or the body. They can feel expansive, deeply meaningful, confusing, frightening, beautiful, or difficult to put into words. Sometimes an experience changes us before we have language for what has happened.
I am interested in creating space for these experiences without rushing to explain them. Rather than assuming an experience is spiritual, psychological or something that needs to be resolved, we can become curious about what happened and what it means within the context of your life.
At times, changes in perception, mood, thinking or functioning may also need further psychological, medical or psychiatric assessment. Part of this work is being able to hold both possibilities with care and discernment.
Integration
Integration is less about holding onto an experience and more about allowing it to find its place within ordinary life.
After something significant, emotions, memories, bodily experiences, images, insights or questions may continue to unfold. Some may feel important, while others become less significant with time. Not everything that emerges needs to be interpreted, acted upon or turned into change.
Integration offers space to stay curious about what remains and to explore how an experience may relate to the wider context of your life.
Sometimes this work is deeply psychological or existential. Sometimes it is surprisingly practical. It might touch relationships, boundaries, work, creativity, rest, routines, identity, or how you inhabit everyday life.
Preparation can also form part of this work before a significant experience, creating space to explore expectations, intentions, supports and what may be important to bring into the process.
Psychedelic Assisted Therapy
Psychedelic assisted therapy brings psychotherapy together with carefully supported non ordinary states within a structured clinical setting. The therapeutic process generally includes preparation, the supported experience itself, and integration afterwards.
In Australia, psychedelic assisted treatment is available within specific regulatory and clinical frameworks. An Authorised Prescriber is a specialist psychiatrist who has received approval to provide this treatment within an approved clinical framework, working with an appropriately trained therapy team.
My interest in this field is informed by specific training in psychedelic assisted therapies, alongside my background in psychotherapy, Occupational Therapy and contemplative practice.
Within my private practice, I offer psychotherapy focused preparation and integration, including for people receiving treatment through another clinical service. I do not prescribe, supply or administer medicines within my private practice.
I am also interested in contributing as a therapist within appropriately governed multidisciplinary psychedelic assisted therapy settings.
