Psychedelic-Assisted-Therapy has been having a huge resurgence internationally and is providing incredible results and healing for people. This comes as no surprise to many people and especially not to those indigenous cultures who have been using psychedelic plants as medicines for millennia.
In Aotearoa at present Psychedelic-Assisted-Therapy is illegal. This means in order to maintain our practicing certificates and abide by our professional code of ethics, all counsellors and therapists practicing here can offer currently is plant medicine or psychedelic integration work.
This means working with people after or before they have had psychedelic or shamanic experiences to make sense of those experiences and to maximise those experiences in order to meaningfully integrate them in to their daily lives.
The mystical and complex world revealed to us when we take these medicines can be incredibly healing and beneficial but it can also be scary and isolating. Sometimes having an understanding professional to help you unpack those experiences and to help you find the most valuable meaning from them can make a huge difference to how you feel about those experiences and the benefits they can offer.
The plant medicine integration work sits outside of my DAPAANZ registration. However, I am committed to performing this work to the highest ethical and quality standards and staying up to date with best practice.
Tommy Benefield Counselling and Therapy 