People will now be able to participate in psychedelic-assisted therapy in a group setting as the Institute for Integrative Therapies expands its services to support the needs of communities.
Minnesota-based psychedelic therapy and advocacy organisation, the Institute for Integrative Therapies, is expanding its services to offer psychedelic-assisted therapy in a group setting, which will focus on issues such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), existential crises and distress, grief and loss, end of life and LGBTQ experiences.
The Institute for Integrative Therapies, co-founded by Kyle Ross and MAPS-trained MDMA therapist Kyle Keller, currently provides ketamine-assisted therapy and is laying the foundation to provide additional psychedelic therapies, including MDMA and psilocybin-assisted therapy, as soon as they become available.
Group psychedelic-assisted therapy
As rates of poor mental health surge across the US and the globe along with a crisis of loneliness and isolation, the Institute for Integrative Therapies says its programming is being developed to expand its ketamine-assisted therapy into a group setting to tap into the potential of communal experiences. It hopes that through group psychedelic therapy, participants will be able to find a sense of connection, process shared trauma, and learn from the perspectives and insights of others.
Participants in the group sessions will be able to engage in individual as well as group psychedelic therapy preparation sessions. Participants are tended to by the therapist and physician facilitators and music playlists are developed specifically for the group based on their feedback and input during the preparation phase. Following treatment, the group will reconvene for a group integration process, where they will be able to process their experience and share with each other the lessons and reflections from their journey.
Overseen by physician Dr Manoj Doss and lead therapist, Kayla Felten, the Institute recently completed a soft launch for the therapies, which focused on processing religious trauma, reclaiming identity and clarifying values and purpose.
Felten commented: “The opportunity to pursue healing and explore the unknown within a community can be especially therapeutic. Having the opportunity to facilitate psychedelic therapy groups for trauma survivors has been a gift and incorporates so much of my passion to hold space for others spiritual activation, healing and exploration.”
The Institute says that the group therapy sessions will reduce the cost for participants, and that is pursuing new avenues for making psychedelic therapy further accessible.
Co-founder Ross and lead therapist Felten have been accepted into the MAPS training programme and are on track to complete their certificate by the end of 2021.
