Why is integration important?

"Sometimes we find that when people take psychedelic drugs, they have these really big experiences and it can be difficult to relate that to their personal lives... In the Zendo Project, we work with people having difficult experiences while they're on the drug. But then, in the months that follow, there can also be some distress because these new ideas haven’t yet fully been incorporated into the individual’s belief system and perceptions about the world. The contrast that’s felt between that expansion and the person’s previous consciousness can be disturbing."

What's different about psychedelic therapy?

"Part of the struggle for normal talk therapy is that, when the [patient with PTSD] is addressing their trauma and being asked to remember things that happened, they can become highly activated or dissociated. The MDMA increases the window of tolerance — the capacity to hold difficulty — so [the patient] can access difficult emotions and memories. Then, those are allowed to be felt, and feeling them allows the patient to process and integrate their trauma. It helps them relegate the experience to the past.

"It gives people the freedom to [separate their trauma from their identity]. They're even able to make meaning out of it, so much so that people see how this trauma shaped how they are today — to the point that they might say, 'Even though this was a challenging experience, I am aware that I wouldn’t be the person I am today without [it].' People can experience forgiveness and a letting go of the past. With that, we see a decrease in PTSD symptoms and an increase in [the patient's] well-being, their capacity to be in relationships with other people, and [their overall] social functioning."