Case Studies
We work with many different people in many different ways. Some people are looking to learn, others to heal; some want to optimize performance, while others want to unite themselves with the infinity of being. Despite the seeming distance between these approaches, the truth is that all of this is possible - perhaps only possible - when we connect more deeply with ourselves.
While every person is unique and each experience has it’s own flavor, it can be helpful to hear a bit more about how other people have experienced our time together. In their words you may find a reflection of something within yourself…something waiting to be revealed, awakened, reborn.
The details of therapeutic processes are of course confidential; we can only share a brief glimpse of some peoples’ transformations through some of the words we’ve exchanged. It’s important to note that these comments were NOT made immediately following an experience, when virtually everyone feels that life is amazing and forever will be. These are excerpts from conversations that were held during the weeks and months of integration post-experience, when clients have had plenty of opportunity to engage with life’s challenges and test the durability of the growth they’ve experienced.
Simply put, we are not interested in sensationalism. We — and our clients — are dedicated to profound and lasting change.
What follows are a few brief testimonials, and below are more detailed anonymized case studies that describe the contours of transformation in greater depth.
The natural set and setting for profound transformation.
Case Studies
Here you can find anonymized case studies that describe the contours of clients’ transformation in greater depth; these are real stories from real people, but with a few details changed or omitted so as to preserve anonymity. Their successes and limitations are of course utterly their own, though reading through a description of them may help you to gain perspective on where you are and what you can reasonably hope to achieve with a therapeutic process.
Person A
Background
Person A began drinking heavily in early adolescence and continued to drink almost daily for over five decades. Now in his late sixties, he remained largely functional while intoxicated and was not prone to aggression or loss of behavioral control. Over time, however, cognitive decline and liver impairment became evident. He had engaged in multiple forms of psychotherapy and self-development over the years, with limited long-term impact on his alcohol use.
He is married, with children and grandchildren. A growing desire to remain present, reliable, and worthy of respect in his grandchildren’s eyes became a key motivator for exploring psychedelic-assisted therapy.
By most external measures, his life appeared successful. He built a stable career and supported his family, yet internally he carried a persistent sense of inadequacy and loneliness. Periods of abstinence had occurred throughout his life, but rarely lasted longer than a few weeks. As he described it, once he began to feel stable, he would convince himself that one drink was harmless — and the cycle would resume.
He demonstrated high intellectual insight into his own psychology, but had significant difficulty accessing and processing emotion directly, as if separated from it by an inner barrier. Long-term substance use had left clear physiological and neurological imprint. His social environment normalized daily drinking, and abstention was often framed as weakness. Patterns of self-deception were well-developed, at times extending into his relationships with others, including within the therapeutic process. At the same time, he was open to challenge, curious about new perspectives, and strongly motivated for change. His family was supportive of the work.
Preparation
We worked together weekly for two months prior to the in-person immersion. The focus was on identifying the emotional drivers underlying his drinking, including fear, shame, and self-judgment. A simple daily physical and mental practice was established to support emotional regulation and greater internal stability.
Alcohol consumption was gradually reduced over this period, leading to full abstinence in the two weeks preceding arrival.
Experience
The in-person work unfolded over five consecutive days. Psychedelic therapy formed the central axis of the process, supported by a broad range of complementary practices including breathwork, yoga, strength training, cold exposure, sauna, fasting, nature immersion, and structured reflection.
Significant themes of grief and suppressed anger emerged and were processed somatically and emotionally. Alongside this deeper work, there were also periods of play, laughter, shared meals, long conversations, and reflective writing. Toward the end of the process, we developed a concrete plan for returning home, including behavioral adjustments, relational agreements, and ongoing support structures.
Integration
Upon returning home, he reported a marked shift in clarity, physical relaxation, and emotional openness. The first weeks were notably easeful, with a strong sense of distance from previous compulsive patterns.
As expected, challenges emerged over time. We continued with weekly integration sessions for two months, during which several destabilizing moments were processed before they could consolidate into relapse dynamics. Ongoing contact was maintained beyond this initial integration phase.
At present, more than a year after the immersion, he reports that he no longer experiences a compulsion to drink. Alcohol is now limited to occasional social use in very small quantities, without intoxication. He has not returned to compulsive drinking during this period.
Person B
Background
Person B is a high-level athlete with approximately fifteen years of chronic lower back pain. She has long been aware of the possible psychosomatic dimensions of her condition, but feared that engaging more deeply with underlying psychological material might destabilize her emotional, physical, or professional performance. Over time, however, the pain progressed to the point that it remained severe even under medication, while the medication itself began to impair her athletic performance.
She had worked extensively with performance professionals, including sports psychologists for roughly a decade and a psychiatrist for five years. At the time of contact, she was taking prescription medication for pain, anxiety, and sleep.
She described herself as highly disciplined, externally structured, and deeply driven. Much of her training, lifestyle, and performance orientation had been shaped by external authorities and expert prescriptions. She had limited experience setting goals or methodologies rooted in her own internal sense of direction. Situations lacking clear performance metrics or objective success criteria were experienced as especially destabilizing.
At the time she reached out, she reported that avoidance was no longer possible. She felt both frightened and uncertain about entering this process, yet recognized that her current trajectory was no longer sustainable. Her family expressed cautious tolerance of the work but hoped she would simply “return to normal” without needing to explore deeper psychological dimensions.
Preparation
We agreed to three preparatory sessions over a twelve-week period. Progress during this phase was modest, largely due to the constraints imposed by her training and competition schedule. She was already engaged concurrently with a coach, physical therapist, nutritionist, sports psychologist, and psychiatrist. Given the density of existing professional input, preparatory work focused primarily on clarifying intention, stabilizing expectations, and determining whether a short immersive experience would be appropriate.
Experience
The immersive phase consisted of three days with gradual engagement in expanded states of consciousness. The first day involved a low-dose introduction, followed by a substantially deeper session on the second day. She reported sleeping without pharmacological support for the first time in many years.
Significant time was spent in nature through walking, sitting, and quiet observation. During the deeper session, previously inaccessible and highly distressing autobiographical material emerged, accompanied by intense emotional activation. At one point, transference dynamics were directed toward the therapeutic relationship itself and were worked through in real time with careful pacing and containment. The process was emotionally demanding, but culminated in a pronounced cathartic resolution.
Upon waking the following morning, she reported a complete absence of her chronic back pain. In parallel, I experienced transient acute back discomfort, an observation noted at the time but not interpreted causally.
During the latter phase of the immersion, we worked to establish practical methods for regulating anxiety as it arose somatically. For the first time, she was able to directly perceive the relationship between anxiety, muscular contraction, and pain. A specific combination of movement, breath, and meditative attention was developed to support early detection and release of tension.
Integration
Three integration sessions were held within the first two weeks following the experience. During this period, she gradually discontinued all medication for pain and anxiety. Sleep medication remained in limited use.
The timing coincided with the beginning of her athletic off-season, allowing space for consolidation and the development of a consistent regulatory practice capable of supporting her during the upcoming training and competition cycle. She remained highly committed to this practice and demonstrated growing sensitivity to early warning signs requiring preventative intervention.
Midway through the season, a brief recurrence of symptoms occurred under heightened stress. This was addressed through several targeted integration calls and temporary reintroduction of pain medication. Symptoms again subsided, and baseline regulation was restored.
At present, the primary symptoms have remained largely resolved, and some of their underlying drivers have been addressed. Both client and practitioner agree that further work remains, and she has chosen to return in a subsequent off-season to deepen and stabilize the process.
Person C
Background
Person C has a history of extensive psychedelic use during late adolescence and early adulthood, though none of these experiences occurred in therapeutic or structured settings. He reported no substance use of any kind for approximately twenty years prior to seeking this work.
At the time of contact, he described his life as stable and functional across most domains, yet accompanied by a persistent sense that something essential was missing. His work was satisfactory but not experienced as deeply meaningful. His relationship with his partner and children was generally positive, yet marked by recurrent communication difficulties and episodes of reactive conflict that he did not feel reflected his values.
His partner expressed concern that returning to work with psychedelics could reactivate past destructive patterns. He felt confident this would not occur. He entered the process with curiosity and intellectual engagement, demonstrating strong interest in psychological theory and self-reflection. At the same time, he noted a recurring difficulty translating insight into sustained emotional or behavioral change.
He was able to articulate the changes he believed were needed in his life, yet reported a lack of affective commitment to implementing them. He described a diffuse sense of being held back by forces he could not clearly identify. His prior experiences with psychedelics appeared to contribute to a degree of overconfidence regarding the depth and complexity of the work ahead, at times minimizing both his partner’s concerns and his own ambivalence.
Preparation
We met three times over the course of three weeks. These sessions focused on clarifying his motivations, surfacing the emotional and relational patterns limiting change, and refining expectations for the process. Throughout this preparation period, he engaged in open dialogue with his partner. By the end of this phase, both reported a shared sense of calm anticipation and increased relational alignment regarding the work.
Experience
The experiential phase unfolded over five days, with two sessions involving expanded states of consciousness. Much of the remaining time was spent in extended contact with nature, including walking in forested areas and along the coast, swimming, surfing, and two nights of camping overlooking the ocean. The emotional terrain of the process was characterized primarily by contact with long-standing sadness, grief, and a sense of unfulfilled longing, alongside gradual reconnection to embodied enjoyment and simple forms of pleasure. A significant portion of the work focused on restoring access to felt emotion and bodily presence.
Considerable attention was also given to communication patterns, relational reactivity, and unspoken assumptions within intimate relationships. From this, a practical framework for relational change and communication was developed.
Integration
Two integration sessions were held over a five-month period following the immersion. At the time of our last follow-up, he reported that daily life continued to include ordinary stressors and challenges, particularly in the professional domain. At the same time, he described a meaningful shift in his relationship with himself and with his family. Patterns of emotional reactivity had softened, and communication within the household had become more stable and direct. In his words: “I’m able to connect in a new way, and my frame of mind feels clear and solid. A lot is still being processed, but something important has shifted inside me.”