It Takes a Village to Be a Human

By Dr. Denise Renye

If you look at my bio, you’ll see that I’m a licensed clinical psychologist, certified sexologist, certified yoga therapist, psychedelic integrationist, and have specialized training in trauma work. Why? Because I don’t believe “just” therapy or one modality is enough to heal a person. You know the expression it takes a village to raise a child? I think it takes a village to be a human. Seeing a psychotherapist once a week is not enough for a person to thrive or feel healthy and whole. Human beings are multifaceted and we have many needs to attend to that “just” therapy won’t address.

This isn’t a new idea, by the way, to take into account the whole self. The term “holistic” dates back to Hippocrates, more than 2,500 years ago. Even back then, Hippocrates emphasized the importance of establishing equilibrium within individuals. He viewed the person as a whole being made up of many parts working in conjunction with one another. 

Slowly over time this idea fell out of fashion and in the 20th century, mental health issues were split off from the whole person and treated with talk therapy while symptoms in the body were addressed separately. In 1975 the first conference on holistic health was held with the recognition treating a few symptoms only managed certain issues and didn’t lead to a better quality of life overall. These days in particular, we’re returning to the ideas Hippocrates espoused so long ago.

Part of the reason therapists are looking at other methodologies is because patients themselves are talking about them. In major cities especially, patients are talking about shamans, astrology, psychic mediums, tarot cards, and ayahuasca in their sessions, according to a New York Times article. Some therapists approach those topics with skepticism, but I see value in using whatever is available to us to promote healing.

In my work, I help to facilitate my patients to increase their awareness about the connection between their emotions, thoughts, somatic (body/physical) experiences, and spiritual life. Each of these components work in tandem to support a patient’s daily function. Conditioning to keep these separate runs deep and as much as we try to separate these pieces, they all support one another.

Other colleagues of mine feel the same way. Mark Vahrmeyer, a psychotherapist in the U.K. wrote, “[T]herapy, and thus change, should equip clients to move towards long-term change through the use of a wide range of life-changing strategies. These include incorporating the body into the therapeutic process though awareness and more direct interventions, neurofeedback, bio-hacking, self-development, mindfulness and meditation as a daily practice, exercise, nutrition and any other process that enables clients to become more familiar with their minds, their needs, and being present to what they are experiencing in their body, moment by moment.”

Do you notice how many things he listed? Meditation, exercise, nutrition, body awareness, self-development, neurofeedback, biohacking. That’s a lot! But I find everything he wrote to be true, along with a piece Vahrmeyer didn’t mention: psychedelics. There is a common recreational use of psychedelics. These may be intentional recreational uses to expand consciousness (medicinally, traditionally, or therapeutically) or they may be used as a way to avoid deepening one’s sense of self and consciousness (bypassing or anti-consciously).  Using them in the latter fashion ignores the role psychedelics have played in the ceremonies of indigenous people for ages. Yes, some people abuse psychedelics, and some people abuse food and sex as well. It could lead to something dangerous happening if not done with proper prepared mindset and intentional environmental setting.  Furthermore, classifying psychedelics as dangerous drugs ignores research showing their usefulness in helping those with depression, anxiety, and even addiction.

Psilocybin, the psychoactive and psychedelic compound in “magic mushrooms,” can be used to treat depression and reset the functionality of brain circuits that cause a role in depression, according to one study. Also, microdosing psychedelics can improve cognitive function and flexibility, the same study found. 

With ayahuasca, preliminary research has shown it is very effective in treating substance use disorders. Similarly, ibogaine had substantive effects on opioid withdrawal symptoms where other treatments had been unsuccessful, one study found. Substance abuse truly affects the while person: mind, body, spirit.

Psychedelics are not for everyone. This is important to let set in! They could be very useful for some people and the integration process if the experience doesn’t have to be a separate one outside of therapy – in fact, it seems unethical for clinicians not to be trained and equipped to be prepared to know how to do psychedelic integration with their patients and clients, especially since this new form of treatment is gaining traction. Instead what I mean is speaking with a trained professional such as myself after a psychedelic journey can help a person integrate their psychedelic experience. Speaking with a trained professional can help a patient make sense of something that occurred in a symbolic or ritualistic way during the psychedelic journey. Reach out if you’d like to work together for integration work. I also do consult with other clinicians on how to provide psychedelic integration with their own clients and patients.

Psychedelic experiences are often described as spiritual experiences and their surge in popularity I think speaks to people’s hunger for a spiritual life. Spirituality can be an incredibly healing aspect of a person’s life and is not limited to traditional models involving churches, synagogues, or mosques (although I don’t want to discount those modes of practice either). Spirituality is part of the reason 12-step groups are so successful, along with the community aspect. (If you’re interested in alternatives to 12-step groups, check out this list from American Addiction Centers.)

Being part of a community helps a person learn interpersonal skills, problem-solving, and what it means to belong. Community creates a safety net and offers support whether it’s overcoming an addiction or learning a new dance. These aspects cannot be recreated in a therapy session and it’s why I say it takes a village to be a human.

For ideas and ways to stay connected to and learn more about the unconscious through the body, feel free to stay connected.

References

American Addiction Centers. “Alternatives to AA and Other 12-step Programs.” February 3, 2020. https://americanaddictioncenters.org/therapy-treatment/12-step-alternatives

Carhart-Harris, Robin; Roseman, Leor; Bolstridge, Mark; et al. “Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression: fMRI-measured brain mechanisms.” Scientific Reports. October 13, 2017, Vol. 7(13187). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-13282-7#Sec3

“Holistic Psychotherapy.” GoodTherapy. April 11, 2017. https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/holistic-psychotherapy

Kingsley Brown, Thomas; Alper, Kenneth. “Treatment of opioid use disorder with ibogaine: detoxification and drug use outcomes.” The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. May 25, 2017. https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/mapscontent/research-archive/ibogaine/2017-Treatment-of-opioid-use-disorder-with-ibogaine-detoxification-drug-use-outcomes.pdf

Loizaga-Velder, Anja. “A Psychotherapeutic View on the Therapeutic Effects of Ritual Ayahuasca Use in the Treatment of Addiction.” MAPS Bulletin Special Edition. Spring 2013. https://maps.org/news-letters/v23n1/v23n1_p36-40.pdf

Vahrmeyer, Mark. “Psychotherapy is great, but it is not enough…” Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy. January 26, 2015. https://www.brightonandhovepsychotherapy.com/blog/psychotherapy-great-enough/

Yar, Sanam. “Now Therapists Have to Figure Out Astrology, Tarot and Psychedelics.” The New York Times. August 28, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/28/style/therapy-psychology-astrology-tarot-ayahuasca.html