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Psychedelic Mushroom Therapy in Boston, Massachusetts

Boston is one of the oldest municipalities in America, founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers. Officially, the City of Boston is the state capital of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the primary cultural and financial center of the entire New England region.

Its rich history attracts many tourists. Boston was the scene of several key events during the American Revolution. Pivotal events like the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and the Battle of Bunker Hill give endless opportunities for visitors to immerse themselves in the rich history. 

Today, Boston is a scientific research center. Many colleges and universities, most notably Harvard and MIT, make it a world leader in higher education. Not only are these prestigious schools, but MIT is one of the premier research schools in the country.

These two schools highly contribute to law, medicine, engineering, and business. With an endless stream of brilliant and driven individuals, it’s no wonder the city is considered to be a global pioneer in innovation and entrepreneurship. 

The city of Boston alone plays host to nearly 5,000 startups, and this doesn’t even include the greater Boston area. With all of these young and highly progressive people, Boston has found a place on the cutting edge of psychedelic reform. Two cities, in particular, have recently begun to push back against the war on drugs.

Both Cambridge and the city of Somerville– cities in greater Boston, passed similar legislation to decriminalize psychedelics. Both took aim at the drug war, calling it a failure. The resolutions passed in each area make enforcing laws against the possession or use of entheogenic natural substances for adults, of lowest priority.

This new law instructs enforcement officials to stop arresting people for possession. Although this doesn’t legalize the therapeutic use of any substances and falls a bit short of full decriminalization, it’s a push in the right direction. You can expect to see Boston soon joining the ranks of Oregon and Colorado alike.

With legalization and medicalization coming ever closer, it helps to have a good understanding of what psychedelic therapy is and some of the important things to focus on for getting the most out of your journey. This article will break down what psychedelic therapy is, offering information on where exactly to access psychedelic therapy in Massachusetts, right now.

Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy vs. Traditional Therapy

As a country, we’re currently facing a massive mental health crisis, and it’s not very surprising. It seems that something new is constantly rising onto the world stage, such as political tensions or a worldwide pandemic. People are struggling to cope. 

Whether it’s due to collective trauma or an overload from our 24-hour news cycle, the number of people 18 and over seeking treatment for mental health is skyrocketing. Between 2019 and 2021, there’s been an increase of 2.3 million people suffering from mental health issues and searching for treatment.

This increase, combined with the recent revelations around the therapeutic value of psychedelics, has led flocks of people to explore their medicinal benefits. Before you embark on your journey, knowing the difference between traditional and psychedelic therapy is helpful.

In traditional therapy, you’ll work closely with a trained mental health professional. In your sessions, you will discuss past or present events, along with any deep-seated emotional issues that have affected your well being.

The ultimate goal will be for you and your therapist to overcome issues like depression, anxiety, and PTSD. One thing you can say for sure is that you will spend time discussing challenging situations, how to deal with your emotional reactions and modify behaviors so you can be happier and more productive.

On the surface, traditional therapy can seem very similar to psychedelic therapy, but they are incredibly different. Though they share the same goals, such as helping clients work through challenging situations and overcome difficult emotions, the methodologies cannot be more different. 

Psychedelic-assisted therapy occurs in three stages: preparation, the actual psychedelic session, and integration. During the preparation stage, you and your therapist will first make sure that psychedelic therapy is a viable option for you and set an intention for your journey. 

Going through this process will give you and your therapist a clear idea of what you’re hoping to achieve during your session. On journey day, you’ll ingest a psychedelic drug in the presence of your chosen professional. The goal is to explore the intention you set earlier. 

Whether working through current challenges or weeding out deep-seated trauma, you will work through them mindfully and productively. Your facilitator will be there the whole time to help ground you and keep you in the present moment.

In the following weeks, you’ll work with your facilitator to begin integrating the lessons from your experience. Often, a psychedelic journey can be very intense and it can require some time to make sense of everything.

Your facilitator’s primary goal is to allow your journey to unfold safely and organically. They are there to support you. This is a highly personal process of self-actualization, growth, and healing. A good therapist should never attempt to influence the trajectory of your journey, unless your mental or physical safety is at risk. 

Now that you know what to expect, we encourage you to look over our article discussing the qualities you should look for in a psychedelic therapist. There, you’ll find everything you need to choose the perfect psychedelic facilitator.

The Role of Set & Setting in Psychedelic Therapy

When working with a psychedelic therapist or a facilitator, you may notice the importance placed on preparation. If you’ve been researching psychedelics, there’s a good chance you’ve heard discussions about Set and Setting– and for a good reason!

During a psychedelic journey you are open and susceptible to influence by your surroundings and mental state. Both of these factors set the tempo for the experience. If a proper preparation plan isn’t instituted, the chances of a challenging experience is more likely. 

At first glance, this may seem intimidating, but this connection to your thoughts, emotions, and your surroundings, is part of the magic. To help get you started on your preparation plan, let’s discuss the Set aspect of ‘Set and Setting’. ‘Set’ is your mindset, including your process of setting an intention

When you and your facilitator first begin working together, they’ll conduct a health screening to evaluate your physical and mental state. Psychedelics are known to amplify pre-existing thoughts and emotions. It may be best to wait if you’ve recently gone through a traumatizing event. This will give you sufficient time to process any initial feelings without any additional emotional heightening.

It’s essential to ensure you’re reasonably stable, as subconscious inner events are bound to surface when you embark on a psychedelic experience. If you’re in too much of a reactive state, psychedelics can promote more emotional intensity. Thus, it may be best to wait.

The other half of your preparation plan is Setting. This refers to the environment in which you’ll have your psychedelic experience. Psychedelic facilitators will go to great lengths to make the setting as comfortable and inviting as possible. This will help ease you into the experience.

Setting up a room for your journey will often involve the incorporation of soft lighting, familiar, grounding objects to help keep you present, and soothing music to encourage relaxation and inward exploration.

Where To Find Legal Psychedelic Experiences in Boston 2023

Although in most of Boston there are still laws against psychedelics, the city is quickly moving toward decriminalization. For the time being, there are two options available for those wishing to engage with psychedelic medicine: Ketamine clinics and guided psychedelic journeys with Psychedelic Passage.

1. Ketamine Clinics

Ketamine has a long history of being used as a dissociative anesthetic. It’s widely used throughout our medical system and has become easy to access for treating illnesses like PTSD, depression, and chronic pain.

Through ketamine’s action, clients are given the opportunity to temporarily to dissociate from their issues of illness. This distance will enable clients to take a more empathetic and objective view of their lives and current issues.

Although this is a great option, as it is easily accessible and there are multiple clinics in the Boston area, clients often report this therapy falling short. The relief that a person experiences is often only temporary, and maintaining a positive outcome requires many follow-up visits. This can quickly become very expensive, pricing people out.

In fact, about 50% of Psychedelic Passages clients approach us to do unsatisfying ketamine therapy experiences. To learn more, check out our article on the benefits and pitfalls of ketamine therapy and explore where you can find ketamine clinics in your local area.

2. Guided Psychedelic Experiences with Psychedelic Passage

At Psychedelic Passage, our mission has been to reduce harm and hassle by giving everyone equal access to psychedelic healing. We’ve gone to great lengths to curate a pre-vetted network of experienced psychedelic facilitators who are located around the country. Regardless of your economic situation, we aim to share the benefits of psychedelic healing with everyone. 

Our 5-week program will be completely customized to fit your needs. Our network facilitators are experienced in working with a wide range of psychedelics, including psilocybin mushrooms and LSD. 

Along with allowing you to choose your psychedelic medicine, our facilitators will travel to wherever you are, meaning you can have your journey from the comfort of your home.

If that’s not your speed, we also offer you the choice to connect with facilitators who can host you and your psychedelic experience. By choosing Psychedelic Passage, you can ensure that your preparation, integration, and ceremony is supported by the highest professionals.

Find Your Next Psychedelic Journey in Any Major Boston Area

  • Chelsea
  • Cambridge
  • Somerville
  • Everett
  • Brookline
  • Winthrop
  • Revere
  • Malden
  • Medford
  • Watertown

Explore How it Feels to be Connected

As the psychedelic revolution progresses, Boston and the country as a whole, are slowly inching toward a system that allows everyone to access these treasured medicines. Hopefully, we’ve captured the interest of those seeking to take the next step in psychedelic healing.

If you’re ready to connect with our network of facilitators, we empower you to book a consultation with one of our qualified psychedelic concierges. They’ll help you to get started on your journey, equipping you with all of the necessary information to make an informed decision.

This article was a quick introduction to psychedelic therapy. However, if you still have questions, check out our resources page for more information. Have fun, enjoy the journey of self-discovery, and stay safe!

Looking for a professionally supported in-person psychedelic experience?

Take the first step and book a consultation call with us today. We'll walk you through every step of the process after getting to know you and your unique situation.

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At Psychedelic Passage, we offer professional 1-on-1 guidance and companionship on your journey of healing. We simply can't sit back and let Americans continue to sit in silent suffering trying to battle mental health issues within a broken health care system, all while knowing that effective alternatives exist. We stand for the sacred, at-home, ceremonial use of psychedelics for consciousness exploration, which we believe to be a fundamental human right.

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