I choose to share my inspiration and intentions here with others who may be interested. It may be worth mentioning that this is based on what I know so far and that I am very open to learning or changing my mind. I think we are in a somewhat special situation at the moment. We have had a sharp increase in anxiety and depression in the last ten years and very limited ways to treat it. At the same time, we have a lot of research from the 60s until today that suggests that we already have good therapeutic methods/tools (psychedelic-assisted therapy) to stop this development. Experienced psychologists from all over the world are dedicating their lives to getting psilocybin and MDMA back into therapy as approved drugs and things are starting to move in the right direction. MAPS has estimated that MDMA will be approved as a drug by 2021 and things indicate that Europe will follow suit. This is positive, but we have some challenges in the meantime.
Lack of support, especially in Norway
As research has begun to appear in mainstream media and books like How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan have sold millions of copies, many are impatient, including here in Norway. Many with anxiety, depression, PTSD, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders or similar feel that waiting 3-8 years for treatment is far too long. However, there are places where various forms of psychedelics are legal, including the Netherlands, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Peru, and Brazil, where psychedelic experiences are offered at so-called "retreats", typically ayahuasca or psilocybin (mushrooms). These are growing in popularity and it is estimated that several hundred Norwegians take such trips annually. When you return home after such an experience, there is little support to be found here in Norway. Health personnel in this country generally know little about psychedelics except for what you have heard in the media over the years and many patients are reluctant to contact them for fear of being stigmatized and not being understood. There are many psychologists who are familiar with psychedelics, but they rarely want to promote themselves as specialists in this area. Again because of stigma. In the USA and Canada, this has changed a lot in recent years and MAPS has, among other things, a list here of many therapists globally who offer so-called harm reduction services for patients who want to take or have taken psychedelics. At the time of writing, I am the only one on this list in the Nordic countries. I have met several people who have had demanding experiences with psychedelics and who have felt alone afterwards without anyone to talk to about the experience. I want to do something about that and that is why I offer help with integrating and talking about an experience afterwards. I am also working on building a network of psychologists who I can refer to in cases where it may be necessary.
In addition, there are many people in this country who have decided to take psychedelics, but who have challenges finding reliable information to do so as safely as possible. Between anti-drug campaigns that say psychedelics are deadly and careless "psychonauts" who say they are completely harmless, it can be easy to get confused. Here I also want to contribute with help with preparation. It is about giving good advice on how to test the drugs, dosage, how to prepare yourself mentally and physically, and not least answering questions you have in advance.
My values and personal direction
My values are openness, responsibility and curiosity. By openness I mean how I like to communicate, what I like to share and how I want to listen to others. By responsibility I mean that I take responsibility for what I do and say. I believe that my advice is important and that I must know what I am talking about before I speak. If I do not know or am unsure about something, I will make this clear. By curiosity I mean that I genuinely want to understand why we are the way we are without judging or criticizing.
I wouldn't say I belong to any specific "school" of therapy, philosophy, or religion, unless pragmatism counts. I have definitely moved from a more atheistic and materialistic standpoint to believing that there is something more beyond our scientific arena that we haven't been able to fully prove yet. Understanding why is no longer as important to me, and an experience that cannot be explained is not necessarily less valid in my eyes.
If you have any questions or would like a short, free consultation, just get in touch.