Many people think about finances, and the most economical option is of course to do it yourself. On the one hand, I myself am an example of psychedelic therapy working on my own. On the other hand, most people I know who have tried this on their own have not been able to get the value out of what the research suggests is there. Therapy on your own can work, but it involves a higher risk, both for psychological harm and the risk that it will not work. And it can take a long time to get to the point.
What is needed for it to work?
A solid platform to start from
I started on my own and got the results I wanted in the end, even though the road was a bit long and bumpy. It is important to mention that most of the things were already in place for me to succeed. I had good stability in my life in general, a wide support network and time, and was in good psychological balance to begin with. In addition to this, I also had friends with experience present. These are good foundation stones to make it work.
Knowledge
Learning about psychedelic therapy is essential. There is an online course called Navigating Psychedelics that I would recommend to anyone who wants to go through an experience on their own. Additionally, The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide by James Fadiman provides a good introduction to how to go about it.
My main problem with learning on my own is often knowing if I have really understood the concepts behind what I have read. And if what I have read and understood is enough to move on. I like theory combined with practical experience, but one of the things I find most confusing about psychedelics is that I often feel unsure of how to proceed without guidance. This guidance can be obtained from guides/therapists or from others who have experience with psychedelics as a therapy tool.
See my overview of reading material for psychedelic therapy here.
A guide/sitter
The first challenge is finding someone to look after you, or guide/tripsit. In order to dare to let go mentally and dive as deep as you need to, you need to feel safe. It is then important that you trust that the person looking after you both has the knowledge/experience to handle demanding situations, but also that the person only wants what is best for you and puts their own agenda aside. The latter may sound simple, but is actually the most demanding.
It is not just about putting your own desires aside for what the therapy is supposed to do for the other person, but also stopping your own desire/drive to influence, explain, intellectualize or analyze. That is why it is important that your guide reads up and has some experiences of their own first. People under the influence of psychedelics see right through attempts to hide uncertainty and quickly become skeptical of what that guide says.
Without a guide, an experience can quickly get a little out of focus and you get less therapeutic effect. The main problem is that it is common to conclude that the experience you had is the only type of experience these substances can offer. And that prevents you from seeing that you can get something else out of it. I compare it a bit to trying meditation. Millions of people have tried meditating on their own, only to conclude that it is not for them and then give up. However, if you get guidance and support for meditation, you are much more likely to see the potential in it.
What difference does a therapist make?
It has been said that psychedelics open up a time period when therapy is extra effective. If you don't do anything active during this period, you often won't make the big changes in your life. Many people go straight back to old routines after a psychedelic experience and quickly forget the insights they gained. It can be very helpful to have professional guidance, even if you have to do the work yourself. If I had found a guide I trusted before I started on my own, I am convinced that I would have reached my goal several years earlier.
Basic harm reduction tips
Maybe you want to do this on your own and think the advice I have given here is too much work. In that case, I would like to introduce some very basic harm reduction tips. The first tip is to test the substances you are taking. LSD can be confused with NBOM, about which too little is known. It is also sold on slips of paper, for example. MDMA can be confused with PMMA, which has caused several deaths in Norway. Be skeptical of others saying they know what it is.
Tip number two is not to do it alone. Psychedelics temporarily distort reality to the point that at best you can become insecure and afraid if you are alone, and at worst you are at risk of physical and psychological harm. This is especially true for classic psychedelics, but also MDMA, which can provide a quite different experience in a therapeutic setting compared to the party experience. Read more about the difference between MDMA at a party and therapy here . Sites like TripSafe.org have a large amount of well-structured harm reduction tips.