Eleventh International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

Although recently there has been an increase in research on psychedelic medicines, women’s perspectives on their use have been largely marginalized. This study examines the experiences of women who participated in a yearlong initiation program involving ritualized work with psychedelic plant medicines, embodiment practices such as dance, yoga, and theater games, and group therapeutic processes. Working with an online questionnaire, women who participated in this program answered questions about their motivation for joining the program, their experiences and any changes they have noticed in their lives since completion. The findings show that these women improved their mental and spiritual health and that the embodiment work and the collective experience not only of group therapeutic work, but of being and working together over time, were important parts of their healing, supporting Betty Eisner’s theory of the importance of set, setting, and matrix in working with psychedelic medicines. Although there is a wide spectrum of ways to work with psychedelics and many of them are effective sources of healing, this study shows that combining use of psychedelic plant medicines with embodiment practices and group therapeutic processes in a homo-social, collective environment over an extended period of time with intervals allowing time for integration and reflection was an effective approach to mental and spiritual healing for women who participated in this program.