Brad : Absolutely, we have worked with victims of gender-based violence and it’s a particularly insidious and horrible form of trauma. As with anybody, we would take the individual through our protocol, we would take them through the screening and our preparation process, we would never take somebody into a journey like this if they weren’t ready and they weren’t prepared, or if there were indications that it would do more damage to them than it would help. Having safely guided hundreds of people through these experiences, we have never had a situation where the process ended up re-traumatizing them and was not helpful. So, we can confidently say, because we have invested so much time and so much rigour into the therapeutic framework, this would be a very safe and healing option for people who struggled with overcoming GBV CAM: Ok, so I am coming in as a victim, do you have dedicated programmes for victims or is it case by case, like could it be somebody who is struggling with a different clinical psychological problem? Do you have special programmes for GBV victims? CAM: It's truly inspiring to see the transformative power of psychedelic-assisted therapy. So, when I listen to this entire process that you went through with this gentleman, I see how valuable your healing modality could be in the GBV space, my question would then be, do you hold space, or can victims of gender-based violence access your services? Is that the right space for them? Brad : Absolutely, that’s such a great question. So, the specificity of the protocol of the intervention is completely dependent on the expertise of the therapist working with the person. So, in the same way that no two people will get the same therapy intervention in a traditional therapeutic approach, they will not get the same cookie-cutter approach in this space either. The only thing that is the same is the process of the medicine journey itself. There the process is standard and systematic. They have the same medicine, and they do it in the same space, but the integration therapy will look completely different. The reason for that is because they would have had a different life story and set different intentions; an experienced clinician will know how to craft and tailor the therapy, the integration therapy based on their trauma, defence mechanisms, and underlying history. The beauty of our approach is that it takes experienced therapists to do that, and we make no compromises. That is how we differentiate our work from other modalities.
Anthony Townsend Clinical Psychologist and Co-Founder: Equanimity Wellness Centre
Ketamine was originally developed as an anaesthetic in the 1960's and 1970's. It is an FDA-approved medicine with an excellent safety profile. Ketamine was introduced as a safer alternative to the anaesthetic used at that time, called vincyclodine or PCP.
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June 2023 | Collective Action Magazine
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