When to Reach Out

Integration is a process, and like any process, it can sometimes feel difficult. That's usually a sign the work is happening. But there are times when reaching out for support isn't just recommended — it's essential. Here's how to know the difference between normal integration discomfort and something that needs attention.

Normal integration experiences

These are common and expected after a psilocybin session. They don't require urgent support, though discussing them with your facilitator during scheduled integration sessions is always helpful:

• Emotional waves: Periods of unexplained sadness, joy, anger, or tenderness that come and go. These are usually the continued processing of session material
• Vivid dreams: Intense, meaningful, or unusual dreams in the first 1–2 weeks
• Shifting perspective: Seeing relationships, work, or life priorities differently. This can be disorienting even when it's positive
• Temporary increase in sensitivity: Being more affected by music, nature, conversations, or media than usual
• Existential reflection: Questioning meaning, purpose, or the way you've been living. This is the work — not a problem to solve
• Grief: Processing old losses or feeling grief about time spent in patterns that weren't serving you

When to contact your facilitator

Reach out through the messaging feature in your portal if you experience:

• Persistent anxiety: Anxiety that doesn't ease after a few days, interferes with sleep or daily functioning, or feels different from your baseline
• Emotional overwhelm: Feeling flooded by emotions to the point where you can't function — can't go to work, can't take care of yourself or dependents
• Dissociation or depersonalization: Feeling disconnected from yourself, as if you're watching your life from outside, or a persistent sense that things aren't real
• Intrusive memories: Traumatic memories that surface repeatedly and feel unmanageable — especially if they weren't part of your conscious experience before the session
• Relationship conflicts: If the changes you're going through are creating serious friction with a partner, family member, or close friend and you need help navigating that
• Insomnia lasting more than a week: Brief sleep disruption is normal; sustained insomnia needs attention

Your facilitator has experience with all of these situations. Reaching out is not a burden — it's exactly what the integration support structure is designed for.

When to seek immediate help

Contact your facilitator immediately — or call 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) — if you experience:

• Thoughts of self-harm or suicide: Even if they feel abstract or philosophical. Take them seriously
• Active psychotic symptoms: Hearing voices, seeing things that aren't there, beliefs that feel delusional (you know they're not rational but can't shake them)
• Severe panic attacks: Episodes of intense physical fear — rapid heartbeat, chest tightness, difficulty breathing — that don't resolve
• Complete inability to function: Can't get out of bed, can't eat, can't communicate for more than a day or two

What happens when you reach out

When you contact your facilitator with a concern, here's what to expect:

• Your facilitator will respond within 24 hours on business days (sooner for urgent concerns)
• They'll listen to what you're experiencing without judgment
• They may schedule an additional integration session (at no extra charge during your active integration period)
• If your situation would benefit from resources beyond what a facilitator provides — a therapist, a psychiatrist, a support group — they'll help you find appropriate referrals
• Dr. Townsend reviews all flagged concerns as part of her medical oversight role

You are not alone in this

One of the most important things about doing psilocybin therapy in a clinical setting — as opposed to on your own — is that you have a support team. Your facilitator is there for the difficult parts, not just the easy ones.

The clients who get the most out of this work are not the ones who never struggle during integration. They're the ones who reach out when they need support rather than suffering silently. The vulnerability required to ask for help is the same vulnerability that makes the psilocybin experience transformative in the first place.