This initial phase occurs immediately following the psychedelic session. It involves a reorganising and reshaping of the patient’s self-concept and perception, with a focus on establishing safety and stabilisation of the self-structure.  Art therapy techniques are used to provide structure and containment, aiding in the reconstitution of the self and the re-establishment of boundary recognition. This is a period marked by reflection rather than active narrativization and emphasizing the reactivation of metacognitive functions.

This phase is critical for determining whether the expanded view attained during the psychedelic experience becomes a transient state or is stabilized into a lasting stage. The goal here is to slow down the process of narrativization and to attune to the key features of the psychedelic experience, stabilizing the metacognitive perspectives gained. The therapist’s role is to foster a relational space where the patient can re-experience and extend the key qualities of the expanded view achieved within the psychedelic session.

 The final phase in the integration model focuses on stabilising the novelty of psychedelic experience at the level of identity, using the mind’s natural tendency to narrativize experience in order to generate constructive meaning. This phase employs more traditional psychotherapeutic approaches to process any residual material and to integrate the psychedelic experience into a new self-narrative. It addresses the redefinition of self and agency prompted by the psychedelic experience and aims to reconcile this with the patient’s ongoing life story.

Nigel Denning is an AHPRA-registered counselling psychologist and educator with over 35 years' experience working with non-ordinary states of consciousness. He has been at the forefront of integrating psychedelic-assisted therapy, transpersonal psychology, and holotropic breathwork into contemporary clinical practice.

Nigel began working with non-ordinary states in the 1980s under Alf and Muriel Foote, later training extensively with Dr. Stanislav Grof, one of the pioneers of psychedelic psychotherapy, and working alongside him for over a decade. As co-founder of Integrative Psychology & Medicine, Nigel has played a central role in shaping psychedelic-assisted therapy training in Australia, where he and Dr. Traill Dowie have trained over 300 clinicians. He has co-developed the internationally acclaimed Certificate of Psychedelic Assisted Therapy for Mind Medicine Australia. Nigel is currently co-lead therapist on three clinical trials of psychedelics and is a fellow of the Australian National University. 

Nigel’s contributions extend to psychedelic crisis care and integration, including co-founding a Spiritual Emergency Centre in collaboration with Tav Sparks, inspired by Grof’s work. He is also a trained clinician with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). His career bridges the pioneering wisdom of early psychedelic research with the needs of today’s practitioners, ensuring that ethical, safe, and skillful facilitation remains at the heart of this growing field.

Dr. Traill Dowie is a clinician, academic, and philosopher with dual PhDs in Philosophy and Psychiatry, and is a leading figure in psychedelic-assisted therapy and psychotherapy education in Australia. He was an Associate Professor of Psychotherapy at the Ikon Institute, and is a Research Fellow at both La Trobe University (Philosophy) and the Australian National University (School of Medicine and Psychology).

A qualified clinician with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), Traill has a deep interest in the history and foundations of psychological practice. His doctoral work at Monash University explored the ontological and epistemological basis of psychology in medicine, while his academic career bridges philosophy of mind, phenomenology, and clinical practice.

Traill’s teaching and research are informed by his studies with influential figures, including collaborations with Dr. Cornel West (Princeton and Union Theological Seminary), engagements with Irvin Yalom MD (Stanford), Dr. Stan Krippner (Saybrook University), and extended research at the University of Virginia’s Consciousness and Perceptual Studies Lab. He has also participated in seminars on transpersonal psychology and traditional healing at Berkeley University.

As co-founder of Integrative Psychology & Medicine, Traill has helped develop Australia’s first systematic psychedelic-assisted therapy trainings, written accredited curricula from undergraduate to postgraduate levels.