Music, Art and Psychedelic Integration with Iven Simonetti

Iven Simonetti (RTCc), a Psychedelic Integration Therapist in Vancouver, is a big proponent of incorporating art and play with his integration work.  Recently, Frshminds spent some time learning about his innovative approach to caring for people.

What got you interested in providing psychedelic integration to your patients?
It goes well with being a counsellor, as integration often overlaps into childhood trauma, old wounds etc.  Psychedelic medicines are not for everybody and I have a good sense of who will benefit from this and who will not.  As I have a lot of experience with those substances, and other mind altering practices, I know how you can get the best out of this and what mistakes can be done, I can help you to avoid them to get the best result.

What makes your practice special?
I use and reintroduce ritual, arts and play to people and encourage them to engage with nature.  My perspective is that play is medicine, fun and important especially after you’re talking through your childhood abuse or other challenges. Play makes us alive, we learn and reconnect through
play and art making. It is also important to considered the invisible world/ spirit world in this type of work because that is the reality you enter once you take higher doses; you need to be prepared for the other side. I can check in with patients to  see if this might be too much for them to take in.  I show my patients his movie to prepare patients as to what they can expect and the challenges they may encounter.

How do you see psychedelic therapy evolving in the future?

Hopefully they will look at how indigenous people have done this for thousands of years and use more art and music which is and should always be present in any contact with medicines.

What are the most remarkable changes you have seen in patients who have leveraged psychedelic integration to manage their mental wellness?
They are able to take risks again, they engage with nature, reconnect with themselves, play and enjoy life and keep their demons in check. Don’t react impulsively.

What challenges do you see for further integration of psychedelic based therapies into more mainstream health care?
Mainstream health care wants to cure not to heal; I don’t think they’ll make enough profit from healing people for it to be interesting for mainstream health care.  Only people who are scared and take their pills are profit, not the ones who can finally kick their meds. It’s all backwards and frustrating to watch.

You can learn more about Iven at his website. If you want to find other Iven or another Vancouver psychedelic integration therapists, check out the listings on Frshminds.

Explore the relationship between psychedelics and mental health with our Ultimate Psychedelics and Mental Wellness Guide!

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