Expression of Strong Emotion and Resistance
Intense emotional responses are not uncommon in Medicine Sessions. It is important that health professionals maintain a calm empathetic abiding presence regardless of the client’s emotional expression.
The main objective for health professionals is to remain calm and focused, maintaining empathetic presence and trust that clients are moving through and releasing exactly what they need to.
Health Professional Tip
If the client’s emotional expression is a triggering experience for health professionals, it is important that health professionals later discuss this with their supervisor and with their co-facilitator (if applicable) and with clients (as appropriate) at the post-session debrief. Clients are generally very in tune with the health professional’s emotions during psychedelic sessions and the need for the health professionals to stay calm and grounded in the face of emotional turbulence is critical. We will learn more about health professional self-care in a future module.
Resistance
There are numerous ways in which clients may resist the flow of the experience in a Medicine Session. These can include physical and psychological resistance in which they are not going where the experience is leading them or are trying to make it stop. It can also involve behavioural resistance through distraction, talking, getting up and moving around, or trying to leave the room.
Exploring Resistance
When health professionals perceive that the client is resisting the experience, it can be helpful to help them explore the resistance. This is in keeping with the ACE model and overarching Psychological Flexibility Model which encourages approaching challenging and negative experience. Health professionals may ask if the client notices that they are avoiding part of the experience and help them to explore that resistance, reminding them of the ACE analogy. In many cases it is likely a part of them that has served to protect them in the past, and it can be a useful opportunity for them to get to know this part of themselves.
Releasing Resistance
Approaching felt experience with curiosity with a view to discover the ‘pearl’ in the oyster is to be encouraged. Exploring and being with the resistance will often enable it to soften and allow the client to release more fully into the journey. When this occurs, health professionals may also find it helpful to remind clients why they are here and encourage them to breathe, remain open, curious, and allow the experience to unfold. Often fruitful emotional processing, new meaning or insight may emerge as they do so.
References
Haden, M. (2019). Manual for Psychedelic Guides.