Normalizing

Normalizing speaks to the client’s need to make sense of their experience.

This can be an essential part of integration, particularly when they have no or little frame of reference for what they experience during and following the Medicine Session(s). Such experiences may include:

  • Intense emotional states

  • Extreme reactivity

  • Insomnia

  • Vivid dreams

  • Changes in relationships

  • Persistent changes in perception

One of the functions of integration is to provide a frame of reference for what is arising for the client. This involves normalizing the client experience, helping them to create coherence, and integrating it into their sense of self and worldview.

Health Professional Tip

How can health professionals encourage normalization with their clients?

Health professionals can let clients know that what they are experiencing happens to many people that you’ve worked with, including yourself if you’re comfortable sharing your own experiences.

For many, psychedelics involve stepping into a new world, and it is essential that there be some context setting for, and translation of, the experience as part of its integration.

Note

This is where psychoeducation for the client, health professional experience, and knowledge of the substances and their range of effects can be essential.