“The creative process is a process of surrender, not control.” ~ Julia Cameron
Glass Assessment of Protector’s Psychedelic Fears(TM)
Are you a psychedelic facilitator or therapist who facilitates psychedelic preparation and integration? Or are you a client having a psychedelic journey soon?
Working with the protective system, “our protectors,” goes a long way toward having a more settled journey. When we listen to our protectors versus try to bypass them, they can surrender more to the medicines and open up to the journey. One easy way to get permission for a psychedelic journey is ascertain their fears through the Glass Assessment of Protector’s Psychedelic Fears(TM).
From fears of a ‘bad trip,’ to fears that psychedelics won’t working; from fears of getting hurt by their facilitator to fears of what their unconscious may reveal and more, this assessment can help shine light on the often dark corners of our minds in preparation sessions easing the way for journey day through learning how to work with protective parts and provide assurances they can rely upon. If our protectors are to surrender to the medicines then we must listen well to them up front.
This assessment elicits fears as it relates to having a psychedelic journey from an Internal Family Systems perspective. IFS is an incredibly powerful way to help clients before, during, and after psychedelic journeys. Michael Mithoefer, MD, and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies discovered that in approximately 80% of journeys that parts work spontaneously arises. By preemptively asking protective parts what they may be fearing, the facilitator can work in preparation sessions to provide assurances to the protectors and build Self-to-part relationships. Providing adequate time to assure protectors can generally yield less struggle during the journey so protectors do not feel by-passed. It is advised to work with protectors gaining their approval for the journey and their desired intention. When permission is not forthcoming, it is well-advised to postpone a journey until it is granted.
I have adapted each of these protector’s psychedelic fears from the founder of IFS, Dr. Richard Schwartz’s top ten protector fears and then created a few options for assurances. It is highly recommended to read Internal Family Systems, 2nd edition and/or register for an IFS-Institute Level 1 training to learn more. Whether you are IFS-trained or not, you will be able to adequately work with protectors by using this assessment. Feel free to rely upon what you have been trained in to provide assurances as needed and/or come up with your own. Where the assessment asks about “other fears not analogous to the ones above,” discover how the fear may fit into an existing category and use your own skill and creativity to address this fear. I opted to offer this because I could not think of every possible fear and wanted a place for a protector to have a voice. Preparation of medicine journeys is very dynamic work where it is essential you bring your Self-energy in abundance to be adept with every moving part and allow enough time for these concerns to be allayed.
“But along with the feeling of ineffability, the conviction that some profound objective truth has been disclosed to you is a hallmark of the mystical experience, regardless of whether it has been occasioned by a drug, meditation, fasting, flagellation, or sensory deprivation. William James gave a name to this conviction: the noetic quality. People feel they have been let in on a deep secret of the universe, and they cannot be shaken from that conviction.”
― Michael Pollan
