4 Tips for Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy of Native American Patients

July 9, 2020 14:05:26

As more clinics get licensed around the U.S. to use psychedelic-assisted therapy to treat patients suffering from a variety conditions, it is important to understand the culture of each patient’s community so that the treatment sessions can be tweaked to align with crucial cultural factors. In this post, we look at some peculiarities of Native Americans that therapists need to keep in mind during treatment sessions.

Trust and Respect Matter a Lot

Throughout history, the relations between the outside community and Native Americans has been characterized by distrust and deceit. Consequently, Native Americans tend to be wary of people who aren’t from their community, so a relationship of trust and respect needs to be cultivated by the therapist who uses psychedelics during psychotherapy sessions. Otherwise, no meaningful results will be obtained. It takes time and effort to build a relationship of mutual trust, so treatment should never be rushed until a trusting relationship has been created and nurtured.

Privacy Matters a Lot

Native Americans value their privacy a great deal and are reluctant to let others know their private struggles. Therapists should understand this tendency to be reluctant to discuss personal affairs with strangers, and take time to put in place mechanisms to ensure that utmost privacy is guaranteed in terms of providing discreet locations for sessions and protecting private information from reaching unauthorized entities. Failure to do this will result in a quick end to treatment sessions.

Include Traditional Practitioners

A treatment model that allows traditional practitioners to take part during the treatment sessions will yield far better results when compared to a model that relies on just scientific principles. For example, talking circles and sweat lodges can be included as much as possible so that psychedelic-assisted treatment is aligned with the traditional healing practices of the Native Americans.

Learn the Culture

If you didn’t know, the U.S. federal government recognizes 573 Native American tribes. Each of those tribes is a distinct social group with its own norms, culture and beliefs. Imagine what disaster would occur during a psychedelic-assisted treatment session if the therapist tried to use a practice that is upheld in one tribe but abhorred in another while treating a patient who shuns such a practice! Invest all the necessary time and effort needed to understand the specific culture of the tribe from which your Native American patients hail, and use your newfound understanding to design treatment sessions which are customized for individual patients.

The psychedelic experience is a personal one, and this statement doesn’t need further proof than how close and personal therapists need to get to their Native American patients. It is therefore no wonder that psychedelics companies like Cybin Corp. invest so much in research since understanding individuals is the key to developing products which will hold true value.

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