This event is for Professional Community member only.
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Breaking Open: Navigating Psychedelic-Induced Psychological Crises
Tim Read, MD, FRCPsych (Co-founder & Co-director of the Institute of Psychedelic Therapy)
Wednesday 8 October, 2025 7PM CEST (6PM BST, 1PM ET, 10AM PT)
Online via Zoom
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Psychedelic experiences can open doors to profound healing, insight, and transformation. But they can also shake the foundations of one’s psychological and spiritual framework. What happens when hidden depths of the psyche are accessed in a way that floods our capacity for integration? This can occur following intentional practices, such as psychedelic journeys, or arise spontaneously in the form of a psychological crisis. In both cases, individuals may enter deeply altered states that challenge conventional frameworks of mental health and self-understanding.
In this session, psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and author Dr. Tim Read will explore the terrain of expanded consciousness, spiritual emergency, and psychological overwhelm. Drawing on his clinical background and work as co-director of the Depth Relational Process training at the Institute of Psychedelic Therapy, Dr. Read will examine the characteristics of these states, what they reveal about the nature of the psyche, and their relationship to trauma and spiritual practice. We will also reflect on how best to support clients through these thresholds in ways that facilitate integration, resilience, and growth.
Your Key Insights and Takeaways
- The psychological and spiritual features of overwhelming altered states.
- The distinctions and overlaps between trauma, psychosis, and spiritual emergency.
- How to approach psychological crisis in the context of psychedelic experiences.
- Therapeutic principles for holding and integrating difficult experiences.
- Insights from Tim Read’s clinical, supervisory, and teaching experience.
Designed for Professionals Like You
This session is designed for professionals working in or entering the field of psychedelic therapy, including:
- Therapists, clinicians, and mental health practitioners seeking to better understand how to support clients through destabilising or crisis-prone psychedelic experiences.
- Researchers and academics exploring the intersection of psychedelics, psychological crisis, and spiritual emergence.
- Professionals in the psychedelic field committed to ethically grounded, trauma-informed, and psychologically attuned approaches to care and integration.
