Dean Grauds MA, LMFT, PEIC

Dean Grauds

As a practicing, licensed therapist/counselor for more than twenty years, I’ve been blessed to have a parallel experience track as a participant/subject of psychedelic therapy, training as a psychedelic therapist/guide and as a psychedelic experience integration counselor. My experience has shown that non-ordinary states of consciousness (NOC) experiences and therapies can be very effective for healing, growth and wellness. They can be life changing. 

Psychedelic experiences can be powerfully positive and heuristic or sometimes disorienting and frightening. It can be deep mind work. I developed Psychedelic Experience Integration Counseling (PEIC) more than twenty years ago after observing negative experience aftereffects because of inadequate or unskilled integration and follow-up. Experience taught that psychedelic experiences cannot stand alone in a vacuum. A bridge of connection to reality was needed. Participants required guidance, integration and sometimes therapy. I provided PEIC in California and when I returned to the Twin Cities. 

There was a paucity of aftercare and integration then and it’s the same today. Currently there is a resurgence of interest in psychedelics for recreational and therapeutic purposes. Unguided, this could be scary and have consequences. People are doing psychedelics without having a safe container or trained support or a place to debrief with an experienced professional. Often, the uninformed are talking to the ill-informed, propelled by enthusiasm and good intentions, neither knowing about deep mind work. 

There are cases of people going forth to save the world or preach the good news after a powerful experience; making a life change decision shortly after an experience; putting a participant, still in an altered state, in a taxi shortly after a powerful event; ending a session prematurely (“time’s up”) because the facilitator had a schedule to meet; or participants sobbing weeks after an experience because they were stuck. As in the past, there is a need for PEIC today. 

The psychedelic process can be a very deep experience. It is a temporary reality which can provide opportunity for release, healing and change and be the launching of a new outlook, new ideas and a new life. In order to fully gain from this experience, an integration terrain-guide is recommended. 

Integration is the bridge from the experience to meaning in the present tense and can support life change on both psychic/emotional and practical levels. It is a continuation of the experience and an expansion of meaning into daily living. As a Psychedelic Experience Integration counselor/therapist, I provide a container for growth and evolution of the process. My background in psychedelic therapy and integration is, first and foremost, that I have benefited from extensive psychedelic therapy provided by dedicated, trained, mental health professionals. It changed my life and I, and many others, benefited greatly. Then, I received psychedelic training from professionals. I know psychedelics and empathogens (MDMA), non-ordinary states of consciousness (NOC), psychedelic therapy, transpersonal psychology, Dr. Stan Grof’s work, and have training in Holotropic Breathwork (workshop provider). I was fortunate to have studied and experienced with leading researchers/innovators in this exciting, transformative area. 

Additionally, I am trained and degreed in conventional psychology, psychotherapy and counseling. I have competencies in marriage and family therapy, depression, anxiety, substance abuse recovery, process addictions, relational therapy, parenting coaching, clinical hypnosis, and veteran’s issues. I am a veteran. I practice and teach mindfulness and meditation. An overarching theme of my practice is Positive Psychology- how you can learn to make life better. 

Participants don’t know about levels of consciousness, transpersonal psychology, life/death experiences or the many other avenues the mind can enter. PEIC provides an emotionally safe environment and encourages clients to relate their experiences to someone who understands the dynamics of their experience. By using transpersonal and healing viewpoints, an expanded understanding occurs. Integration can de-pathologize negative psychedelic experiences and help clients avoid the conviction that they are somehow marked or harmed. PEIC helps participants understand how their experiences may have a deeper, positive, constructive meaning and how these can be melded into their lives. PEIC helps navigate a sea change experience resulting from use of psychedelic substances, which are illegal. Thus, I do not provide or sell any psychedelic or controlled substances, nor do I recommend their use nor advise how to obtain them. Likewise, I do not guide or care for participants during their experiences. I will not provide counseling if clients are under the influence of psychedelics, controlled substances or alcohol.

If you have experienced non-ordinary states of consciousness, I can be a bridge and offer support to integrate your experience and offer guideposts to your evolution. It’s all about integration- folding your experience into regular life. 

Cheers,
Dean Grauds 

“Integration is a key element in non-ordinary states of consciousness experiences.” Christine Grof,  co-founder of Grof Holotropic Breathwork