During mine, I cried a lot, I texted my mum but I'm still inside the same hole that I was in before. Also some additional experiments with LSD (halfdose as well microdosing) didn't help with my depression.
Why psychedelics help some people and not others is one of the most interesting open research questions.
Still, there are ways that you can maximize your chances of getting therapeutic benefit out of psychedelics.
Doing psychedelics with a trained psychedelic therapist that you like, respect, and trust is probably the most effective way.
Something else you can do is read some good guides like James Fadiman's The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide[1] and the MAPS Treatment Guide for MDMA Assisted Psychotherapy[2]
There are both underground and licensed therapists who will work with patients who use psychedelics. Discretely ask around and you might find them.
Try asking around at psychedelic conferences and psychedelic meetups.
Also try contacting MAPS[1] and CIIS[2] (which has a training program for psychedelic therapists), and related organizations. Contacting people doing research in to psychedelics might also be fruitful.
The idea of a licensed therapist who does psychedelics is something of an oxymoron because even if they are licensed for doing therapy they aren't doing anything that they were taught to do in school so I don't see the point of looking for someone with a license.
There are places which train licensed therapists to perform psychedelic therapy. Take a look at CIIS for one prestigious example: [1], [2]
More from MAPS: [3], [4]
Finally, laws around psychedelic use and therapy vary around the world. In some places in the world (like in parts of Europe and South and Central America) psychedelic therapy is much more widely practiced above-ground than it is in the US.
It's been an established method of therapy for well over 40 years now. While it's not my personal preference to include them, there are certainly many experienced and licensed therapists that will conduct sessions with psychedelics.
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with this method of therapy but it reminds me of the time a relative went to a licensed therapist who did past life regression hypnotism. (And it's well documentation that there is something wrong with that!)
A licensed therapist who does psychedelics is someone outside the norms of society while at the same time carrying a license that carries the implicit promise of following society's rules. It just strikes me as "weird" to seek that out.
it is illegal in mine, a single therapist has the authorizations to perform this therapy here in switzerland.
on the other hand it is perfectly legal for food/oil traders in geneva to starve entire countries / destroy an entire planet for short term profit.
i suspect psychedelics will remain illegal here for a long time since at least half of our politicians are paid by the pharmaceutical industry, so that would crunch a multi billion market.
Yeah, that was my point. And the word 'pain' actually reminded me of cluster headaches, which are treated with psilocybin exceptionally well. And yes, many people will experience long term changes without having suffered any illness (diagnosed or not). It's just that under the topic of this thread, well assume posts are about diagnosed depression.
i have no words to explain the relief.