Erin Jacklin

How the heck did a drug skeptic like me become a passionate advocate of psychedelics?

I have long resonated with a mix of nerdy science and woo-woo spirituality. Before I started studying psychedelics, I was a committed meditator with strong gravitation toward spirituality. My work has always felt like an expression of my spirituality, even though I do not discuss religion or the spiritual with my clients unless they bring it into our work. It feels like I am channeling the loving-kindness of something much greater than myself when I am present with people in some of the darkest moments of their lives while being authentically compassionate and non-judgmental no matter what choices they make. I have grown tremendously as a person through years of mediation and therapy (both as a participant and a therapist). I feel deeply grateful that this is the work I have been called to do. It feels real and meaningful even as it is painful at times, and often challenging.

I am also a student of data and love how a good meta-analysis can guide me as a clinician and as a person. I love being able to use data to help me determine what to spend time focused on improving and what may not make much of an impact. I hold this alongside an awareness of the limitations of even the best research to capture the nuance and complexity of a human being. Data guides my decision-making as a clinician, knowing what the evidence would suggest is going to be most helpful for this client or situation, and I temper my reliance on data with my own years of experience and my faith in the wisdom residing within each of us.

Somehow all of these aspects coalesced in the early 2010s in a curiosity about the emerging research on using psychedelics in therapy. I followed with interest as more and more research began to be produced looking at the potential for psychedelics to help with the very mental health conditions I was so passionate about treating. As the data continued to roll in, I slowly became less wary and more curious. Knowing the best path for me involved structured intensive study, in 2021 I decided to dive in and enrolled in a year-long training program to become a Certified Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Provider through the Integrative Psychiatry Institute and affiliated with MAPS (the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies). Over the course of that year of intensive training, I immersed myself in the literature about these therapeutic approaches to psychedelics, looked closely at the risks and benefits, and decided that this was important and beneficial enough to bring into my work. As part of the training, I was able to participate as a client which further validated my belief in the powerful healing potential of psychedelics when done in a safe and therapeutic environment. Experiencing them myself also underscored for me the potential risks and the importance of the safeguards we have put in place. 

So, now I am bringing my years of interest and study into practice as a psychedelic therapist. I welcome your skepticism, your spiritual questing, and your longing for healing.

There is wisdom and healing in these medicines, and perhaps most importantly, there is wisdom and the potential for healing within each of us. These medicines may offer a way to help us access them.