Research shows that traditional approaches to recovery have unfortunately low success rates, ranging from 2-18%.
During 2020, the U.S. saw 100,000 fatal overdoses, the highest number ever recorded. On top of that, more than 13% of Americans—or 43 million people—reported starting or ramping up substance use as a way of coping during the pandemic. In the face of these challenges, we need interdisciplinary curriculum that seeks to address the root causes of addictive behaviors by adopting a holistic “bio-psycho-social-spiritual” model and understanding of addiction.
Holistic addiction recovery with psychedelics can help
Join Psychedelic Support, Celina De Leon, M.Div, and Todd Youngs, Certified Recovery Specialist for a conversation about holistic addiction recovery. In particular, we will explore why entheogenic plant medicines such as Ayahuasca – when combined with other therapeutic and recovery modalities — can be effective in ways that conventional approaches may not be. We’ll discuss how holisitic addiction recovery is a complex condition of body, mind, human relations, and spirit. In the pursuit of reward—the relief of pain, unresolved emotional experiences, and trauma—the elements of nature, nurture, and choice become tragically misaligned.
Getting to Know Celina De Leon, MDiv
Celina is the co-founder of Natura Care Programs and the founder and director of Circle of Sacred Nature 501(c)3 church. She is also a Stanford graduate, a Fulbright scholar, has a Masters in Divinity from the Graduate Theological Union, and has received professional training in spiritual care through the art of chaplaincy. Her training as a ceremony facilitator draws upon 20 years of experience with Amazonian plant medicine and a foundation in yoga, meditation, and Ayurveda. Celina is also a longtime apprentice of Taita Juan Agreda Chindoy of the Kamentsa indigenous community of the Upper Putumayo of Colombia. She is passionate about respecting the importance of the spiritual care dimensions of psychedelic healing and is committed to indigenous reciprocity. Her greatest influence comes from being the mother of her three children.
Getting to Know Todd Youngs, Certified Recovery Specialist
Todd Youngs is the co-founder of Natura Care Programs and has been in long-term recovery from addiction and alcoholism since 2009. He works intensively with others to help them achieve a life of satisfying and meaningful sobriety. His approach is eclectic and holistic. It draws from a diversity of modalities including 12 Steps, CBT, MI, and Mindfulness practice to deeply address the bio/psycho/social/spiritual aspects of addictive disorders. Todd has worked extensively with Ayahuasca for over 12 years within a variety of communal and personalized settings. Todd has been quietly and steadily building bridges between older treatment paradigms and newly emerging modalities that utilize Ayahuasca.
He is the founder of Recovery Nexus, a start-up non-profit whose aim is to launch an innovative recovery residence model that houses the best practices of traditional sober-living homes with the insights of contemporary neuroscience and the grounded practices of guided Ayahuasca sessions. His vision is of the old and the new within the timeless now. You can connect with Todd about his services on his website.
Natura Care Programs & Holistic Addiction Recovery
Discover an interdisciplinary approach to holistic addiction recovery offered by innovative non-profit program, Natura Care Programs (NCP). NCP offers a longitudinal 3-month program that integrates Ayahuasca ceremonies, nature immersion in a retreat setting, professional instruction in contemplative practice, individual and group counseling, and a social model for recovery with peer support. At NCP, we believe the complexity of addiction requires an interdisciplinary approach that can address all aspects of one’s being and lived experience.
Disruptions or interventions of unproductive behavior is just one aspect of recovery. Without holistic integration tailored to the unique individual and their psychedelic experience, it’s unlikely that a person will sustain their recovery for the long-term. NCP draws upon various time-tested and modern modalities to provide extensive preparation and integration periods into our program.
Follow your Curiosity
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Courses
- Integrating Ayahuasca
- Integrating Ketamine and Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness-Assisted Therapies
Articles
- What Ayahuasca Integration Is – And Isn’t
- Healing the Inner Child with Ayahuasca
- Psychedelics and Addiction: A Magic Bullet?
- Psychedelic Therapy for Addiction Recovery: New Directions for Substance Use Treatment
- Spiritual experiences in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: Case reports of communion with the divine, the departed, and saints in research using psilocybin for the treatment of alcohol dependence
- Percentage of Heavy Drinking Days Following Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy vs Placebo in the Treatment of Adult Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Psychedelic Support Network Resources
- Join Psychedelic Support’s monthly speaker series each month! Find the schedule and register here.
- Connect with a psychedelic practitioner in the Psychedelic Support Network Directory.
- Learn about the field of psychedelics with Psychedelic Support’s continuing education courses.
- Apply for a scholarship to cover the cost of an educational course.
- Sign up for a clinical trial.
