You had the experience. Now what?
Maybe someone recommended "integration." Maybe you searched for it yourself. Either way, you are looking at an unfamiliar format and wondering: What actually happens in an integration session? What do I have to say? Will I be judged? Do I need to have had a "big" experience?
These are reasonable questions. Integration sessions are not well understood outside the psychedelic community, and even within it, the format varies widely. This article describes what a typical integration coaching session involves, how to prepare, what to expect during and after, and how to tell the difference between good support and bad support.
- An integration session is a structured conversation focused on processing and applying insights from a psychedelic or other non-ordinary experience.
- You do not need to have had a dramatic experience. Integration is useful after subtle, confusing, difficult, or even seemingly "empty" experiences.
- The coach does not interpret your experience for you. The work is collaborative, with the coach asking questions, reflecting patterns, and helping you identify actionable steps.
- Integration is coaching, not therapy. A coach helps you move forward with what came up. A therapist treats clinical conditions. Both are valid; they serve different functions.
- One session can be useful, but most people benefit from a series (typically 3-6 sessions over several weeks or months).
In practice, an integration session is a conversation. You describe what happened, what came up, what felt significant, confusing, or disturbing. The coach listens, asks questions, reflects back what they hear, and helps you identify concrete next steps.
The word "integration" means bringing separate parts into a whole. In this context, it means connecting what you experienced in a non-ordinary state with how you live in ordinary life.
An integration session is not therapy. It is not a diagnostic assessment. The coach will not analyze your childhood, assign a clinical label, or treat a mental health condition. If clinical material surfaces (and it can), a good coach will recognize it and refer you to a licensed therapist.
It is also not a ceremony debrief, a spiritual counseling session, or a place where someone tells you what your experience "meant." The meaning-making is yours. The coach facilitates the process; they do not own the outcome.
Before your first integration session, spend 15-20 minutes writing about the experience. Do not worry about structure or completeness. Focus on:
- What stands out most strongly (images, emotions, body sensations, phrases, encounters)
- What felt significant, even if you do not know why
- What felt difficult or disturbing
- What questions the experience raised
- What, if anything, has changed since the experience
Think about what you hope to get from the session. Some possibilities:
- "I want to understand what happened"
- "I want to figure out what to do with what I saw"
- "I had a difficult experience and I need to process it"
- "I am not sure anything happened and I am confused"
- "I want to make sure I do not lose the insight"
- Most integration sessions are 60-90 minutes
- They can be in person or online (video is preferable to phone)
- You do not need to bring anything except your notes and willingness to be honest
- Confidentiality should be established at the start
A good coach will also clarify their scope boundaries early: "I am a coach, not a therapist. If something comes up that is outside my scope, I will let you know and help you find the right support."
This is the core of the session. You describe the experience, and the coach guides exploration through questions like:
- "What stands out most when you think about the experience?"
- "What was happening in your body when that occurred?"
- "What does that remind you of in your everyday life?"
- "What felt true during the experience that you are less sure about now?"
- "What would it look like to act on that insight this week?"
What they will NOT do (if they are good):
- Tell you what your experience meant
- Push you toward a specific spiritual or philosophical framework
- Diagnose you
- Recommend another psychedelic experience
- Minimize or inflate what happened
- One to three concrete actions connected to the insights from the experience
- Practices that support ongoing integration (journaling, meditation, movement, creative expression, honest conversation)
- Potential obstacles and how to address them
- When to check in next (if continuing)
The coach checks in: How are you feeling? Is there anything unresolved that needs attention before we stop? Any questions about what we discussed?
A good closing leaves you feeling grounded and clear, even if the material was heavy. If you feel more destabilized after a session than before, that is worth noting and discussing.
- Write down what stood out from the session (not the experience, the session itself)
- Note any commitments you made
- Notice your emotional state: settled? stirred up? clear? confused?
- Begin the practices or actions you identified
- Pay attention to what the experience pointed to in your daily life
- Journal briefly (even 5 minutes) about what you notice
- Review your notes from the previous session
- Note what you tried, what worked, what did not
- Identify what you want to explore next
- The coach clearly states their scope and limitations
- They ask more questions than they give answers
- They respect your pace and do not push disclosure
- They refer out when the material is beyond their training
- They do not recommend, provide, or facilitate substances
- They have formal training in integration (not just personal experience)
- They maintain confidentiality
- They do not claim to have all the answers
Three to six sessions is typical for: moderately complex experiences, multiple themes to unpack, or situations where behavior change requires ongoing accountability.
Ongoing work (monthly or longer) makes sense when: the experience activated deep material, you are working through patterns that took years to form, or you use integration as part of a broader personal development practice.
The right answer depends on you, not on a formula. A good coach will not pressure you to continue beyond what serves you.
Do I have to tell the coach exactly what substance I used?
You can share as much or as little as you want. General context (type of experience, approximate duration, intensity) is more useful for integration than specific substance and dosage details. That said, different substances produce different integration themes, so sharing this information can help the coach ask better questions.
What if I cry or get emotional during the session?
This is normal and expected. Integration sessions are designed to hold emotional material. A good coach will not try to fix the emotion or rush past it. They will be present with you.
Can I do integration for an experience that happened months or years ago?
Yes. There is no expiration date on integration. Some of the most valuable integration work happens long after the experience, when the person has had time to observe how the insights are (or are not) showing up in their life.
What is the difference between integration coaching and integration therapy?
Coaching focuses on moving forward: translating insights into action, building new patterns, and maintaining accountability. Therapy focuses on clinical treatment: processing trauma, diagnosing conditions, and treating symptoms. Both can involve the same psychedelic experience; they address it through different lenses and with different training.
Is integration only for psychedelic experiences?
No. The same framework applies to other non-ordinary states: breathwork, meditation retreats, near-death experiences, spontaneous mystical experiences, or any experience that disrupted your normal way of seeing the world.
Vladislav Andreev is a Certified Psychedelic Coach (Psychedelic Coaching Institute) and harm-reduction educator based in Barcelona. He does not provide substances, therapy, or medical advice.
Educational content only. This is not medical advice, therapy, or a clinical diagnosis, and it does not encourage illegal activity. It exists to reduce risk for adults making their own decisions. Reviewed for scope by Vladislav Andreev, Certified Psychedelic Coach (Psychedelic Coaching Institute), harm-reduction educator, Barcelona.