[h2odragon]

Trained therapist? Nah. Good, trusted friend. Someone who will be willing to clean up embarrassing bodily functions for you type of friend.

You can't pay somebody to discover you, you're going to have to do that yourself. Having a companion is just to help keep things from getting messy.

[llamataboot]

Different roles. Having some good friends to help prop you up, tell you when you're being an ass, wipe your tears, etc - good and nec.

Definitely not the same as a trained therapist who actually knows how to hold the mirror for you to see yourself in a different way.

[h2odragon]

Everybody's different and perhaps having someone do that role is a good thing. I'm not so sure. If you set out to discover yourself with someone else, then thats what you get, yourself with someone else. When they leave are you still the same? We're social animals, expecting to interact with someone is a different state. (yeah I'm not expressing this well but its been nagging at me for hours so I'm trying)

Personally my favorite mushroom experiences involve a full moon spring night, a coon hound, and square miles of wild woods. That's the trip I recommend; but so few people are blessed with good coon hounds now.

[ajmurmann]

Not everyone has a good trusted friend who might be available for this.

[sharkweek]

Maybe not, but there are therapists who specialize in guided psychedelic trips who encourage exploration and fear facing. Seems like they'd know how to guide the discovery process.

[beenBoutIT]

We need scientific clinical trials conducted without any therapist intervention in order to understand what good these drugs do on their own. All the BS about talk-therapy being necessary for them to work is going to keep them out of the reach of most people. The reality is that psychedelics will quickly put psychiatrists out of business unless the public is convinced they can't take psychedelics safely without a shrink watching over them.

[sutterbomb]

The reality is that they’re currently out of reach for most people, and the only shot at increasing adoption comes with legally sanctioned institutions to help deploy them safely.

[dillonmckay]

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