How Integration Circles Amplify Your Progress

Medically reviewed by

Chelsea Tersavich, PA-C

Published on

December 9, 2022

Updated on

Summary

Integration Circles are peer groups provided to all Mindbloom clients that are conducted virtually.
Integration Circles are facilitated by a Mindbloom Guide to help you get additional support and healing from others who are on a similar journey.
Existing clients can register for Integration Circles through their Mindbloom portal.

This piece explores what integration circles are, and how they can play a crucial part of your own healing journey.

Integration and its Importance

Integration is a fundamental component of a safe, effective, and powerful healing journey.

Integration helps you turn your ketamine experiences into lasting change. Long-term, durable transformation happens during the integration period.

What Happens in Integration Circles?

Integration Circles are a great way to receive help from expert guides and hear from others who are on similar healing journeys. You can register for these alongside your current Mindbloom programming at no additional cost.

In each Integration Circle there will be an opportunity to share your own story, or you can choose to be present and witness the experiences of other clients.

These sessions are not obligatory, but serve as an opportunity to share and grow.

The sense of community is a powerful force, as well as receiving the support of your Guide and fellow participants. If you would like, you can read more here.

The Benefits of Group Integration Circles

There are several benefits for your healing process that are unique to group integration circles. These include:

Shared Experience with Others: Realizing that you are not alone in your journey, that others are with you, and supporting you, serves as a great motivational force throughout the rest of your integration period.
Being Witnessed & Understood: Being seen as you share, by others, with loving compassion, is healing in itself. To speak your truth — however messy — and have it received by a group may help to shift longstanding negative stories you may have about yourself.
Exposure to New Perspectives, Insights, Experiences: As much as sharing, listening to other stories is just as powerful. To hear the experience and insight of others is a heart-warming experience, and may provide insight for your own process and journey.
Holding Space & Having Space Held: Being a true support for another person is a beautiful gift to give, and is a meaningful part of the healing journey for many people. Additionally, receiving the love and support of others reminds you that you are also supported in this journey.
Articulating Your Experiences, Emotions, Ideas: It’s hard to know what you feel and think until you attempt to put it into language. What you say may surprise you! Group circles provide a safe container to speak your truth into the world and articulate your inner world.

How to Participate in a Group Integration Circle

If you want to participate in a group integration circle yourself:

Are you a new client? See if you’re eligible for Mindbloom here.
Current client? Register for a group integration circle through your Mindbloom portal.

Mindbloom Editorial Team

Mindbloom is a leader in psychedelic therapy, transforming lives to transform the world. Our editorial team shares the latest Mindbloom news, and collaborates with Mindbloom clients to help share their stories with the world.

Chelsea Tersavich, PA-C

Chelsea Tersavich, PA-C, is a psychiatric clinician who has conducted psychiatric evaluations and facilitated ketamine therapy sessions for over 250 Mindbloom clients. Chelsea obtained a master’s degree from the Interservice PA Program and has extensive mental health and primary care experience from her army career, where she treated thousands of Soldiers as a Battalion PA and a clinic Medical Director.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of any treatment. If you are in a life-threatening situation, call the National Suicide Prevention Line at +1 (800) 273-8255, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room.

Safety Information

Important FDA Safety Information

Ketamine is not FDA-approved for the treatment of depression or anxiety. Learn more about off-label uses here.

Side effects of ketamine treatment may include: altered sense of time, anxiety, blurred vision, diminished ability to see/hear/feel, dry mouth, elevated blood pressure or heart rate, elevated intraocular or intracranial pressure, excitability, loss of appetite, mental confusion, nausea/vomiting, nystagmus (rapid eye movements), restlessness, slurred speech, synesthesia (a mingling of the senses).

Do not proceed with ketamine treatment if any of the following apply to you:

Allergic to ketamine
Symptoms of psychosis or mania
Uncontrolled high blood pressure
CHF or other serious heart problem
Severe breathing problem
History of elevated intraocular or intracranial pressure
History of hyperthyroidism
Other serious medical illness
Pregnant, nursing, or trying to become pregnant

Ketamine has been reported to produce issues including, but not limited to, those listed below. However, lasting adverse side-effects are rare when medical protocols are carefully followed.

While ketamine has not been shown to be physically addictive, it has been shown to cause moderate psychological dependency in some recreational users.

In rare cases, frequent, heavy users have reported increased frequency of urination, urinary incontinence, pain urinating, passing blood in the urine, or reduced bladder size
Ketamine may worsen problems in people with schizophrenia, severe personality disorders, or other serious mental disorders.
Users with a personal or family history of psychosis should be cautious using any psychoactive substance, including ketamine, and discuss potential risks with your MindBloom^® clinician before proceeding with treatment.
The dissociative effects of ketamine may increase patient vulnerability and the risk of accidents.

To promote positive outcomes and ensure safety, follow these ketamine treatment guidelines:

Do not operate a vehicle (e.g., car, motorcycle, bicycle) or heavy machinery following treatment until you’ve had a full night of sleep
Refrain from taking benzodiazepines or stimulants for 24 hours prior to treatment
Continue to take antihypertensive medication as prescribed
Avoid hangovers or alcohol intake
Refrain from consuming solid foods within 3 hours prior to treatment and liquids within 1 hour prior to treatment
Ketamine treatment should never be conducted without a monitor present to ensure your safety