A pilot program offered group-based therapy with three ketamine sessions at a psychedelic dose to eight Indigenous participants and two Elders, in partnership between Roots to Thrive and the Snuneymuxw First Nation. Thematic analysis of interviews and feedback revealed that participants experienced significant benefits, including the importance of Indigenous team members, traditional healing approaches, and authentic relationships. Challenges were also noted. The work highlights the need to address colonial legacies and integrate Indigenous Ways of Knowing for culturally safe psychedelic therapies.
Music is a standard part of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy, but the role of silence is not well understood. In a compassionate-access program in Canada, two breast cancer patients undergoing psilocybin therapy experienced a 30-minute silent period that included mindfulness exercises and therapist discussion. One patient initially found the absence of music difficult but later found the mindfulness exercises highly meaningful. The other patient reported that music had evoked challenging memories early in the session, which were then productively explored during the silent period. The findings suggest that integrating silent intervals may enhance mindfulness and therapist-patient interactions, offering distinct therapeutic benefits. The authors call for more detailed reporting on session components in psychedelic research.