Psychedelic Art Therapy

Access healing and transformation through creativity and non-ordinary states of consciousness.

In-person services based in Portland, Oregon. Virtual services available.*

Experience liberation by learning the language of your inner world.

How can your experience of your emotional suffering shift if you could see your sensations as messages and signals from the unconscious?

Psychedelic Art Therapy weaves together modern day tools of neuroscience and attachment theory with ancient practices, including breath work, non-ordinary states of consciousness, dream work, and creativity to aid you in getting to the root of the messages that your body is sending you.

I aim to model the depth of healing that this paradigm shift can bring and empower you to live this mind/body acceptance in your daily life. Together, we uncover your innate healing intelligence and bring you home to yourself.

-Alyssa B. Gursky

Licensed Professional Counselor # C7776 

How to work with me

  • Individual

    This is for you if:

    -You live in the state of Oregon and want to pursue psychotherapy services with me.

    -You are wanting to utilize tools including: non-ordinary states of consciousness, art practices, dream work, somatic awareness, parts work, and EMDR for healing and transformation.

    -You are wanting support in psychedelic preparation and/or integration.

    Starting at $150 per hour, with discounts available.

  • Group

    This is for you if:

    -You live in the state of Oregon, or are willing to travel.*

    -You are wanting healing in community.

    -You are wanting to be creative in community.

    -You are wanting to explore topics of emotional wellbeing, creativity, psychedelic integration, somatic awareness, or shame in a safe container.

    *Note: groups can be a hybrid model of virtual & in person

    Prices vary per program. Price brackets including $25, $100, and $350-500.

  • Career & Creative Education

    This is for you if:

    -You are located anywhere in the world.

    -You are wanting to explore what a career could look like at the intersection of psychedelics, creativity, and healing.

    -You are wanting support in integrating creative practices into the preparation, experiential, or integration phase of psychedelic healing.

    -You are wanting to learn creative practices for psychedelic preparation/integration.

    -You may hold the title of: artist, therapist, facilitator, or student.

    NOTE: This is not educating on psychedelic therapy, but rather, an opportunity to learn from a historical or practical standpoint.

    Starting at $150 per hour for teaching and $90 per hour for individuals, with sliding scale offered.

What I offer:

  • Benefits of art therapy may include the development of non-verbal forms of self-expression, trauma resolution, increased self-esteem, nervous system regulation, and stress management. Art materials can be used in the session, or prompts can be given to be completed outside of the therapy space. 

    I hold the belief that art is like a dream, a snapshot of some facet of the psyche, latent with imagery waiting to be decoded and integrated into one’s daily life. Art can also be a powerful tool for psychedelic integration, amplifying the healing powers of both practices.

    There is no artistic experience necessary to engage in art therapy.

  • Ketamine therapy is an emergent healing modality that pairs  substances and the therapeutic environment to promote healing and personal insight.

    Research has shown that psychedelic therapy can reduce symptoms related to depression, anxiety, and PTSD. In addition to the empirical data, these sessions can connect people with a sense of inner wholeness and their innate healing intelligence. 

    Ketamine is a cutting edge treatment for depression, stress, and somatic awareness. Research indicates that in moderate dosing, it supports our brain in re-wiring from depression, in addition to the innate healing that exists within consciousness expansion.

    Whether you're experienced with psychedelics or are looking to have a safe first journey, ketamine psychotherapies can be powerful tools for transformation and inner reflection. 

    NOTE: I ONLY offer Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy at this time.

  • As cultural curiosity rises around psychedelic healing, it is important to put ample effort into preparing your heart, mind, body, and environment for the impacts that a psychedelic experience can have.

    While media highlights the ample benefits that medicines like ketamine, psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, and 5MeODMT can have on our psyches, it can often be missed how destabilizing these experiences have the potential to be to our habitual programming.

    Proper preparation and integration services can empower an individual to show up for the healing and transformation that are latent in these molecules.

    Harm reduction Therapy offers unbiased, compassionate inquiry around ones relationship with substances and their degree of usage. The therapy environment offers space to explore substance use in conjunction with the underlying beliefs, traumas, and urges.

    NOTE: I strictly do NOT believe in psychedelic exceptionalism. All substances are seen with equality. However, I am not a trained addictions counselor. Cases that I am not equipped to handle will be referred out.

  • Having a somatic, or body centered approach in therapy involves a mindful awareness of one's felt-sense experience. This somatic view can create symptom reduction, self-compassion, or deepen self-intimacy.

    Essentially, we use varying tools to explore the difference between thinking and feeling.

    Somatic practices take the form of experiential practices, creative practices, mindfulness, or weaving in tools from EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing).

  • Group therapy is an effective way to engage in the healing properties of art therapy or psychedelic integration with a lower financial barrier to entry. 

    Healing in community can be a powerful way to feel seen, heard, and to re-work how you show up in connection with others. Various offerings (including closed groups, art-based workshops, and community open studios) create meaningful ways to connect with your creative power while being surrounded with like minds.

Click on the + button to learn more about each modality.

Hello! I’m Alyssa.

I offer a therapeutic container that consists of experiential, mindful, and creative awareness to support you in discovering and embodying your authentic self.

~

I use she/her & they/them pronouns. I identify as a white, Jewish, queer person. I have devoted my life to gaining expertise in creativity, psychedelic medicines, and mind/body connection in relationship to healing and personal growth. I see laughter as profound medicine, adore mixed media art, and have fallen in love with wildcrafting and foraging in my free time.

I have experience as an individual therapist, a mindfulness group facilitator, an art therapy group facilitator, a psychedelic peer support specialist, a public speaker, an author, and a researcher. These roles synthesize together to inform how I approach the therapeutic relationship.

I’m passionate about serving young adults and adults throughout the lifespan of all genders.

I am trauma-informed, pro-disability justice, LGBTQIA+ aligned, kink-friendly, BDSM friendly, polyam friendly. Intersectionality and accessibility are integral to my practice.

Licensed Professional Counselor # C7776 

I will be a good fit for you if:

YOU ARE EXPERIENCING:

  • Depression

  • Anxiety/stress

  • Trauma

  • Stress or trauma from medical illness (personal or familial)

  • Low self-esteem

  • Difficulty managing anger

  • Grief and loss

  • Isolation and loneliness

  • Dissatisfaction in intimate relationships

  • Creative blocks

  • A difficult time processing or accessing meaning-making around a psychedelic experience.

YOU ARE WANTING:

  • A safe container to discuss topics related to gender and/or sexuality.

  • To release old feelings of shame, guilt, blame, and trauma.

  • A safe container to discuss topics related to substance use.

  • To integrate a psychedelic experience or transformational life experience.

  • Greater awareness of mind/body connection.

  • To integrate ritual, creative practices, and/or mindfulness practices into your life.

  • To explore your intersectional identity, including your various locations of privilege and oppression.

The Origin of the name, Psychedelic ARt Therapy

  • The Origins of Psychedelic Art Therapy began with an inspiration; the healing potential of non-ordinary states of consciousness and the power of the creative process. With an in-depth passion for the education of Transpersonal Psychology and Visual arts, have spent nearly a decade gaining knowledge on the usage of creativity and any altered state- including trance, ritual, and hypnosis.

    While the word “Psychedelic” historically refers to specific substances, the word translates to “Mind manifesting, or mind unraveling.”

    I am now privileged enough to offer this work in a legal, above ground setting utilizing Ketamine. While the political and cultural landscape of Psychedelic therapy changes week to week, the blanket title of Psychedelic Art Therapy was meant to leave room for the possibility to integrate other medicines, into the future, once they are federally legal.

    Currently, Ketamine is the only option for medicine- assisted treatment. Non-drug induced non-ordinary states include breathwork and meditation.

    If you want to learn about how to integrate art into your own psychedelic practice, please consult with me for education or consultation.

I’d love to hear from you.

Please feel free to contact me via email for any inquiries. If this is an emergency, please call 911 or visit your local hospital.

Alyssa@PsychedelicArtTherapy.com

(503) 308 8354

1035 SE 9th Avenue

Portland, Oregon 97214

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