Journeys of Healing | Psychedelics in Recovery Integration Radio

What happens when decades of recovery have given you a strong foundation — but you still find yourself carrying grief, fear and the persistent feeling that something inside you needs healing?

In this deeply personal episode of Journeys of Healing, Anne sits down with Patricia, who first came into Alcoholics Anonymous in 1992 and has remained free from alcohol, cocaine and other hard drugs since January 1993.

Patricia shares how the foundations of 12-Step recovery — surrender, service, fellowship and taking life one day at a time — helped save her life. Yet as the years passed, recovery also became more complex. Marriage, motherhood, divorce, anxiety, depression, family difficulties and profound grief led her to explore healing beyond the boundaries of traditional recovery.

After trying therapy, psychiatric medications and repeatedly returning to the Steps, Patricia reached a point of deep emotional, mental and spiritual pain. In 2018, supported by someone she trusted, she undertook her first intentional psilocybin journey.

What followed was not an escape from recovery, but another layer of it.

Patricia describes releasing an extraordinary amount of grief and reconnecting with a sense of possibility, nature and the divine. Later psychedelic experiences — supported by careful preparation and integration — helped deepen that process and allowed her to explore painful parts of herself with greater compassion.

She also speaks candidly about her relationship with cannabis as plant medicine, the importance of continually examining our motivations and behaviours, and the freedom she found in Psychedelics in Recovery, where conversations about recovery do not have to fit neatly into separate boxes.

Throughout the conversation, Anne and Patricia explore one of the questions at the heart of PIR: Can we remain deeply committed to recovery while staying curious and open-minded about the many ways healing may occur?

For Patricia, integration has been essential. Psychedelic experiences alone were never the answer. Preparation, honest reflection, fellowship, prayer, meditation, yoga, connection with the body and the willingness to keep asking for help are all part of the work.

Perhaps the most profound change has been in how she relates to herself and others. Patricia describes becoming less judgmental, more compassionate and more capable of sitting alongside another person's pain without needing to fix, rescue or control them.

Her recovery today is less about asking, “What is wrong with me?” and more about learning to trust, remain open and take the next right action.

After more than three decades in recovery, the simplest principles remain some of the most powerful:

Just for today.
First things first.
Ask for help.
Take the next right action.
Keep seeking.

And, ultimately, Patricia leaves us with perhaps the simplest principle of all:

“Only love is real and only love can heal.”

  PIR® Integration Radio is a podcast produced by Psychedelics in Recovery.
In keeping with PIR® traditions, the podcast offers a space for reflection, shared experience, and integration, in support of recovery. It does not promote or endorse substance use. 

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In this episode of PIR® Integration Radio, Topher shares a thoughtful and deeply reflective conversation about recovery, integration, and the gradual transformation that occurs when we stop seeking escape and begin learning how to be fully present with ourselves.

Looking back on his first experiences with plant medicine, Topher speaks candidly about initially approaching ceremonies as a way to escape the pain of everyday life, only to discover that lasting healing did not come from the ceremony itself, but from the integration that followed. He reflects on the difficult shift from chasing extraordinary experiences to recognising that the real work begins when we return home—to our relationships, our emotions, and the ordinary moments of daily living.

Together, we explore integration not as a task to complete but as an ongoing practice of awareness. Topher shares how curiosity, meditation, recovery, and community have helped him recognise familiar patterns with greater compassion, allowing him to respond differently rather than simply react. Drawing inspiration from Buddhism, recovery principles, and his own lived experience, he invites us to see healing as a continuous process of becoming more present, more playful, and more connected.

Perhaps most beautifully, Topher challenges the idea that ceremony begins and ends in a particular place or moment. Instead, he offers the perspective that life itself is the ceremony—and that every experience, whether joyful or painful, becomes an opportunity for growth, connection, and deeper understanding.

This conversation is a gentle reminder that recovery is not about reaching a destination. It is about learning to meet ourselves, and life, with curiosity, grace, and an open heart.

  PIR® Integration Radio is a podcast produced by Psychedelics in Recovery.
In keeping with PIR® traditions, the podcast offers a space for reflection, shared experience, and integration, in support of recovery. It does not promote or endorse substance use. 

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In this episode of PIR® Integration Radio, Ruth shares a deeply moving conversation about recovery, shame, and the profound journey toward self-acceptance.

With openness and courage, Ruth reflects on the decades she spent carrying an overwhelming sense of shame and self-criticism—feelings that shaped her experience of addiction and left her believing she was somehow fundamentally unworthy. She describes how recovery created the foundation for change, while carefully held psychedelic experiences helped illuminate layers of pain and inherited beliefs that had remained hidden for much of her life.

Together, we explore the relationship between personal healing and generational trauma, as Ruth shares how uncovering the influence of family history and cultural shame opened the door to a new understanding of herself. She speaks about the importance of integration—not simply through personal reflection, but through honest conversations within recovery communities such as Psychedelics in Recovery and Alcoholics Anonymous, where vulnerability became a powerful antidote to isolation and shame.

Rather than presenting psychedelic experiences as a destination, Ruth highlights the ongoing work that follows: learning to let go of perfectionism, practising self-compassion, and allowing healing to ripple into her relationships with her children, her community, and herself.

This conversation offers a compassionate reminder that recovery is not about becoming someone new, but about gently uncovering the person who has always been there beneath the weight of fear and shame.

  PIR® Integration Radio is a podcast produced by Psychedelics in Recovery.
In keeping with PIR® traditions, the podcast offers a space for reflection, shared experience, and integration, in support of recovery. It does not promote or endorse substance use. 

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In this episode of PIR® Integration Radio, Wolfgang shares a deeply moving account of recovery, resilience, and the lifelong journey of healing from trauma.

With honesty, humility, and remarkable courage, Wolfgang reflects on a life shaped by early adversity, addiction, severe physical health challenges, and profound emotional suffering. He speaks openly about his experiences with recovery, mental health treatment, and the ways psychedelic-assisted healing helped him access parts of himself that years of conventional approaches could not fully reach.

Throughout the conversation, Wolfgang emphasizes that healing is not found in psychedelic experiences alone, but in the ongoing practice of integration—the daily work of understanding, accepting, and caring for ourselves. From reconnecting with his inner child to learning to meet life with greater acceptance and compassion, he shares insights gained through both hardship and recovery.

Together, we explore the relationship between trauma and addiction, the role of psychedelics in supporting emotional healing, the importance of community and fellowship, and the emerging future of psychedelic-assisted therapy.

This episode offers a powerful reminder that recovery is not about becoming someone new—it is about rediscovering who we have always been beneath the layers of pain, fear, and survival.

  PIR® Integration Radio is a podcast produced by Psychedelics in Recovery.
In keeping with PIR® traditions, the podcast offers a space for reflection, shared experience, and integration, in support of recovery. It does not promote or endorse substance use. 

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In this episode of PIR® Integration Radio, Cheryl shares a deeply moving account of healing from childhood trauma, complex PTSD, and addiction through recovery, community, and psychedelic-assisted healing.

With remarkable honesty and courage, Cheryl reflects on the lifelong impact of early family dysfunction, the ways trauma shaped her relationships and sense of self, and the profound inner work required to reclaim self-worth and emotional freedom. She speaks openly about discovering that recovery was not only about abstinence, but about healing the wounds beneath the addiction.

Together, we explore the role of psychedelic medicines in trauma recovery, the importance of self-love and healthy boundaries, and the ongoing practice of integration. Cheryl describes healing not as a destination, but as a spiral—returning to familiar places with deeper awareness, compassion, and understanding each time.

This conversation offers hope to anyone navigating the complex path of recovery and reminds us that healing happens through connection, courage, and a willingness to embrace every part of ourselves.

  PIR® Integration Radio is a podcast produced by Psychedelics in Recovery.
In keeping with PIR® traditions, the podcast offers a space for reflection, shared experience, and integration, in support of recovery. It does not promote or endorse substance use. 

Follow PIR®

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In this episode of PIR® Integration Radio, Ian shares a deeply personal and reflective conversation about recovery, spirituality, and the evolving relationship between sobriety and psychedelic experience.

With honesty and humility, Ian speaks about his journey from heavy drinking in adolescence to over eleven years of sobriety, reflecting on the pain, isolation, and searching that shaped his early life. He describes how recovery gradually opened the door to connection, meaning, and a new way of living — one grounded in fellowship, spiritual growth, and self-awareness.

Together, we explore the role psychedelics have played in Ian’s ongoing recovery journey, not as an escape, but as experiences approached with reverence, responsibility, and care. Ian reflects on the importance of intention, integration, and community support when navigating powerful inner experiences, and on how these moments deepened his sense of connection to life, spirituality, and higher purpose.

This conversation highlights recovery as a living and evolving process — one that asks for openness, humility, discernment, and the willingness to continue growing through both joy and challenge.

A thoughtful reminder that healing often unfolds through connection: to ourselves, to others, and to something greater than ourselves.

  PIR® Integration Radio is a podcast produced by Psychedelics in Recovery.
In keeping with PIR® traditions, the podcast offers a space for reflection, shared experience, and integration, in support of recovery. It does not promote or endorse substance use. 

Follow PIR®

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In this episode of PIR® Integration Radio, we share a sincere and thoughtful conversation with Karyn about recovery, identity, and the evolving journey of healing.

With openness and depth, Karyn reflects on her lived experience — the challenges she has faced, the turning points that shaped her path, and the practices that continue to support her recovery today. She speaks to the quiet courage it takes to keep going, even when the way forward feels unclear, and the importance of allowing recovery to unfold in its own time.

Together, we explore integration as a steady, grounding process — one that helps translate insight into meaningful, everyday change. We also touch on the role of self-acceptance, the power of connection, and the ways in which vulnerability can open the door to deeper healing.

This episode offers a gentle reminder that recovery is not linear, and that growth often happens in subtle, unseen ways — through patience, honesty, and a willingness to stay present.

  PIR® Integration Radio is a podcast produced by Psychedelics in Recovery.
In keeping with PIR® traditions, the podcast offers a space for reflection, shared experience, and integration, in support of recovery. It does not promote or endorse substance use. 

Follow PIR®

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In this episode of PIR® Integration Radio, we share an open and deeply human conversation with Steve O about recovery, trauma, and the ongoing process of healing and integration.

With honesty and vulnerability, Steve O reflects on his journey through addiction, mental health challenges, and the experiences that led him to seek deeper healing. He speaks about living with PTSD, the weight of unprocessed trauma, and the turning points that opened the door to new ways of understanding himself.

Together, we gently explore the role of psychedelic-assisted therapy, the importance of feeling safe and supported, and the ongoing work of integration — bringing insight into everyday life through therapy, community, and self-reflection.

This episode touches on inner child work, reparenting, and the courage it takes to face what has been held for a long time. It also offers an honest look at the realities of parenting, relationships, and learning to show up differently, even when it feels uncomfortable.

Above all, this conversation reminds us that healing is not a destination, but a practice — one that unfolds through willingness, support, and compassion, one day at a time.

  PIR® Integration Radio is a podcast produced by Psychedelics in Recovery.
In keeping with PIR® traditions, the podcast offers a space for reflection, shared experience, and integration, in support of recovery. It does not promote or endorse substance use. 

Follow PIR®

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In this powerful and deeply honest conversation, Kenesha shares her journey through recovery, depression, and ultimately, renewal. After nearly a decade of sobriety, she found herself facing an unexpected and painful reality—despite doing “everything right,” she was no longer okay. The tools that had once sustained her no longer seemed to reach the depth of her suffering.

What followed was a courageous search for answers beyond the familiar. Through curiosity, vulnerability, and a willingness to question long-held beliefs, Kenesha found her way to psychedelics—and to PIR®, where she experienced what she describes as a second “welcome home.”

With openness and clarity, she speaks about the relief of finding a space where recovery can evolve, where mental health can be spoken about freely, and where shame can be replaced by understanding. She shares how microdosing psilocybin helped quiet her inner critic, reconnect her to a loving inner voice, and ultimately “give her life back” when she felt unable to even rise from the couch.

This episode is not about replacing one path with another, but about expansion—about what it means to stay committed to recovery while allowing new tools, new perspectives, and deeper layers of healing to emerge.

Kenesha’s story is a reminder that recovery is not a fixed destination, but a living, evolving journey. And sometimes, finding your way forward means being willing to rediscover what “home” truly means.

  PIR® Integration Radio is a podcast produced by Psychedelics in Recovery.
In keeping with PIR® traditions, the podcast offers a space for reflection, shared experience, and integration, in support of recovery. It does not promote or endorse substance use. 

Follow PIR®

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PIR® Integration Radio — Episode with Leon

In this episode of PIR® Integration Radio, Leon shares a thoughtful and honest reflection on the inner conflict that shaped his experience of addiction and recovery.

Leon speaks openly about what it felt like to live with what he describes as “a war inside” — a tension between different parts of himself pulling in opposing directions. Through his recovery journey, he began to understand that healing was not about defeating parts of himself, but about learning to bring them into dialogue and balance.

Together, we explore how recovery can be understood as a process of internal harmony: moving from conflict toward cooperation between the parts of ourselves that struggle, protect, and seek relief. Leon reflects on the role of self-awareness, compassion, and consistent daily practice in gradually transforming that internal war into a more peaceful relationship with oneself.

This conversation offers a grounded perspective on recovery as an ongoing process of integration — learning to listen inwardly, understand our motivations, and cultivate the conditions for lasting change.

A calm and thoughtful reminder that recovery is not about perfection, but about learning how to live with greater clarity, balance, and honesty.

  PIR® Integration Radio is a podcast produced by Psychedelics in Recovery.
In keeping with PIR® traditions, the podcast offers a space for reflection, shared experience, and integration, in support of recovery. It does not promote or endorse substance use. 

Follow PIR®

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