PUNK Therapy | Psychedelic Underground Neural Kindness

Dr. T, The Truth Fairy
  • 5.0 (14)
  • Alternative Health
  • Updated Monthly

This podcast is dedicated to the exploration and communication of somatic relational trauma-informed practices woven with psychedelic and earth-based medicines. We welcome from the underground the experience of practitioners dedicated to the ethical, creative and embodied use of medicines in therapeutic and ceremonial settings. Our kindness seeks to bridge the lived experience of the underground, the indigenous ways, the institutional studies, and the direct knowledge of those humans seeking to expand their consciousness and heal on all levels.

  1. 3d ago

    56 - Together Into Dissociation and Together Out Again with Sean Merrick

    In this deeply thoughtful discussion, Dr. T, Truth Fairy, and Sean Merrick explore how structural dissociation shapes the way trauma survivors experience psychedelic medicines. Sean explains the distinctions between primary, secondary, and tertiary structural dissociation while emphasizing that developmental trauma often creates subtle yet pervasive forms of disconnection that practitioners can easily miss without specialized training. The conversation challenges assumptions within the psychedelic field, proposing that when someone appears unaffected by medicine, the appropriate response may not be more medicine but greater relational presence, curiosity, and attunement. Throughout the episode, the hosts argue that the maturation of psychedelic therapy depends upon integrating contemporary trauma neuroscience with careful, compassionate clinical practice. The conversation moves into the lived experience of dissociation, examining the subtle bodily cues, shifts in posture, eye movement, confusion, shame, and emotional disconnection that may indicate protective nervous system responses. Truth Fairy and Sean emphasize that practitioners must first become familiar with their own dissociative processes before they can accurately recognize them in others. Together, they discuss developmental trauma, alexithymia, attachment wounds, embodied awareness, and the importance of moving slowly enough for clients to develop self-empathy, emotional regulation, and relational trust before engaging in deeper medicine work. Rather than viewing psychedelic healing as medicine doing the work alone, they describe healing as a fundamentally relational process requiring careful co-regulation and genuine human presence. Dr. T contributes clinical reflections from research settings while Sean offers practical insights drawn from both underground medicine traditions and advanced trauma training. Together, they examine how memories may emerge symbolically, emotionally, or somatically rather than as clear autobiographical narratives, highlighting the importance of avoiding premature interpretation or overwhelming exposure. The episode concludes with a call for greater humility, stronger practitioner education, and an evolution of psychedelic therapy that prioritizes nervous system safety, developmental understanding, and ethical relationship above outcome-driven approaches. Their closing reflection captures the heart of the conversation: healing happens together by entering dissociation together and finding the path back together. "How about we stay in the relational field and see what happens when you don't feel anything, as opposed to throwing more medicine at it?" — Sean Merrick   About Sean Merrick, MA, LMFT: Sean Merrick is a licensed psychotherapist whose work bridges underground plant medicine traditions with advanced clinical trauma treatment. His clinical focus includes developmental trauma, structural dissociation, attachment, neurobiology, and the integration of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Drawing upon extensive training in dissociative disorders and years of medicine facilitation, Sean advocates for relational, trauma-informed approaches that prioritize nervous system regulation, careful assessment, and ethical psychedelic practice. Website: SeanMerrickMFT.com   Resources discussed in this episode: The Haunted Self by Onno van der Hart, Ellert Nijenhuis, and Kathy Steele International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD) Allan Schore Understanding and Treating Chronic Shame by Patricia DeYoung __ Contact Punk Therapy: Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy Website: PunkTherapy.com Email: info@punktherapy.com   Contact Truth Fairy:  Email: Truth@PunkTherapy.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    56 - Together Into Dissociation and Together Out Again with Sean Merrick

  2. Jul 16

    55 - Grief Literacy, Psychedelic Therapy, and the Enduring Bonds of Love with Luna Jaffe

    Truth Fairy welcomes Luna Jaffe, author, visual artist, and grief companion, for a deeply moving discussion on grief-literate guiding in psychedelic healing. Drawing from the loss of her only child, Hunter, Luna explores why grief cannot be viewed as something to overcome or fix, but rather as an experience that expands our capacity to love, witness, and remain present with profound suffering. Through the lens of her memoir Look, Mom, I Can Fly, she shares how writing, poetry, flower mandalas, and carefully supported psychedelic journeys became pathways for continuing relationship, meaning, and repair rather than attempts to erase pain. Together, Truth Fairy and Luna examine the critical need for grief literacy within psychedelic facilitation. They discuss how many practitioners remain unprepared to support acute grief, shock, developmental trauma, and the complex emotional landscapes that often emerge during medicine-assisted healing. Luna reflects on both supportive and poorly held psychedelic experiences, emphasizing the necessity of preparation, nervous system regulation, relational safety, movement, and deeply attuned guides who can remain present without rushing toward resolution. Their conversation highlights the importance of witnessing rather than fixing, allowing grief to unfold at its own pace while honoring the bereaved's evolving needs. Throughout the episode, Truth Fairy and Luna explore the intersection of trauma, attachment, creativity, and the continuing bonds that can exist after death. They discuss how psychedelic experiences may deepen communication with loved ones who have died, while emphasizing the importance of careful integration, titrated medicine work, and trauma-informed guidance. Luna describes how poetry emerged as a living collaboration with her son and reflects on how healing often occurs through relationship rather than certainty. This episode offers an important exploration of grief-informed psychedelic practice, compassionate facilitation, and the ethical responsibility of guides to create spaces where profound loss can be witnessed with courage, tenderness, and humanity. "Grief is not something you heal. It's something you learn and grow a capacity to hold."  - Luna Jaffe About Luna Jaffe: Luna Jaffe is an award-winning author, writer, visual artist, and grief companion whose work explores love, loss, creativity, and the enduring relationship between the living and those who have died. Following the death of her only child, Hunter, in 2020, Luna devoted herself to understanding grief through writing, art, pilgrimage, and carefully held psychedelic experiences. Her memoir, Look, Mom, I Can Fly: Notes from the Wide Skies of Grieving My Only Child, has received both the Foreword INDIES Gold Award and the Nautilus Book Awards Silver Medal for Memoir. Previously, Luna was the author of the award-winning Wild Money series and founder of Lunaria Financial. Today her work centers on grief literacy, creative expression, and companioning others through profound loss with compassion, honesty, and hope. Website: LunaJaffe.com Book: Look, Mom, I Can Fly: Notes from the Wide Skies of Grieving My Only Child by Luna Jaffe __ Contact Punk Therapy: Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy Website: PunkTherapy.com Email: info@punktherapy.com   Contact Truth Fairy:  Email: Truth@PunkTherapy.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  3. Jun 16

    54 - The Long Game of Psychedelic Healing: Trauma, Depression, and Indigenous Wisdom with Dr. Bianca Sebben

    Dr. T and Truth Fairy welcome clinical psychologist Dr. Bianca Sebben, whose work bridges complex trauma, dissociative disorders, Indigenous psychology, psychedelic integration, and eco-soul-centric approaches to healing. Drawing from her experience working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, as well as her research into traditional medicines and cultural safety, Bianca explores what it means to reconnect with humanity’s deeper relationship to the Earth. Together, they discuss ecological grief, soul, belonging, and the importance of understanding ourselves as part of a larger living system rather than isolated individuals.   The conversation examines the intersection of trauma, dissociation, and psychedelic healing through a developmental and relational lens. Bianca challenges the growing tendency to frame psychedelic medicine as a quick solution for depression, PTSD, or emotional suffering. Instead, she proposes that psychedelics often reveal what has been hidden, initiating a longer process of integration, meaning-making, and transformation. Dr. T, Truth Fairy, and Bianca explore concepts such as soul initiation, descent, grief, structural dissociation, and the risks of seeking transcendence before establishing sufficient grounding, embodiment, and relational safety.  Together, they also question dominant medical narratives around treatment-resistant depression, symptom reduction, and pathology. Bianca offers a perspective that reframes suffering as an adaptive response to relational and environmental conditions rather than simply a disorder to eliminate. The discussion highlights the importance of therapist self-awareness, resistance in the therapeutic relationship, Indigenous understandings of wellness, and the need to honour grief without pathologizing it. This episode offers a thoughtful and deeply philosophical exploration of trauma-informed psychedelic care, ecological belonging, and how healing may emerge through relationship, authenticity, and connection to both self and Earth.  "We've all come from an ancestry of people that have deep, deep connection to the earth, and those of us that are part of the community of colonization, we're just more disconnected from those origins of our earth-connected connected nature, our true nature."  - Dr. Bianca Sebben About Dr. Bianca Sebben: Dr Bianca Sebben is a Clinical Psychologist in private practice with experience working in both public and private sectors, including hospital inpatient settings. Bianca has a special interest in complex trauma, dissociative disorders and working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In her clinical practice, Bianca provides harm reduction and integration support to clients who have worked with non-ordinary states of consciousness in community and trial settings. Bianca completed PhD in Indigenous Psychology in Mexico, where she looked at incorporating traditional medicines into the western medical system to make it more culturally safe and accessible. Bianca provides training to therapists in providing psychedelic integration, with a particular focus on working with adverse events. Bianca has a special interest in 5 MeO DMT harm reduction and is a lecturer for the FIVE- 5 MeO Information and Vital Education platform. Bianca is also co-founder and Director of Indigenous Psychedelic Assisted Therapies, an organisation which advocates for Indigenous wisdom and consultation in the psychedelic field. Website: ConsciousInsights.com.au Instagram: conscious__insights __ Contact Punk Therapy: Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy Website: PunkTherapy.com Email: info@punktherapy.com   Contact Truth Fairy:  Email: Truth@PunkTherapy.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  4. May 16

    53 - Beyond Symptom Reduction: Soul Work, Psychedelic Therapy, and Spiritual Crisis with Otto Maier

    Dr. T flies solo in this episode and hosts guest Otto Maier in a discussion on psychedelic therapy through depth psychology and lived experience. Otto describes his early work with ayahuasca and a pivotal, overwhelming initiation with 5 MeO DMT that led to a prolonged spiritual and psychological crisis. Instead of framing the experience as positive or negative, though, he emphasizes the meaning it held for him. It taught him, among other things, the importance of preparation, appropriate dosing, and trauma-informed facilitation. Dr. T and Otto unpack psychedelic healing within a harm reduction framework while challenging simplified narratives often found in the field. The discussion examines the tension between clinical models that prioritize symptom reduction and a soul-oriented approach to healing. Otto draws on Jungian psychology and archetypal theory to describe how psychedelic experiences can unfold as nonlinear processes that disrupt identity and access deeper layers of the psyche. Dr. T and Otto suggest that meaningful transformation may include disorientation and existential questioning, rather than immediate improvement, which points to limitations in current research practices. Together, they also explore the cultural divide between Western models of control and more relational, animistic perspectives. Psychedelic work is framed as an invitation to engage with uncertainty, embodiment, and the unconscious, countering the dominant concepts of cognition and productivity. The episode advocates for an integrated approach of both scientific rigor and soul-based inquiry, emphasizing ethical responsibility and the complexity of medicine-assisted healing. “I think that the soul work is something that gets us in touch with the nature of our being. And I think it includes a bit of mystery.”  - Otto Maier __ Contact Punk Therapy: Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy Website: PunkTherapy.com Email: info@punktherapy.com   Contact Truth Fairy:  Email: Truth@PunkTherapy.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    53 - Beyond Symptom Reduction: Soul Work, Psychedelic Therapy, and Spiritual Crisis with Otto Maier

  5. Apr 16 ·  Bonus

    Re-Release: Interview With The Truth Fairy

    Special episode! Today, a previous episode gets re-released to celebrate a milestone. Dr. T is finishing his PhD, and we're marking the occasion by re-sharing the foundational episode where Dr. T interviews the Truth Fairy. Congratulations to Dr. T! ___ Content Warning: Trauma and abuse memories Dr. T interviews The Truth Fairy as part of his research and together they explore the value of somatic therapy as well as how a therapist must be prepared for the journey when combining somatic with psychedelics. Dr. T presents The Truth Fairy with some questions he has developed as part of his research, questions she’s not heard ahead of time. What results is a conversation on what somatic means and its importance to the therapeutic process. The Truth Fairy explains the differences between right and left brain tendencies and how somatic healing seeks to tap into the more creative and connective abilities of the right brain. Dr. T addresses the idea of the relational in therapy and the concept of “relationship over outcome” which leads to questions about including medicine in the work. The Truth Fairy relates experiential stories on how somatic therapy looks very different when working with psychedelics and lays out things the therapist must prepare for themselves and their client before embarking on that journey.  “The body is an extraordinary, complex organism with so many systems, organ systems, all working in synchrony and collaboration on the best of days and working out of synchrony and out of collaboration on more difficult days. We have history inside us.” The Truth Fairy Resources mentioned in this episode: Somatic therapy explanations and techniques --- Contact Punk Therapy: Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy Website: PunkTherapy.com Email: info@punktherapy.com   Contact Truth Fairy:  Email: Truth@PunkTherapy.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  6. Mar 16

    52 - War of Consciousness: Trauma, Shadow, and Psychedelic Healing in a Fractured World

    Dr. T and Truth Fairy return for a conversation exploring the psychological and cultural dimensions of healing during times of global tension and uncertainty. Opening with a poem by Joy Harjo, they examine the themes of craving, power, and disconnection, drawing parallels between collective conflict and the inner struggles carried within the psyche. Dr. T introduces the idea of a deeper “war of consciousness,” where domineering and extractive patterns of thinking collide with emerging ecological and relational awareness. Through a trauma-informed lens, Truth Fairy and Dr. T consider how large-scale conflict may mirror unresolved trauma within individuals and societies.  The discussion then turns toward inner violence, dissociation, and the unconscious processes that can surface during medicine work. Dr. T and Truth Fairy explore how trauma fragments the psyche and creates dissociated parts that hold powerful emotions like rage, grief, and fear. Instead of encouraging cathartic discharge or attempts to eliminate these feelings, Truth Fairy emphasizes slowing down and developing the capacity to witness difficult internal states with honesty and compassion. This somatic and relational perspective highlights how healing will often emerge not from forcing change but from allowing space for experience to move and integrate naturally. Throughout the episode, Truth and Dr. T emphasize that psychedelic healing is not only an individual pursuit but part of a broader relational and cultural process. They reflect on the long arc of psychological undoing that accompanies deep trauma work and discuss the patience required to process experiences stored within the body and psyche. Sharing stories about forgiveness, accountability, and compassion, they illustrates how medicine work can cultivate greater empathy and boundaries, and nurture relational maturity. Ultimately, Dr. T and Truth Fairy suggest that the deeper purpose of psychedelic exploration may be learning to hold complexity and humanity with greater care. “In a dark medicine journey, people sometimes ask, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ And I think, how could it not be there? All of that darkness lives in us already, epigenetically and ancestrally. The real question is whether we have the heart strength to turn toward it.”  - Truth Fairy __ Contact Punk Therapy: Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy Website: PunkTherapy.com Email: info@punktherapy.com   Contact Truth Fairy:  Email: Truth@PunkTherapy.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  7. Feb 16

    51 - Beyond Set and Setting: Body Set and the Physiology of Psychedelic Therapy

    In this episode of Punk Therapy, Dr. T and Truth Fairy open the year by exploring the concept of body set and its relevance to psychedelic therapy and medicine-assisted healing. Drawing on recent research and clinical observations, they expand the framework of set and setting to include the physiological state of the body as a critical part of how psychedelic medicine is received and processed. The conversation examines biomarkers such as autonomic nervous system tone and overall physiological resilience, while placing these factors within a broader trauma-informed context. The episode emphasizes that psychedelic experiences do not occur in isolation from the body, but interact with existing patterns of stress, survival, and adaptation. Truth Fairy brings a deeply somatic and relational perspective to the discussion, challenging purely biomedical interpretations of body set by highlighting interoception, attachment history, and developmental trauma. She explains how early disruptions in care shape a person’s capacity for self-regulation and self-care, and how these patterns show up in preparation for and during psychedelic work. Through clinical examples, she illustrates how subtle somatic practices, movement, touch, and nervous system-oriented interventions can help clients come out of chronic contraction, freeze, or hypervigilance before a medicine session.  Dr. T and Truth Fairy situate body set within an ethical and relational model of psychedelic therapy that prioritizes co-regulation and humility. They question outcome-driven approaches that seek peak experiences, instead focusing on an orientation toward optimal arousal, embodied presence, and collective nervous system regulation, particularly in group settings. They offer clinicians, facilitators, and researchers a nuanced framework for understanding how trauma, physiology, and relational safety intersect in psychedelic healing. The evolving science of psychedelic medicines necessarily includes trauma-informed psychedelic therapy, somatic healing, nervous system regulation, and ethical facilitation.  “We can’t just prepare the mind, and we can’t just prepare the setting. You actually have to prepare the physiology of the body to receive medicine. Psychedelics affect our physiology. They can throw us into sympathetic arousal, so the question becomes how do we get the body ready to receive something that is already going to amplify what’s there.”  - Truth Fairy __ Contact Punk Therapy: Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy Website: PunkTherapy.com Email: info@punktherapy.com   Contact Truth Fairy:  Email: Truth@PunkTherapy.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  8. Jan 16

    50 - Who Owns the Story? Trauma, Memory, and Psychedelic Ethics

    In this episode of Punk Therapy, hosts Dr. T and the Truth Fairy dive into a timely discussion on psychedelic therapy, recovered memories, and trauma healing, sparked by recent media coverage of an MDMA-assisted therapy memoir. They are joined by Dr. B and Miss T, two experienced guests working in trauma treatment and underground psychedelic facilitation. Together, they examine the neuroscience of memory, the difference between explicit memory and body-held trauma, and explore why attempting to “retrieve” memories, especially in an altered state, can be misleading and potentially harmful.  A main topic Truth and Dr. T focus on with their guests is ethics in psychedelic and underground therapy, particularly when working in altered states where clients are highly vulnerable. Dr. B and Miss T discuss the risks of actively searching for memories during psychedelic sessions, increased suggestibility, and the importance of trauma-informed, somatic, and nervous-system-aware approaches. They highlight how ethical practice goes beyond rigid rules, instead requiring embodied empathy, clear boundaries, practitioner self-work, and ongoing reflection. This is especially important when navigating power dynamics, touch, attachment, and integration in long-form medicine work. The discussion addresses the broader cultural and social implications of trauma narratives, including public belief versus skepticism and truth-telling in a society that often minimizes or dismisses abuse. While acknowledging scientific uncertainty around recovered memories, Truth Fairy and Dr. T advocate for compassionate listening and ethical restraint, alongside responsible storytelling. Higher standards of care and practitioner training are required, and a more nuanced public understanding of psychedelic healing and trauma recovery is essential as the field continues to evolve. “We can leave the memory in an ambiguous zone and still do the work of healing. We don’t need to legitimize it with certainty.”  - Dr. B __   Contact Punk Therapy: Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy Website: PunkTherapy.com Email: info@punktherapy.com   Contact Truth Fairy:  Email: Truth@PunkTherapy.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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About

This podcast is dedicated to the exploration and communication of somatic relational trauma-informed practices woven with psychedelic and earth-based medicines. We welcome from the underground the experience of practitioners dedicated to the ethical, creative and embodied use of medicines in therapeutic and ceremonial settings. Our kindness seeks to bridge the lived experience of the underground, the indigenous ways, the institutional studies, and the direct knowledge of those humans seeking to expand their consciousness and heal on all levels.

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