Radical Transparency in Psychedelic Therapy: Why I’m Blogging My Journey Underground

If I aim to be the North-West's most transparent and accountable psychedelic-assisted psychotherapist (PAP) then I believe it is essential to blog the journey. Some might call that reckless: Why document potentially illegal* activity? I call it radical transparency, ethical responsibility, and an act of service to the psychedelic community - a community that has welcomed and supported me throughout the years.

The most compelling reason to document my journey into PAP work is, quite simply, 'harm reduction'. The health and wellbeing of my clients must come before my own personal security.

There are already, although largely undocumented, potentially hundreds of PAPs operating in the UK. Too often, clients are all too often left without proper integration support, clear boundaries, or systems of accountability when things go wrong. Organisations such as the Institute of Psychedelic Therapy and Psychedelic Integration UK attempt to remedy this situation by offering databases of UK-based counsellors and psychotherapists who provide integration support. However, their trust networks and social circles are limited by current law, preventing them from openly collaborating with underground practitioners or vetting those offering unregulated psychedelic services.

This leaves a significant gap in oversight and community safeguarding.

Step in, bottom-up community:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLehFwuqUXjEgduUi-Gre_yvcWzzTclvIj&v=tFJ86cYzdZE

I, too, am bound by the law. But unlike the above-mentioned organisations, I aim to legally and ethically collaborate with underground practitioners and begin to vet those offering psychedelic services outside the regulated system.

The Blockchain Solution

The solution I see which enables this involves blockchain. Blockchain turns a local workaround tactic of navigating UK law (usually, running preparation and integration sessions for clients, but sending them overseas for their psychedelic ceremonies) into a decentralised, Internet-wide strategy of collaboration towards developing a global infrastructure of trust and care. Wouldn’t it be safer, for example, if the same therapist could be present at a client’s psychedelic session — not just for consistency of care, but also for accountability?

My Mission with Underground Therapies

My mission with Underground Therapies is therefore threefold:

1) To establish digital on-chain identities for each of my potential clients, colleagues and collaborators.

2) To cultivate online (on-chain) and in-person meeting spaces where this community can connect, collaborate and grow.

3) To document and report on the successes and failures of PAP work.

Visualised in VR, or simply via a web browser or phone, The Underground will welcome anybody who wishes to explore, mingle, socialise or co-create with the in-game tools. Potentially, PAPs could sit virtually with their clients via these underground locations while either or both of them are in foreign countries (with legal access to psychedelics).

Please note: Blockchains are not the place to commit crime. They remember everything.

A Call to the Community

With my mission stated, I call upon you all who may be reading this to help. If any part of this resonates with you — or challenges you — I’d love you to drop a comment or otherwise get in touch. This is uncharted territory, and we need diverse voices, careful minds, and courageous hearts to shape what comes next. If you’re a therapist, harm reductionist, underground facilitator, or simply someone passionate about safer psychedelic practices, I also invite you to reach out.

We are now empowered with enough education and community intelligence to make informed decisions about our own healing. By documenting this journey, I’m not just protecting clients — I’m also calling in a wider network of therapists, harm reductionists, and underground therapists to connect, share knowledge, and begin building the infrastructure our community deserves.

Footnote

*To the best of my knowledge, no illegal activity has been mentioned on this website. If you believe otherwise, please contact either myself or the UK police via the non-emergency number.