PSIP
Core Mechanism
Cannabis or ketamine induces primary consciousness state + active therapist relational engagement with somatic defense cascade + completion of truncated survival responses reorganizes autonomic patterning
Ontology
Complex trauma is stored in autonomic nervous system defense patterns inaccessible to ordinary consciousness; psychedelic medicine provides access while relational attunement provides corrective experience
Therapeutic Voice
"I'm right here with you. What's happening in your body right now? Stay with that — I'll stay with you."
View of the Person
A body-organized self whose trauma lives in autonomic defense patterns below narrative consciousness, accessible through medicine-facilitated primary states and relational attunement
Evidence
No guideline recognition. Not included in APA, NICE, or VA/DoD guidelines.
No RCTs. Published white paper and case descriptions only. Training institute-generated outcome claims.
None. No independent meta-analytic data.
Emerging modality with no independent outcome research. Published theory paper but no controlled trials. Founder voluntarily forfeited Colorado therapy license in 2015 following involvement in underground psychedelic session. Training uses proprietary apprenticeship model (cohorts of 3) requiring trainees to undergo their own medicine sessions — raises dual-relationship and informed consent questions.
Conditions
Epistemology
Blind Spots
No controlled outcome research; proprietary training model without external accreditation; reliance on cannabis as primary medicine complicates legal and clinical standards; apprenticeship structure creates potential dual-relationship concerns; strong theoretical claims outpace empirical evidence
Contraindications
Active psychosis, severe dissociation without stabilization, clients unable to engage with somatic-affective experiencing, acute crisis requiring immediate intervention, therapists without adequate embodied practice training
Training
Licensed mental health professional. PSI Apprentice program: cohorts of 3, receiving own medicine sessions + observing live sessions + integration work.
PSI certificate (proprietary — no external accrediting body)
Estimated 200+ hrs across apprentice levels
$15K-30K+
Philosophical Roots
Merleau-Ponty (embodied consciousness); Porges (polyvagal theory — autonomic defense states); Levine (somatic experiencing — completing survival responses); van der Kolk (body keeps the score); Bowlby (attachment as organizing principle); psychodynamic transference theory
Related Modalities
Controversies & Ethical Concerns
No independent outcome research; founder forfeited license (2015); proprietary training model with high cost and no external accreditation; cannabis as primary medicine lacks regulatory framework; apprenticeship model requires trainees to undergo medicine sessions raising boundary concerns; recent organizational controversy (2025) regarding discriminatory admissions practices
Razvi voluntarily forfeited his therapy license in Colorado following what he describes as an unsuccessful ‘harm reduction effort’ involving underground psychedelic work. License forfeiture carries the same effect as state revocation.
Razvi stated he forfeited voluntarily to protect MAPS MDMA research from political fallout. He continues to operate PSI as a training organization.
PSI denied an Israeli applicant admission, citing ‘apartheid, ethnic cleansing and credible accusations of genocide.’ The email was sent under a staff member’s name, but Razvi later admitted authorship. Faculty published a joint letter distancing themselves.
Razvi published a public apology acknowledging he was ‘completely in the wrong’ and made the decision from a ‘reactive, emotion-filled’ state following his father’s death.
Structural concerns: proprietary apprenticeship with no external accreditor; trainees must undergo medicine sessions with PSI trainers (dual-relationship questions); cannabis as primary medicine lacks regulatory framework; no controlled outcome research beyond a white paper.
Test Yourself
What distinguishes PSIP from other psychedelic therapy models?
Show answer
PSIP emphasizes active therapist engagement in the medicine state rather than a non-directive sitter model, working directly with somatic defense responses and relational transference.