Integration or Commodification? A Critical Review of Individual-Centered Approaches in Psychedelic Healing

Title & Introduction

• Paper Title: Integration or Commodification? A Critical Review of Individual-Centered Approaches in Psychedelic Healing
• Published In: Journal of Psychedelic Studies
• Publish date: February 26, 2025
• Authors: Emilia Sanabria, Luís Fernando Tófoli
• Objective: To critically examine the concept of psychedelic integration and its evolution within contemporary psychedelic therapy, questioning whether current integration practices prioritize individual healing at the expense of broader societal factors.
• Importance: Highlights concerns about the commodification of psychedelic healing and how formulaic integration approaches may limit the transformative potential of psychedelics.

Summary & Takeaways

Key Takeaway: The study argues that psychedelic integration is increasingly becoming a commercialized, individualized service rather than a dynamic, context-dependent practice that considers social and cultural factors.

Practical Application:
Encourages psychedelic therapists and researchers to critically evaluate the assumptions behind integration models and advocate for more holistic, context-aware approaches.

Key Background Information

• Context: Psychedelic therapy is gaining mainstream attention, but concerns arise about how integration is framed—either as a meaningful therapeutic process or as a standardized service detached from social realities.
• Hypothesis: Integration practices risk becoming overly formulaic and commercialized, diminishing their transformative potential and failing to account for the broader societal conditions that contribute to psychological distress.

Methodology

• Study Design: Critical literature review and genealogical analysis.
• Participants: Not applicable.
• Intervention/Exposure: Examination of integration models in psychedelic therapy.
• Controls: Not applicable.
• Duration: Review of historical and contemporary literature on psychedelic integration.

Key Findings

Primary Outcomes:

• Integration practices increasingly focus on individual-centered models, often neglecting social determinants of mental health.
• The emergence of checklists and formulaic approaches to integration may limit the depth of psychedelic healing.
• Integration services are becoming commodified, raising concerns about accessibility and equity.
• There is a divergence between Indigenous/traditional psychedelic practices and Western therapeutic models.

Secondary Outcomes:

• Digital psychedelia and app-based integration practices may further disconnect integration from its deeper therapeutic roots.
• A viewpoint from the Global South suggests that prevailing Western approaches to psychedelic therapy may be biased toward individualism and technological solutions.

Interpretation & Implications

• Conclusion: The study calls for a re-evaluation of psychedelic integration practices, advocating for a more open-ended, contextually aware approach that does not merely serve commercial interests.
• Implications: Therapists and policymakers should consider integration beyond the individual level, addressing social and cultural dimensions of healing.
• Limitations: The study is largely theoretical and does not present empirical data on patient outcomes.

Researchers & Publication

• Researchers: Emilia Sanabria, Luís Fernando Tófoli
• Publication Name: Journal of Psychedelic Studies
• Study URL: https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2024.00411