Matt Xavier, CADC-II

Matt Xavier is a psychedelic guide and counsellor based in Sedona, Arizona, who runs Integrated Psychedelics. He prepares clients, guides full-day psychedelic sessions in Arizona and Los Angeles, and offers integration and counselling by telehealth worldwide.

Approach

Xavier trained in addiction counselling at Loyola Marymount University, is a certified alcohol and drug counsellor (CADC-II) with Gestalt therapy certification, and has more than 15 years of experiential counselling. A DJ for more than 30 years, he wrote The Psychedelic DJ, a guide to music curation for psilocybin-assisted therapy. In what he calls Therapeutic DJing, he mixes music live through the session while the client rests with eyeshades between two speakers. Integration draws on Gestalt counselling, mindfulness and somatic work.

Who it is for

He takes clients who are stable and motivated for inner work, with themes such as trauma, addiction recovery, life changes, spirituality or creative blocks. He does not work with schizophrenia or psychotic disorders, bipolar 1, active addiction, borderline personality disorder or current suicidal ideation, nor with anyone on SSRIs, SNRIs or other contraindicated medication.

Practical details

The core protocol is a 60-minute video screening, two 90-minute preparation sessions, a guided day of six to eight hours with a four-hour live music set, two check-in calls, two 90-minute integration sessions and a call after 30 days. Counselling costs $150 an hour on a sliding scale, and guided work is priced by scope. A scholarship fund favours veterans and first responders, and a free 10-minute consultation comes first.

Care and safety

Every client is screened on medical, psychological and psychedelic history and current medication, then signs an informed consent and harm reduction agreement. Medication changes are left to the client’s prescriber. He says sessions happen only where use is decriminalised, permitted or constitutionally protected, and clients source any substance themselves.