PT489 – Alyssa Gursky, LPC – Psychedelics, Art Therapy, and the Creative Process
Psychedelics Today
Psychedelics Today, LLC
4.6 • 598 Ratings
🗓️ 23 February 2024
⏱️ 67 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode, Joe interviews Alyssa Gursky, LPC: artist, research associate and study therapist at the Social Neuroscience and Psychotherapy (SNaP) lab, and founder of Psychedelic Art Therapy LLC, which pioneers ketamine-assisted art therapy.
She talks about her first mushroom experience and how her art and creative process instantly felt different – how the judgment and concern about where the art was going disappeared and was replaced by a freedom; a return to a more childlike way of being, where all that mattered was the fun of the creative process, and expressing her inner world in art. They realized how much the creative process related to true embodiment and the ability to be fully present, and how healing it can be to simply be with other people and create art.
She talks about:
- The power of being seen in a group, and how the bravery of one person can completely shift the group dynamic
- The need for mentorship in the psychedelic space
- The comfort and freedom found in affinity groups
- The inspiring lives of Genesis P-Orridge and avant-garde filmmaker, Alejandro Jodorowsky
- Rick Rubin's ability to treat creativity as a spiritual act
- and how attending a live wrestling event aligns with non-ordinary states.
Gursky is launching a virtual education and support group this March for anyone who wants to integrate art into client work or their own process. Visit her instagram for details.
Click here to head to the show notes page.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, everybody. Welcome back to Segalics today. This is Joe Moore coming at you from |
| 0:10.5 | Breggenridge, Colorado. Today on the show, we have Alyssa Gerski, who is a friend. I've known |
| 0:16.7 | Alyssa for a long time. This is got a master's and is an lPC in oregon and uh yeah we've |
| 0:26.8 | i've been i think i encountered alissa at a medicinal mindfulness kind of conference in boulder i think |
| 0:35.3 | daniel mcqueen rented out the Boulder Theater, |
| 0:38.6 | right in downtown Boulder, Colorado. And it was really a really cool event. And I heard from |
| 0:44.4 | Alyssa and a number of other younger folks about virtual reality and psychedelics. This is eight to |
| 0:49.7 | 10 years ago or something crazy like that, maybe even seven years ago. There was also discussion |
| 0:55.7 | around hypnotherapy and the intersection of psychedelics. And I was fascinated. I was like, |
| 1:02.0 | all right, this is somebody to watch. And we connected, chatted, got a list on the podcast a bunch |
| 1:07.9 | ago. And yeah, just really, really thankful. |
| 1:12.7 | So I think, I think y'all will like this one. |
| 1:17.6 | We go all over the map. |
| 1:18.5 | We talk about art therapy, community, group therapy, a number of topical landmines. |
| 1:25.5 | We don't shy away from those. |
| 1:30.7 | And we talk about some artists like Genesis P. Oridge and Jodorowski, P. Magic. Jeterowski's also done amazing films like Holy |
| 1:39.4 | Mountain. Groundbreaking stuff for sure. So I think y'all will appreciate this if you're in um in |
| 1:46.0 | in oregon or interested in oregon we'll you know touch in a few things there as well |
| 1:50.3 | given the mushroom uh law reform but alissa is so great to have you on the show thank you thank you |
| 1:57.1 | and i really appreciate what you've done and how you've developed |
| 2:02.9 | and it's an amazing psychedelic therapist doing art therapy and much more. And also doing research |
| 2:09.5 | too, doing research in partnership with the VA. So very much love that. Anyway, I think that's it |
... |
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