Contact OmTerra

If you’re interested in therapy with OmTerra, please go through our intake questionnaire below.

For general inquiries, please reach out via email.

FAQs

Can’t find the answer you’re looking for? Feel free to reach out.

What Can I Expect During a Psilocybin Session?

A typical session includes three phases:

1. Preparation: Discussion of intentions, expectations, and concerns.

2. Administration: Consumption of psilocybin in a controlled setting with the facilitator present.

3. Integration: Post-session support to help process the experience and integrate insights into daily life.

What Are the Benefits of Psilocybin Therapy?

Research suggests psilocybin therapy may help with various mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, and addiction. It can also foster personal growth and spiritual insights. IS psilocybin right for you ~ best way to find out is to schedule a no cost 15 - 30 minute free consultation.

Are There Risks Involved?

While psilocybin is generally considered safe when administered in a controlled setting, there are potential risks, including psychological distress or challenging experiences. Facilitators are trained to manage and mitigate these risks.

What Should I Bring to a Session?

Wear comfortable clothing and bring any personal items that make you feel at ease. And, a water bottle, any favorite snacks for the end of the session.

Are there any age restrictions for psilocybin services?

Yes, participants must be at least 21 years old to be eligible for psilocybin services in Oregon.

Who is not eligible for psilocybin services?

Individuals who fall into the following categories are generally not eligible for psilocybin services:

  • Medical Exclusions:
    • Uncontrolled high blood pressure
    • Serious heart conditions
    • History of stroke
    • Severe liver or kidney disease
  • Psychological Exclusions:
    • Current or past diagnosis of schizophrenia, psychotic disorders, or bipolar disorder
    • Severe depression with suicidal ideation
    • Severe anxiety or panic disorders
    • Active substance use disorders
  • Situational Exclusions:
    • Pregnant or breastfeeding women
    • Individuals currently using medications that could interact negatively with psilocybin (e.g., certain antidepressants, antipsychotics)

What is Psilocybin Facilitation?

Psilocybin facilitation involves a licensed professional guiding an individual through a psilocybin experience. This includes preparation, the psilocybin session itself, and integration afterward to help process and make sense of the experience.

Is Psilocybin Legal in Oregon?

Yes, under Measure 109, psilocybin services are legal in Oregon for therapeutic use. This measure, passed in November 2020, allows licensed facilitators to administer psilocybin in a controlled, professional setting. Steve Elfrink is a licensed psilocybin facilitator.

Is Psilocybin Safe?

Yes, psilocybin is considered safe when used in a controlled, therapeutic setting with proper guidance. According to a 2016 study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, psilocybin has a "favorable safety profile" and "no serious adverse effects" were reported in controlled environments . Another study in Neuropharmacology in 2017 found that "psilocybin is physiologically safe and well-tolerated" when administered by trained professionals . Additionally, a 2020 review in Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology highlighted that "psilocybin has a long history of safe use in both indigenous cultures and clinical research" .

What is Psilocybin?

Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in certain species of mushrooms. It has been used for centuries in various cultures for its psychoactive and therapeutic properties.

Will I feel worse before I feel better?

Typically it does get worse before it gets better - the important thing to remember is we are not creating anything new during your sessions - just bringing up what has always been there. Also, we are not amplifying through the medicines what is in there - again allowing what has been stored to be released. Our own experience and what we have seen in others as long as you keep going in and clearing stuff out you will make it through. And, if you are stuck in a worse place, that is typically state 3 - best thing to do is continue to feel and if it is at that "i'm done with this, please help" the best option is a session to pop you through to state 2/1/0.  It is intense work - and again, the most important thing to remember is "trust your body", your body will get you through this. With this being said, there can also be a challenging time once you hit Ter 2 - your fabric of reality. And, with all of this it really depends on your level of trauma... the more complex, the more complex the unravelling is.

There are certain traumatic experiences that I do not feel ready to go straight into. Is it possible to avoid certain memories (at first), or do you find that the cannabis “decides” for people?"

Great question - short answer, your body decides... with cannabis or any other medicine where you go - is where you go, we can't control it. We can a bit with non-medicine sessions and targeting an event that is non-relational. But even those at times will crosslink to another similar feeling state event. This is a huge "trust your body" moment. What I've seen in myself and others is your body has its own pathway and timing on what it wants to process and what order. For a lot of people without preverbal trauma it will start with the youngest trauma first. With pre-verbal trauma it seems to be a bit more scattered on the timeline of events - it may pick off some low hanging fruit prior to going deeper. I have also seen it where someone dives right into the Big Stuff. I've seen people approach "Big Stuff" and then back away from it. Kind of a sneak preview of something and then, "not yet." Bottom line - cannabis is just the key to open us to the ANS. How, what and when the body wants to process something fits into that innate knowing on how, what and and when. The biggest thing with this work is "trust your body." It knows what to do - mind, not so much. We "think" we know – we rarely do.

Is Steve a licensed psychotherapist?

Steve is  not a licensed psychotherapist. He holds a BA in Communications.  He has has been mentored and trained with Saj Razvi who developed the PSIP model. He is the cofounder of the Psychedelic Somatic Institute and has worked with Saj Razvi for four years with this model. HE also has 50 plus sessions for his own personal work and continues to work with this model.

What if I pull up repressed memories?

This is something everyone has to be prepared for. It is common for us to uncover repressed memories of abuse with this work. Unfortunately this is typically with women. One thing that is extremely important to understand that repressed memories are real. There is controversy in the field of psychiatry that they are don't exist and are typically false. Having witnessed people pop through to a repressed memory would convince any person that they are real. When a repressed memory is activated the person is transported back to the event. The sensations, feelings and pain of the event happen in real time as if the event was happening. It can be harrowing - and it will bring you a reconnection to a lost part of your self. Repressed memories are one of the more destabilizing aspects of this work. The majority of the destabilization comes from waking up to the fact that there was abuse that happened. The destabilization can be more pronounced if it involves a parent or close relative.

Who is not suited for this work?

This people is not recommended for schizophrenics, people experiencing psychosis, active substance abuse, pregnant women and people who are not able to afford the possible cost of doing multiple sessions.

How is this different from other forms of psychedelics therapy?

The biggest difference is the somatic/bottom-up approach combined with an interactional / directive approach. We are not trying to get you to an insight based mystical experience - we are working towards getting you into your body and activating your autonomic nervous system. Our approach is purely biological - we work with your trauma where it resides - in your ANS. Insight does not heal trauma - moving out and clearing dissociation and held charge does.

Can I do this without medicine?

Yes, absolutely! The beauty of the model is that it does work without medicine. Bringing cannabis onboard accelerates and deepens the process - but, non medicine sessions are an option.

Do you supply the medicine?

We do not supply cannabis or ketamine and we only work with legal medicines. Currently psilocybin is legal in Oregon, but sessions must be facilitated at a licensed service center. The powerful thing here though is that for this fundamental somatic work to clear out trauma, cannabis and/or ketamine works best.

What medicines do you work with?

We work with psilocybin through Omnia Group in Ashland, OR. PSIP / somatic sessions use ketamine or cannabis which is sourced by the client. The model used is a legal self administration protocol. For ketamine the online ketamine company, Joyous is recommended. (www.joyous.team)

What are the benefits of this work?

The biggest benefit of this work is the overall reduction of reactivity to life. Reactivity comes from held charge - reduce the charge and you reduce the reactivity. It is important to realize the your anxiety, depression and overall PTSD symptoms are all the result of these held emotions/events and their inherent charge. When you are experiencing anxiety or depression you are going through a slow release of your trauma. You can continue to let this slowly leak out - or you can choose to dive in and let go of large portions of this charge through doing PSIP sessions. What you find on the other side is a "you" that is not trying to manage the anxiety, the voices, the depression, the self loathing, the disconnection from your life. Once we start reducing the level of charge there is just more of you available to experience the richness of life. Classic psychedelic experiences expand one's awareness of the mystical connectedness of the universe. The PSIP model helps bring you back onto planet Earth. The bottom line is we are animals and biological creatures who are meant to be "of this Earth". This works helps you rediscover your basic nature as a human being, just being.

How many sessions will I need to do?

Our number one question! The answer is - it depends. It depends on many factors. A primary one being the complexity of one's trauma. The more complex the trauma, typically the more sessions are needed. Some factors to consider when wondering how many sessions are:

  • How old were you when you first experienced trauma? The younger you are the more sessions you typically will need.
  • Who was the perpetrator? Family of origin? Stranger?
  • How long was the abuse happening?
  • Did you have options for resourcing? A friendly, loving relative that was present for nurturance?
  • Were there siblings involved in the trauma - were they abusive or supportive?
  • Your personality type - are you highly sensitive?
  • Your current ability to access to your emotions? Do you easily sit with feelings or have a difficult time accessing them?

The big thing to know that there is no quick fix for trauma. The longer and more sustained the abuse or trauma was happening equals more time to unravel the dissociation, held charge, and emotions. Also, we have found that as you unravel one layer of trauma frequently there are more layers. It is an ongoing process of peeling the trauma onion. But the beautiful thing to know is that there is a finite amount of charge within your system - there is an endpoint. Many people find through once they have cleared their system, there is benefit to continuing to clear out charge that occurs through experiencing life. The empowering possibility here is that most people can do sessions on their own to clear out ongoing charge.

Would it impact my process if I've done a lot of medicine work/journeys?

Short answer - maybe.

We have found that people who have done extensive work with classic tryptamines (LSD, peyote, psyilocybin, 5-MEO DMT, ayahuasca, etc.), tend to take more time to be able to access their body/ANS. The medicines that seem to create the most challenge in accessing the body are ayahuasca and 5-MEO DMT. Although, this is not the case for all people and there does seem to be a correlation to frequency of use.

Our main operating theory on why this is so is that people who repeatedly go out into deep transpersonal space are creating more transpersonal/mystical geography to venture to when it comes time to head towards trauma. We also typically see greater levels of dissociation with heavy use of ayahuasca and DMT. So, it can take more sessions to be able to work through the dissociation.

Again, as stated elsewhere, all of these factors fall on a spectrum and not black and white. We know what's in there when we start doing sessions. Sessions are always a discovery process!

Why cannabis - isn’t that just a recreational drug?

Cannabis is a psychedelic drug that can be used recreationally or medicinally. When using it within the PSIP model, it is an incredibly powerful tool for working with trauma. The thing we regularly hear when someone finishes their first session is, "What the "#$%&" was that!?" or "That was so WEIRD!"  We can assure you - you will experience cannabis in a way that you have never experienced it before. One woman we worked with stated that her experience on cannabis with PSIP was more intense and powerful than using 7 grams of psilocybin mushrooms. What makes it so profound is the level of held charge and emotions that are tapped into once the autonomic nervous system is activated. We know....seriously?!?! Yes, seriously!

How does this compare to other somatic therapies?

If you have dome EMDR, Somatic Experiencing or Trauma Release you have gotten a small taste of this work. We think of it like these modalities tap into trauma in very small amounts, while PSIP, a much more intense model, moves into held trauma to allow the body to process the charge and release it. Other forms of somatic therapy tend to shy away from working with dissociation. For example, Somatic Experiencing uses pendulation to take someone towards and then away from dissociation. At OmTerra, we firmly believe the core of trauma lives under the cloak of dissociation and our goal is to help facilitate you in working through your dissociation into the rich world of trauma that resides there. The other big difference is that most other forms of somatic work do not utilize psychedelics. In a nutshell, this work is a much deeper, quicker, and, we think, more effective, approach to somatic work and healing trauma.

What if I'm a regular cannabis user?

No worries! Regular users may need more cannabis to get offline than newbies - but this model still works. The way we work with cannabis is non-discretionary when it comes to activating your ANS.

What kind of medicine should I use?

We highly recommend working with cannabis for your initial sessions. It's very effective at clearing dissociation, something most clients need to move through when beginning this work. It can be an indica or sativa, but we find that most people have a better experience with indica (considered 'body' cannabis) than sative (considered 'mind' cannabis). However, everyone's body is different and it is up to each person to decide what type of cannabis to use. We do not need you to be highly altered - just offline. What we are looking for on a scale of 1-10 (10 being very high) is around 5 to 7. A little bit of cannabis can go a long way with this model!

How am I going to feel after a PSIP session?

This is a common question with no one-size-fits-all answer. There is a spectrum of feelings that can be present after a session. Please see Resolution (Ketamine) to better understand the states we mention here. Some people feel energized, freer, lighter and more clear. Others feel hopeless, nauseous, or tired (State 3) or in working through State 4 (dissociation) they may feel fine post session.

For many, it varies from session to session. If repressed memories of childhood neglect or abuse arise, it may be destabilizing to wake up to this discovery. We call that getting your reality rugged pulled out from under you. The world you have known is now very different, leaving the possibility of experiencing depersonalization or various other dissociative states.

The important thing to know is that these are transitory. If difficult feelings persist over several days, sometimes the best course of action is to do another session to pop through the State 3 feelings. The important thing is to recognize that this is a process. If you experience depression, anxiety or PTSD, that likely took years to create and is what you've been managing and coping with for many more years. We are unraveling the knots of trauma and freeing you up from that tangle - this can take time.

It can be intense. The key components for this work are patience, love, trust and compassion for self - things that many of us with trauma struggle with. These can take time to develop.

What if I live out of town and want to work with you?

We'd love to work with you! We work with people from all over the USA and Canada. In this situation, we have people fly into our regional airport in Medford, OR., rent a car and go to a local AirBnb that they have booked. In this case, we come to your AirBnb to provide the sessions. We recommend a private house, separated hotel suite or guest cottage versus a room in a house. Sessions can be very loud and intense. It is important to have adequate privacy for your session.

What is PSIP (Psychedelic Somatic Interactional Psychotherapy)?

PSIP, the model used at OmTerra, was developed by Eric Wolterstorff, PhD based on the work of Peter Levine, PhD and then further refined by Saj Razvi, LPC. Saj is a trauma specialist who has been involved with trauma treatment and training since 2008.

The model is focused on a bottom-up approach to mental health - biology before psychology. Standard therapy models rely on a top down approach - using our cognitive abilities to figure out what is brining about our anxiety and depression. Or standard models focus on symptom management - teaching you ways to cope with your stress, trauma or PTSD.

The goal of PSIP is symptom resolution by focusing on the biological core of trauma. By working at the core level of your trauma we can move out any held charges that are the generator of your symptoms. Another important component of the PSIP model is the interactional component. Trauma does not happen in a vacuum. Typically trauma is relational in nature and it takes a relational component to work through attachment wounds.

Lastly, the power of psychedelics. We work primarily with cannabis which is a true psychedelic when used in this model. Just like MDMA can be a party drug or a therapy drug cannabis works incredibly well with this model to reduce executive functioning and allows us a window of opportunity to activate your ANS.

What is a typical session like?

A typical session lasts 2-3 hours. I work with clients at my home in Grants Pass, OR, at a local AirBnb for people coming to work with me or in their homes. Unlike traditional psychedelic therapy I do not use music during the sessions. Music tends to distract clients with this model. I prefer clients to sit up vs. lie down. A comfy chair or couch with good neck and head support is best.

An initial session is typically a bit longer 3-4 hours. For a first session I first start with a resourcing exercise to have a place to bring you if things get tough and you want to resource out or to wrap-up a session. After resourcing we will do a non-medicine PSIP session with a non-relational traumatic event - typically a car, bike or skiing accident. This allows you to start to connect with your ANS and it starts to give us an idea of how your system is wired and your defence mechanisms and coping strategies with thing start to get intense.

After the non-medicine session we will dive into a cannabis or ketamine assisted session. The trajectory of these sessions is always unknown until we start the process. We are simply following your bodies responses. I will be with you for this entire experience and gently nudging and guiding you to best activate your ANS. Once ANS is activated this can lead to a myriad of feelings and sensations - everything from "nothing", numbness, floaty, blank to extreme discomfort, nausea, distress, hopelessness to extreme panic and terror. This may sound frightening, but it is all normal and simply your bodies way of releasing trauma. With cannabis a session typically begins to wind down after 1.5 hours. The remaining 1/2 hour to sometimes an hour can be spent integrating the experience.

Do you accept insurance?

No, we do not accept insurance.

What are the payment options?

We except cash, Venmo, and Zelle. International clients may use PayPal. We do not offer a payment plan for sessions.

How much is a session?

A first first session usually runs 3 to 4 hours and subsequent sessions usually running 2 to 3 hours. I charge $225 per hour for PSIP sessions and for integration sessions. So a typical 3-hour session is $675.

Who developed the PSIP model?

The PSIP model was initially developed by Eric Wolterstorff, PhD, and refined by Saj Razvi, LPC, through his involvement in the MAPS Phase II Clinical Trial of MDMA. Steve Elfrink, co-founder of OmTerra and the Psychedelic Somatic Institute, contributed to the model's development and research.

What does a PSIP session look like?

A typical session lasts for 2-3 hours. During the session you will be seated in a chair and wear comfortable clothing and eyeshades. Unlike standard psychedelic therapy we do not use music during sessions. The other difference is that this is an interactional model of therapy. The majority of trauma is based in relationship and so is the healing. With permission, there may be light touch or holding during the session. At times someone may go into a state where the young child emerges - a child who did not know safety and may have felt terrified and alone. In session, the ability to meet the needs within these early childhood attachment wounds can be profound.

Once seated and comfortable, the client can use their cannabis vape pen that they have brought with. We do not provide cannabis or ketamine. The cannabis can be an indica or sativa. It typically does not take a high dose of cannabis to activate the ANS. If you are a regular cannabis user it may take more cannabis to get you offline and activated. Once you the cannabis takes hold we will start the selective inhibition process. This is what will activate your ANS. Once activated you may go dissociative or into a heightened state of anxiety. What we aim for is the discomfort. We want you to steer yourself into the uncomfortable places that are held in your body. The important thing to understand is that you can have a lifetime of slow leaking anxiety that can lead to depressed states - or in two hour sessions move this out in large waves of held charge.

A common question is how many sessions will I need. There is no easy answer to this question - the best answer is, "it varies". It varies depending on the amount of trauma, dissociation, emotions and repressed memories you are holding. And again, the more complex the trauma the more intensive the sessions will need to be. A good analogy is to imagine your trauma ball wrapped in the ice of dissociation. That layer of ice can be a thin layer or the thickness of a glacier. The thicker the ice/dissociation the more sessions you will typically need.