Support is key
People’s responses to gender- or sexuality-related insights sparked by psychedelics can depend largely on the support they receive, both professionally and personally. “These experiences – especially when they’re unexpected or surprising – can be very confusing for people and may be isolating,” Sevelius says.
Ideally, professional support is involved, if not during the trip itself, then in the important work that comes afterward while processing it. “It is really important that psychedelic-assisted therapy practitioners are affirming and aware of the potential for someone’s sense of identity to evolve, and to see this not as a negative outcome but as potentially healing,” Sevelius says.
Getty ImagesThere has been a resurgence in research on the therapeutic use of psychedelics such as psilocybin, which is found in magic mushrooms (Credit: Getty Images)
Many people do not have the resources to seek help from therapists who are competent in psychedelics, identity-affirming integration, LGBTQ+ issues or all three. Family and friends can also provide crucial lifelines for a person processing major shifts to their identity, but again, not everyone has a supportive network. For people raised by caregivers who “talked about never being able to accept a queer kid”, Voce says, or who belong to a straight, conservative peer group, “it’s much harder to say, ‘I’m the person who’s going against the grain'”.
It can also be difficult if a current romantic partner is not on board. “That can be an identity shift for the other person in the relationship too,” says Kayla Knopp, a licensed clinical psychologist and, with Khalifian, a co-founder of Enamory. A husband and wife in their 60s recently came to Knopp, for example, after the husband started exploring bisexuality and gender identity, and trying out cross-dressing. The wife “had a really negative reaction”, Knopp says. Tensions were eased somewhat after the couple tried ketamine-assisted therapy and found, afterwards, that they were better able to talk through what this meant for their relationship. “It wasn’t a big, dramatic thing,” Knopp says. “They just both felt a little more open and softer with each other.”
