The Embrace of Space: Music for Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Sessions

Music is an important component of setting in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and has the potential to help catalyze transformational processes in psychedelic sessions. The practice of listening to music itself can be a doorway into a more receptive, meditative state of mind, which can, in turn, facilitate a process of surrendering more fully to the psychedelic experience. Often referred to as “the language of emotions,” music provides a container for the patient to explore and process emotions while guiding the forward movement of the journey. Stanislav Grof describes the role of music in psychedelic sessions as creating “…a continuous carrier wave that helps patients to overcome difficult parts of the sessions and move through impasses” (Grof, LSD Psychotherapy, 2008). Additionally, as the musical journey unfolds, old memories and associated emotions, previously hidden under the surface of consciousness, emerge and can be processed, understood, and released or integrated. In this