Tony Rooney, Ph.D.
I’m a 66 year-old (mostly) long-term individual and couples therapist here in Atlanta, GA.
Psychedelics have always informed and deepened my understanding of the predicament of being human – and greatly expanded my awareness of the *options* we have for reducing the suffering that tends to come with this particular predicament, both as persons and as psychotherapists. 🙂
In the last few years, I have seen (and felt) the unmistakable benefits of ketamine, both as a (probable) neuro-regenerative molecule – and especially as an agent that reliably takes us out of our habituated “story of me,” granting us access to a higher/wider/deeper/clearer/more inclusive perspective on things that may have been lost to us otherwise.
I believe that what we experience during a ketamine journey is just as “real” as what we experience in our everyday lives – however, it is largely uncontaminated by our standard egoic chatter (a.k.a., our “default mode network,” a.k.a., the fear-based mental and emotional programming).
In my observation, the quieting of this “default mode network” offers us a truly profound opportunity, both to more clearly recognize the trances we are prone to that reliably enhance our own suffering, and to re-connect with lost (and/or exiled) aspects of our “original self” — and with the inherent wisdom that is always there waiting for us at the center of our being.
Please visit my website at www.tonyphd.com for a more thorough explication of my approach to healing and evolution in psychotherapy.
My clinical work has always been informed by my conviction that OF COURSE “we are all in this together” – and that healing, both individually and collectively, is a direct function of recognizing this truth, and making choices in alignment with it. Both as a therapist and as a human being, I am passionate about inclusion: of all people, all forms of life, and all parts of ourselves.
In fact, my one and only tattoo is meant to symbolize and remind me of this essential and sacred truth: “&”
[The ampersand tattoo is a reminder to myself that healing is always a function of *inclusion* rather than “getting rid” or forcibly suppressing any parts of ourselves.]
So many “dilemmas and problems” we thought we had to fix or solve simply *evaporate* when we remember that everything (including our tiny imaginary selves) has its place in The One Sacred Whole…