Q&A

How can I get the best from my treatment?

Q: Why is assisted therapy important?

Working with an experienced guide, therapist or coach is of fundamental importance when considering undergoing Iboga or Ibogaine treatment.
Iboga is a medicine that people come to when they desire deep change in their lives and sense of self. It is a serious undertaking and is costly.
Yes it may be cheaper to choose a less professional provider who may be willing to work with you without adequate preparation or considerations for integration, however, this may also indicate that they are willing to cut corners in a way that doesn’t serve you.
If you are going to invest considerable resources in your treatment, then you will want the best chance of making the changes that you want to see. It can be tempting to imagine Iboga as a magic bullet that will resolve and remove your problems. The reality is that Iboga is a very powerful medicine that can accelerate your healing, but it must be administered properly.
The first concern is working with a provider who insists on taking all of the necessary precautions, safeguarding your health and who is equipped and able to take good care of your physical needs during treatment. Iboga carries inherent risks and so you should feel in the safest hands.
The second concern is that some providers may have a sausage factory approach to patients, offering them physical safety, but not mentioning or only superficially addressing the importance of proper preparation and post treatment integration. These providers and facilities are often motivated primarily by concern for money and it may serve them more than it serves you, to cut corners with psychological support.
It is not uncommon for individuals to undergo treatment for substance addiction and for the treatment to fail, with them returning to using, because they were neither adequately prepared for the experience and not supported through the unfolding journey post treatment.
Pretreatment preparation sessions build a safe container and start a process of insight and a skilled pretreatment therapist or coach, will be able to help you ascertain when you are ripe for treatment.
With adequate support, arising difficulties, setbacks, or hiccups in integration can be addressed in the trusting container of the therapeutic relationship and may become a valuable part of a journey of insight and recovery.
The truth of the matter is that undergoing one flood dose with great care and support, will certainly be more powerful, than treatment where you travel, get dosed and return back to the same place, with all your challenges and difficulties waiting for you.

Q: What are the steps I need to take in Iboga Assisted therapy?

How should I choose a safe and experienced provider?

When setting out seeking Iboga treatment there can be a considerable confusion and potential danger.
Here I aim to offer solid guidance, to help you to approach this territory wisely.
Our primary concerns are working with individuals who have experience and the best standards of care and safety.
There are serious medical risks involved with Ibogaine and as Ibogaine professionals often work in legal grey areas, beyond regulatory and legal standards, there is a danger that some individuals are drawn in by less than competent, dangerous renegade practitioners. Alternatively, there are safe, but more capitalistic facilities, which may not offer such a individually tailored care plan or personal touch. I want you to find the right people to work with to meet your needs and desires most closely.
Take your time and choose a number of promising treatment providers or facilities. Imagine now that your job is to audition these people. Schedule calls with them and use your intuition and discernment. The sales pitch will be made, but what impression do you gain from the person who you speak to? What does your intuition tell you? Are they rushing or pressuring you in any way. Be careful to take note of any red flags.
Make sure that you ask them a series of questions that will give them a chance to explain who they are and the nature of their practice.
Discover why they are doing this work and why its relevant and important to them. Find out how long they have been doing this work.
here are a list of questions, adapted from Juliana Mulligan’s website. www.innervisionibogaine.com
1. What made you interested in working with Iboga?
2. how long have you been working with iboga?
3. Who did you train with? (Providers should have been through training, apprenticeships and mentorships. Its also important to understand that there are some unethical or deluded people who travel to Gabon once for initiation or who simply self style as experts and then set up trainings. These are clearly not safe, as working with Iboga requires a great deal of expertise. The same is true for therapists in the field, who may simply see this work as a way to make money or to seek some kind of prestige.)
4. What is your professional background and training prior to this work?
5. What kinds of treatments do you offer? (Choose a provider who offers expertise in the area that relates to you).
6. How long have you been offering treatments for my specific needs?
7. Can you tell me about your pre and post care integration psychological support and psychological support that is available during treatment? (Any good provider will not neglect this part of the process).
8. Is pre-treatment work and post treatment and ongoing psychotherapy / coaching factored into your costs?
9. Can I choose my own support and you will work in collaboration?
10. What medical screenings and tests do you ask for before treatment? (A competent and safe practice will insist at the very least on EKG and liver blood work. They should ask for your medical history, including medications and mental health history and diagnoses. They must also ask for specifics of history of seizure, liver health, diabetes and history of traumatic brain injury.) If a provider disregards or neglects the importance of these then move on and do not consider working with them.
11. What medications and substances do you screen for? If a provider fails to ensure that psychiatric medicines are ceased in advance of treatment, such as SSRIs, or amphetamines, such ADHD meds, then they are not safe. The provider should offer guidance on how to taper medications, or refer you to a psychiatrist.
12. How do you calculate dosing? Is a flexibility factored into your dosing protocols, to accommodate individual differences of sensitivity and differences in how they metabolise Ibogaine, and if difficulties arise?
13. How do you monitor patients during treatment and what care is offered during dosing? (Vital signs should be closely monitored and the team should not be overstretched so that they cant attend to you adequately. Water should be provided regularly and your comfort attended to.)
14. If relevant, you can ask: What is your process for detox from alcohol or benzodiazepines? If they claim that they can detox you directly from these substances, then they are not safe. Detox from alcohol and benzos is a very specific process and the consequences of doing this wrong, can lead to seizures and death.
15. If relevant, you can ask: What is your detox protocol for fentanyl and street opioids? (Today the heroin that was available decades ago is a rarity and in its place there is fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, terrifyingly powerful substances that lead to many deaths. There are also a proliferation of other synthetic drugs that contaminate this already dangerous supply chain. Another difference between old-school heroin and the other synthetic opioids and methadone and prescription opioid replacements, is the half-life of the drugs. Heroin is a relatively short acting drug, whereas others can be far longer acting, meaning that detox requires an entirely different approach. Providers should have an in depth knowledge of this process and should be able to explain this to you clearly.)
16. Do you have a medical doctor present during treatments?
17. How long has your doctor worked with Ibogaine? (The doctor should be very well informed on the specifics of Ibogaine and its risk).
18. What other medical staff do you have present during treatment?
19. Can you tell me about your nursing staff?
20. What do I need to do to prepare for treatment? A trustworthy and ethical provider or team will understand and insist upon a comprehensive treatment plan, which emphasises both physical and psychological preparation. Some physical prep that’s worth taking note of is hydration and electrolyte balance, screening for and tapering contraindicated medicines and drugs. They may also ask about your digestion and bowel movements. Be wary of any individual who suggests fasting or Kambo prior to treatment. This can be dangerous. A good practice will coordinate with or provide you with pre and post care psychotherapy or coaching.
21. Can I choose my own guide, therapist or coach? As with all therapy, the most important and first concerns should be, is this therapist qualified to help me? And do I like this therapist and want to work with them? You should not feel compelled to pay for therapy, which doesn't feel right for you.
22. What medical equipment and crisis management resources do you have at hand? (An AED, IV equipment, and an oxygen tank are necessary.)
23. What is your medical emergency protocol? And how close is the nearest hospital? (The closest hospital should be fewer than a 15 minute drive.) A cardiology department should be accessible in the rare occasion there is an adverse event.
24. What is the timeline of a treatment for my needs? (Your treatment, regardless of your needs, should not be rushed. There should be adequate time to arrive and prepare for treatment and also for rest and integration, on site. As stated previously, some detox will require a long protocol and this needs to be somewhat flexible.)
25. If anyone on the team has a history of substance abuse and recovery using Ibogaine, then how long after their recovery and working with the medicine? (Unfortunately, some providers use Iboga as a new identity and a role, in the place of adequate integration and transformation process and if there is less than a three year gap, then it may suggest that they are unsuitable for this work.
26. Do your staff engage in ongoing therapy, self care practices and supervision? (in order to uphold best standards of care and safety, a provider or team members must engage in self care, reflective practice and supervision. This is also true for myself as a psychotherapist and coach.)

Q: Is Iboga a quick fix- will my issue just go away?

Some people arrive looking for treatment with a naïve hope that Ibogaine will provide a quick fix and that their symptoms or their troubles will be resolved, purely by virtue of taking the medicine. They may understand that they will likely have a challenging time, but come to the medicine hoping that it is essentially a way to bypass any effort, or change of perspective.
The truth is that Iboga can be a great ally and can legitimately provide powerful transformation and healing, but in order to consolidate the gains and insights made, or to sustain a healthy relationship with oneself, others and life more generally, there is usually deep work to be done, both before and after treatment.
In order for Iboga to be most effective, it is wise to establish a supportive relationship with a psychotherapist or coach, who knows the medicine and is equipped to support you through preparation for your dose. The guide you choose should help you to process where you are currently at now and engage a journey of insight to understand your psyche and to introduce a proper understanding of the healing journey, equipping you with the awareness and tools necessary to make the most of this experience. A guide should also examine your current outward life situation and help you to prepare optimal conditions for integration post treatment.
A good guide will help to identify when you are ripe for treatment, making sure that this isn't a wasted investment.
After treatment, having already formed a secure and trusted relationship with the guide, they will offer reflective space to process the experience and will support you in efforts to begin to transform your life into alignment with new insights.
There is an interplay throughout this process between Self Realisation and Self Actualisation. Self-realisation is the process of gaining insight and this usually involves some degree of challenge in allowing ourselves to be truly honest with ourselves, rather than avoidant. Self-Actualisation involves a great deal of investment, hard work and courage, in changing habits, relationships, situations, to help us to maintain the health, self-honesty, integrity and authenticity that we aim toward.
As you can see, all of this is a challenge, which is not a bad thing at all. This is the journey of your life and I would wish for your sake that it be a heroic story, where you experience the fruits of self-respect and true belonging.

Q: Practically what I need to do before a treatment?

Practically speaking preparation for Iboga treatment may involve many different aspects. The categories of these are:
Research and deciding if this experience is right for you.
Physical health preparation.
Choosing and contacting a safe and experienced provider.
Choosing a guide, coach of therapist who works with Iboga and beginning sessions.
Calculating expenses and gathering funds.
Health screenings.
Making travel arrangements.
Making changes to one’s life circumstances that support the process.

Research and decision making
There are very many resources online, from research explaining the pharmacology and the effects of the medicine in the body, to trip reports and testimonials. Google is your friend here. I caution you by reminding you that Iboga experiences have some general themes, but be wary of attaching too much significance to other people’s subjective reports or explanations. It’s best to approach this medicine understanding the potential benefits and also the potential dangers, as well as you are able.

Physical Health Preparation
If you have decided that Iboga is something that you are actively going to seek out, then you should at this point be working to prepare yourself for the experience. If you are able to do so then it would be wise to work on optimisation of your physical health, getting fitter, losing excess weight, consuming healthy foods. Supplementation may also be a good idea, but only under the supervision of a health professional. Commonly used supplements like NMN have been shown to interact with Ibogaine, in this case lessening its effectiveness, or cancelling its effects. On the other hand a treatment provider may ask you to take something like magnesium supplements. I will not go into this subject further, as it is not my realm of expertise, but an experienced treatment provider will be able to resource and direct you with supplements and will echo my statements about overall physical wellbeing.

Choosing and contacting your provider
The next concern will be doing your research thoroughly and choosing a safe and experienced provider, who works within your financial means.
There is a vast array of providers working in this field. There are large scale operations, who have huge funding. These work with many patients at once and may have good people working within them, but the pressures of psychedelic capitalism usually mean that the personal touch is lost.
There are also small scale teams who have great experience and expertise, who offer a safe and very personalised treatment.
And there are also renegade individuals, who are dangerous and have no real business working with this medicine. We have to be extremely careful to ascertain who we can trust when choosing a provider to work with.
The safest option may appear to be a large organisation with a very glossy and professional website, lots of staff with big smiles, but it is possible to find treatment from people who are more experienced, just as safe and will have more time for you on an individual basis, offering more in depth care, for the same cost. This would be my choice and it was the choice that I made.
You can find more guidance on how to choose a safe and effective provider on this website. I am unable to make referrals, for legal reasons. My job is to support you psychologically and practically, but I am unable to offer you medicine or direct you to the medicine. I do however have a good knowledge of the best treatment providers internationally. Perhaps you have found your way to my website through one of these, or maybe you are still looking to find the right provider.

Choosing your guide
My own expertise is working in this role, so this website will I hope resource you to make a good decision about who to work with.
When choosing a guide, I encourage you to make a decision based upon both the details of the individuals experience and training, but also your intuition about them, from the content they put out, their picture and the way that they come over when you make contact and speak on the phone or video call. I would personally look for someone who is warm and kind, down to earth and authentic and well educated and professional. My own core values in this work are integrity, authenticity and compassion. These could be seen as just sales words and so I encourage you to make contact with me also and to trust your intuition on a free introductory call.
Some people may have a strong preference for working with a woman or someone of a certain identity group, in which case, I cannot provide this, but I am able to reach out to trusted colleagues at your request and to see how we can assist you to find a best possible fit.
Ideally you will coordinate and connect your guide and treatment provider and schedule the treatment, factoring in ample time for pretreatment sessions. It is advisable to commence weekly or twice weekly pretreatment sessions to properly prepare you for your experience and to develop a secure and trusting alliance with your guide in anticipation of post treatment integration work. It is very important that there is trust and that you feel that your guide understands you fully before treatment takes place.

Finances
Once you have made a decision and talked costs with your provider, you need to factor in the costs involved, from the health screenings, travel, treatment and time away from work and maybe away from home, for processing and integration. The cost of pre-treatment and post-treatment integration sessions also needs to be factored into your costs, so that you’re not left navigating this journey without guidance.
You should gather funds, or have funds available to be able to commit solidly to your own process. For some people finances can become a point of contention. The mixing of therapy, what I consider a sacred substance and money, don’t exactly fit neatly together, but then again, I and other professionals live within the same economic frame as everyone. This is a career and our expertise carries a price that reflects our own investment, education and specialisation over years.

Health Screenings
As you approach your treatment, at the request of your treatment provider, you will need to undergo a series of health checks to ensure that you are in good enough health to undergo treatment.

Making travel arrangements
You will likely have to travel to the location of your provider. This will need to be organised in advance. Things like making sure you have an up to date passport, booking flights, trains and taxis, packing bags and arranging other details will have to be attended to, in order to make the journeys to and from your destination as stressless as possible.
On occasion I am contracted to chaperone or travel with my clients along their journey. This can be a good option for those who can afford such care.
It may also be a good idea to travel on to a second destination for some time after the treatment, for time away from home, to relax and process and to commence the post treatment integration work.

Life Changes
Perhaps the greatest practical consideration is that of changing our life circumstances, gradually and incrementally, in such a way that supports the changes and transformations that we wish to see in ourselves.
We may choose to do some of this work before we leave home, for example doing a deep clean and tidy of our home. There may be many practical things that you can do for yourself before you leave, some easy and some more challenging, that support your process.
When you return, there is a lifetime of adaptation and integration, as there is for any of us. We are all evolving, growing, changing and as such we all have an ongoing challenge to master our lives and behaviours.
The coaching aspect of post treatment supports you to make the changes that you want to see in your life.

How can I best prepare psychologically before a treatment?

There are a number of prerequisites for undergoing Ibogaine treatment safely. Aside from the dangers of substance use and dangerous interactions with Ibogaine and the necessity for health screening to make sure you are healthy enough and strong enough to not be at physical risk, there are other perspectives that may pertain to the potential effectiveness and success of your treatment.
All safe and professional treatment providers will at least insist on health screenings, including blood work, electro cardiograph and potentially others. You will likely be asked to fast for a number of hours before treatment, so that your body is ready for the experience.
As an Iboga assisted psychotherapist, I have an expanded way of looking at what we should be doing before treatment. What I hope to see in my clients is the cultivation of a helpful attitude before arrival. The details of this should ideally be grounded in self-honesty and identifying aspects of self-discipline which represent a solid commitment. this could be diet, an exercise routine, or any number of self-directed activities that we use as healthy self-discipline.

Self-discipline is such an interesting topic, because so often we do what we do, because someone else expects that of us, or we set up expectations for ourselves that we then quickly either come to resent and resist. Some of us become lost in a tangle of dysfunctional inner debating at the mere mention of commitments to ourselves, other cling rigidly to routines and self-dominate in the name of self-care or self-improvement.
All of this raises the question of how we can find healthy and flexible ways to create and maintain healthy habits. The alternative is, of course, that we revert to old ways of being, that may result in symptoms arising, which cast us even further into problems.
And so, when we speak of expectations, we are bringing to mind our entire history of relationship with authority. Too many of us have a damaged relationship with authority, because it was harsh, inconsiderate, ill attuned to us as individuals, dominating, insensitive and any other number of troubles.

I sometimes work part time as a school therapist and I regularly see how teachers and staff routinely and without thinking dominate, scream, belittle, castigate, punish and mistreat kids who are just about hanging in there. Many of these kids come from very difficult homes. What damage can be done in these unconscious habits and unreflective ways of relating.

How often we repeat the same painful behaviour that has hurt us, just seeing this as the way things are. We do it to others and we do it to ourselves. Then I also see at the school young people who make a decision to turn things around. In the face of great injustice they choose to define their own path
I am in great awe at the strength that allows them or motivates them to be able to wake up every morning, to live days through in a school that is a bit like a prison and to go home and live in very challenging circumstances there, until the next day.
The core realisation is that responsibility lies with me, the individual to make the change that I need and that nobody can do that for me. It is essentially an act of self love that seems to motivate these young people to speak so openly with me about their lives, baring their souls and having deep respect and admiration mirrored back. ‘Yes I see you’ such dignity, strength, wisdom, in these adolescent frames, such potential and thank God they haven't broken your spirit.
In order to survive, to carry on and to make progress toward health, ideally we understand the nature of what we are doing, which gives us a coherent way to think about the inner challenge. When we notice resistance, we can then consider opening up space to understand where this resistance is coming from, rather than attempting to self-dominate.
Can you see how easy it is to slip into a superficial dominator stance, when dealing with these parts of us?
Understanding is another word for love really. Teachers should aim to understand why students struggle. One boy was screamed at for not concentrating after his mother died of cancer and his step father was abusing him at home. My God, we need to be gentle with each other and ourselves. This is the deeper training of insight that establishing self-discipline can bring to light. Through the challenge of understanding ourselves and learning to attend gently, we will be able to create a flexible and forgiving healthy path forward.

Q: What tests should I have before going for treatment?

If you are preparing for Ibogaine treatment, you will be required to undergo a number of necessary health checks, to ensure that you are healthy and robust enough to withstand the stresses that Ibogaine places upon the body.

Most important of these are heart health screenings. Cardiac assessments will involve:
EKG, or electrocardiogram. This is to make sure that your heart is functioning properly. The physician will check for any arrhythmias and other heart abnormalities. Although very rare, Ibogaine is known to interact with the heart in such a way that can sometimes be dangerous, or even fatal, if not managed properly. Individuals who have pre-existing issues with their heart health may be strongly cautioned against using Iboga, or refused treatment.

Liver function tests are necessary, as Ibogaine is metabolised, or processed by the body primarily through the liver. The health of the liver therefore has a direct impact upon how Ibogaine effects the individual. Impaired liver function may make an individual unsuitable for ibogaine treatment.

Kidney function tests may also be required, as the kidneys are also an important part of the bodies way of processing ibogaine. Reduced kidney function may slow excretion, leading to heightened risk of toxicity. Further to this the kidneys are involved in electrolyte balance, which is important for heart function.

A blood work and metabolic panel will test overall health. These include electrolyte balance, as well as looking for any signs of infection.

Blood pressure will be taken and any history relating to cardiovascular health. These relate strongly to the dangers or risks of the patient undergoing health crises during treatment.

The patient will be questioned about diet and any gastrointestinal related issues. Malnutrition and dehydration pose significant risks for those undergoing ibogaine treatment and such issues, if present will have to be resolved before treatment.

A medication review will be done, to take account of any medications that are contraindicated and must be discontinued before treatment is possible. There are many medications which can prove to be dangerous or potentially fatal in combination with ibogaine.
Substance use screening is of enormous importance. Of the fatalities associated with Ibogaine, many of them were individuals who lied about or concealed their recent and ongoing substance use. This matter is of extreme importance and trust must be placed in experienced and competent professionals, who can serve a patients best interests.

Psychological and neurological screenings aim to identify the possibility of adverse events, such as triggering psychosis or mania. A thorough psychological evaluation will likely be conducted before a patient is accepted for treatment. This will identify any potential risks or vulnerabilities. Again, it is of great importance that you answer such evaluation questions with complete honesty.
A thorough life review and psychological exploration will be offered in pretreatment therapy, in order to prepare you for treatment, identifying key themes, challenges, areas of personal conflict, as well as hopes and intentions. This will help to prepare you for treatment, as well as informing the nature of our post treatment integration work.

Q: How many treatments may I need?

Q: What should I take with me to a treatment centre?

Q: What am I likely to experience during and Iboga treatment?

Q: What happens after treatment?

Q: What happens when I return home?

Returning home is often a challenging experience. Here you are likely to be reminded of your life as it has been. The environment, your commitments, relationships and routines may feel like they threaten to consume you and take you back to aspects of yourself that you are hoping to release. Rest assured, the challenge is also a great opportunity for building the resilience that you may need.

Ram Dass, a spiritual teacher whose lectures I would listen to during my years of struggle told the story of how he would go to meditate and practice his spiritual disciplines in the ashram and would feel so much inner freedom and peace, but when it came time to go home and to visit his elderly parents and other relatives, all of those challenging emotions and judgements would come flooding back. "If you think you're enlightened, go spend a week with your family.”

Ram Dass was at a meditation retreat when duty called and he travelled to care for his ailing stepmother, Phyllis. He spent six months by her side, practicing bringing her compassionate attention. This challenge deepened his understanding of love and presence. Through these experiences, he learned that personal growth isn't about distancing oneself from family but engaging with them authentically, including the challenges. He recognised that family interactions serve as a mirror, reflecting areas where further personal development is needed. By choosing to embrace these relationships, he found opportunities to practice patience, empathy, and love, integrating his insights into everyday life.

The lesson that we can take from Ram Dass here, is that with solid intentions, we can approach life as a deep learning experience. No doubt he must have experienced a great deal of frustration and other difficult, less than pure feelings and thoughts, but his commitment to his spiritual path was strong enough that he was able to maintain awareness and to observe, with gentle understanding, as these difficulties arose, carrying on with his purpose.

As you return home from treatment, this may also be a little bit like returning from a meditation retreat and you may find yourself facing a number of challenges and provocations. Taking these as a challenge of growth may be one way that you can carry yourself securely to the other shore.

Ongoing psychotherapeutic support will act as a point of refection and a space to process, offering guidance and stability, as you learn to attend to yourself, your emotions, thoughts and to the challenges and people who populate your life.

As a part of the pretreatment preparatory work that I do with my clients, we look closely at the home situation, including the interpersonal dynamics and we do our best to gain clarity on the nature of the challenges involved here, as well as beginning to address things in a helpful and productive way.

An important aspect of this preparation can be arranging for loved ones and people who you are in regular contact with to gain some education and support on how to be supportive to you, once you return. Particularly in cases that involve addiction, but in many areas, co-dependency and dysfunctional habits in relationship interactions, can play a part in sustaining symptoms. People may be sincerely doing their best, but these dynamics, established over time can be incredibly hard to see clearly or to change.
I sometime offer to support loved ones, or I coordinate with trusted and qualified colleagues, to offer supportive sessions for loved ones.

Further to this in pretreatment, you may make commitments to avoid or distance from relationships which can no longer serve you, or which are harmful.

Practically speaking, I always encourage my clients to make sure that their home is cleaned and tidy, so that when they return home, they are welcomed by fresh sheets to sleep, a comfortable and clean living space and a kitchen that they can use to prepare food to nourish themselves.
These kinds of preparatory acts show clear intentionality, self-respect and commitment to your purpose. We are not ever looking for perfection, but such gestures, even if they seem small and insignificant, really do nurture our best intentions and help us to thrive.

Genuine self-discipline is always grounded in self-care, whereas inauthentic self-discipline is merely the internalised authority, of parents, school teachers and any other threatening and demanding external authority figure.

Q: How can I support my loved one?

Q: What led you to Iboga?

In order for you to begin to establish a relationship, to trust me and understand why I am doing this work, I want to share an overview of my own history. I am not just an academic who sees Iboga as a new fad, or an opportunity to make a name for myself in the world of plant medicine treatments.

Born in 1985, I grew into a shy and often anxious child, who loved art and nature. Having a genetic inheritance of heightened sensitivity and insecurity, as well as a strong attachment to my closest family members and other loved ones, that were not without their challenges, I found transition into the outside world of school to be very intimidating.

I recall as early as six years old, struggling with shyness and issues surrounding my identity and confidence. Throughout my formative years this developed into a very painful sense of there being something wrong with me, a shame which became an obstacle to social integration.

Despite forming and maintaining some wonderful friendships, I still felt vulnerable and often lonely. Before adolescence, symptoms of BDD began. I recall trying to make myself feel safe, by preparing myself, obsessively scrutinising myself in the mirror and trying to fix flaws which had come to represent these feelings of insecurity.

Approaching adolescence, as my social life took on the added pressure of newfound sexuality and with it, worry about if I would be acceptable to girls; the symptoms took on a greater intensity.

My time at school was often rough, having to integrate with young people from complicated backgrounds, as a result, my symptoms intensified.

By the end of my school years and into my early twenties I became mostly housebound, often suicidal and I would spend many hours stuck in the mirror, or attempting to escape through sleeping. Life felt impossible and I felt that I would remain trapped in this self-destructive cycle forever.

My family did what they could to try and support me, but were under resourced to do so and a harmful co-dependency developed with my mother in particular, who was torn between being drawn in by her son being suicidal and advice from professionals to simply walk away from me. She too, was in an impossible situation and the guidance given to her and myself was mostly from academic psychologists and psychiatrists, who didn't have lived experience of these challenges, nor the ability to offer appropriate direction.

In my late teens I was finally able to accept that I was suffering with a psychological disturbance, rather than just physical deformity and I visited many professionals, most of whom knew very little about how to approach me in my suffering.

It can be incredibly challenging to find support in our darkest moments, which is sensitive and informed enough to stand alongside us, without provoking additional shame and guilt through imposed expectations and faulty understandings.
Eventually I worked with two therapists who offered me solid support. The main lesson that I gained through working with the first therapist was to recognise that along the way, I had completely abandoned myself and neglected my desires and needs for my own life. A great grief lived behind the desperate attempts to fix myself externally. Through this insight my will was catalysed to challenge myself to gradually reclaim my life and to build strength and resilience to step back into life. This was to be a complicated and heroic personal journey.

I stopped working with this therapist, as he felt that I wasn't making progress that was apparent to him, in spite of the subtle but meaningful transformations that I knew were taking place. This felt like an abandonment at the time.

I was given a place at the Royal Bethlem Hospital (once known as Bedlam) at the Anxiety Disorders Residential Unit (ADRU). I spent three months here in an open ward and although the therapy offered did very little for me, the contact with other people suffering with BDD provided insight.

I started working with my second therapist once I had made significant improvements, mostly through determination and a growing understanding and insight into the nature of my condition and the ways in which emotions, behaviours and thoughts operated together to keep me stuck. I had put together many of the pieces of my story and in doing so could increasingly differentiate my ‘survival personality’ from my basic unblemished natural self. Shame began to be seen as an interruption to my natural state, rather than shame being the truth, that I had to endlessly battle to overcome.

During these years I had dragged myself to the South of France to live for a few months with the Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh and the monastics at Plum Village. Here I learned Buddhist Dharma, mindfulness, meditation and had an opportunity to engage with community and group work. My time here was also plagued by attempts to escape from myself and very deep insecurity. I used meditation and the other practices as another way to try and get away from myself.

It wasn't until years later that I really understood the teachings and how to practice presence. I recognised the value of defeat and submission and that It was necessary to embrace whatever arises in consciousness, including parts of me that felt profound pain. Attempts to fight or escape from aspects of myself are in some sense the roots of BDD. There is a parallel in this insight with process and substance addiction and a range of other maladies.

My second therapist was far less direct and built a loving and kind relationship with me, which accepted me where I was at, whether I was in the depths of despair or having a good day. My relationship with him became a touchstone and a point of stability in my life, that enabled me to see more clearly the changing weather patterns of my own inner state and behaviour. In this I began to become more of an objective witness to myself, rather than losing myself in distorted extremes of self-perception.

I continued to practice meditation, body scan, awareness of breath, walking meditation, self-study and a whole range of simple grounding practices to assist my healing journey, whilst challenging myself in ways that represented stepping back meaningfully into life.

When my recovery was really solidifying, I had a girlfriend and was much more actively social, but still a little shaky, I made a firm decision to dedicate my life to helping others who suffer. It was the logical next step for me. Previously I had tried to go to art university, wishing to become a jeweller or an illustrator, but had lost inspiration and been unable to attend due to my suffering.

I took training to become a psychotherapist as a personal mission, I wanted my life to be about connecting with others in the healthiest way possible, with a willingness to really go to the darkest places with people, to help them find their own way through.

At this time, around the beginning of my training I was still suffering with an enduring sense of uneasiness and a residual clinging, that I was unable to reach using traditional talking therapy, nor other approaches, such as somatic approaches, EMDR , hypnotherapy etc.

Years previously I has seen a documentary on YouTube about underground Ibogaine treatments for addiction, followed by Bruce Parry visiting the Babongo tribe in Gabon and taking Iboga. I had an intuition that this medicine was something that I had to explore. I found a practitioner and had a series of Skype consultations, followed by a trip to a legal location, where I underwent my first flood dose. This was a distinct and hugely important moment in my life, where I saw myself clearly for the first time. There is much that I could say about my experience and visions, but I feel it is unwise to set expectations, which may stand in the way of your process revealing itself naturally.

My psychotherapy training was in the psychosynthesis model, which is essentially an integrative approach nested within a psycho-spiritual framework. The training was wonderful and rich, but with a few thorny individuals, who I perceived to be carrying their own unresolved trauma. I learned a lot through involvements with this organisation, tutors and fellow students, how to navigate and hold my integrity and self-respect, in the face of some quite intimidating situations.

I graduated with my Master’s degree and following further training, went on to establish a private practice, where I have worked with a range of presenting issues.

It was in 2015 that I attended a convention on psychedelic consciousness and met many members of the established western Iboga community. Again in 2017 we met at the same convention, then in an Iboga specific convention in Vienna. It was in Vienna that I met my dear friend Anders, who was just beginning to step forward as an iboga assisted therapist.
Since then I have attended multiple events and have worked in collaboration with GITA, the Global Iboga Therapy Alliance, as well as taking on private work in conjunction with Iboga treatment providers, assisting with pre and post treatment coaching and psychotherapy.

Alongside this I have worked in a clinical trial studying the effects of DMT for major depression, which was valuable and interesting work, but somehow limited and impersonal compared to my private work, due to financial constraints and deemphasis of the needs for pre and post treatment psychotherapy. Blunt psychedelic capitalism doesn't sit so well with me and I have concerns about these medicines falling into the hands of the same people who administer electro shock therapy, university graduates who have very little personal healing relationship with these compounds or who see this as an exciting professional path and identity, entrepreneurs and investors who see a financial opportunity.

My work with private clients and my specialism with BDD continues and I am about to launch a new programme for this client group.

After a very lengthy period of reflection on the matter, I decided to rebalance my workload and to take on more work in the realm of Iboga treatment provision. This medicine is very important to me and I am fortunate to personally know and have good friendships with some of the world leading, safe, ethical and trustworthy experts.

My continued professional development includes ongoing further education, reading, attending groups, peer and formal supervision, sharing insights and collaborations with trusted colleagues and continued self-development. I continue to attend Iboga related conferences, often organised by GITA, the most recent being in Amsterdam and Tepoztlán Mexico.

I live a humble, family centred life and have many dear friends. I particularly enjoy the arts and travel and I love my work. Along my journey I have experienced many privileges, primarily the support of loved ones, access to excellent therapy and the intentional uses of plant medicines, most importantly my relationship with the sacred plant medicine Iboga. I have been through hell and back in my formative years. I now perceive my past troubles as a rite of passage which has motivated and empowered me to dedicate my life to assisting others through their own journeys.

I extend an invitation to you as an ally and guide, offering to help support you in the best possible way through Iboga treatment.

Q: What are your ethics when working with clients who have decided to have treatment?

Having been in treatment for my own struggles earlier in life, I know very well what it means to be profoundly vulnerable and suggestible, looking for support from experts.

Some of these experts were genuine and motivated by compassion and a sincere desire to be of service. Some were professionals, making a living, or academics coming from a research background. Others had less than pure motivations, pertaining to their own role as carer, saviour, expert.

Some of the most helpful people who I met had no qualifications and simply knew what it means to suffer and the value of simple empathy. Some of the worst people have been grandiose academics posturing as wise elders or unquestionable authorities.

Too many professionals in the world of psychotherapy, counselling, coaching, psychology and psychiatry have a piece of paper which qualifies them to be working with clients, but have skipped the most important aspect of true qualification, which is the encounter with themselves. There is no person who has all the answers and so the starting point has to be one of real self-honesty, of humility, which cuts through regressive concerns about power, authority, prestige and opens us up to a vulnerability which is characteristic of authentic human relationship. This is important because trauma most painfully impacts our ability to be authentic and intimate, which opens us up to confusion and further vulnerability.

It is true that vulnerability and authenticity are signs of appropriate relations in a therapeutic relationship, but this notion can also be coopted by charlatans and exploitative individuals who see the struggle to achieve authentic contact in others and then position themselves as a guru type figure, establishing a dependency. In the most pathological examples, we hear about exploitation, involving money and sex.

Needless to say, there are great dangers in placing trust in whacky people who may be associated with some exotic plant medicine, with the hope that you will be able to address longstanding personal challenges.

I understand that when we first meet, regardless of how you may present yourself, that this is a point in your life that requires great sensitivity, patience and respect from me.
Trust is never something that should be expected. It is always earned and bypassing this process, or attempting to force the process in any regard is best avoided or met with gentle questioning. Our intention is to create an alliance where real genuine trust is present, so that the difficult, gritty details that may have remained unspoken for so long have a chance to be explored in a way that feels truly safe. There is also no compulsion to do or say anything that you don't feel comfortable with.

My job is to help guide a process of insight and to hold up a mirror of relationship, which means that I have to be real with you also. For this reason I welcome challenge and open myself to learning from this process.

In order to do this work I have to create safety, which means having really solid boundaries and appropriate rules of conduct. These serve to give healthy structure, so that you feel secure.

I personally cannot be responsible for the choices that you make about taking Iboga or Ibogaine. For legal reasons, I am unable to make referrals or advice about whether to pursue treatment. My role is purely within the realm of psychotherapeutic support. This support is ideally aimed at uncovering the roots of your difficulties, but on occasion our work may involve interpersonal dynamics that may unfold during your treatment. My contact with your provider will be conducted with your consent at all times and will be with your best interests at heart. Having said this, I can bear no responsibility for the actions and conduct of your chosen provider.

Ibogaine treatment may involve states of vulnerability and suggestibility and although this can be highly useful for the process of healing, there are dangers involved when working with unaware or unethical individuals.

My practice makes a commitment standing firmly against manipulation, imposing beliefs or crossing any professional boundaries with clients.

Aspects of care, involving physical touch, such as hand holding, if I am present during a treatment, will be contracted beforehand. More human dynamics, such as handshakes upon meetings, or friendly hugs, will always be conducted with great care around appropriateness and with verbal consent beforehand.

I personally like to create a warm and caring relationship with all of my clients, but these boundaries are of primary importance, in affirming my professionalism and the integrity and security of our work together. There will be absolutely no blurring of the lines of my professional role, meaning no interactions of a romantic or sexual nature. These subjects may be explored within talking therapy, as is quite normal, but will under no circumstances be enacted.

I will be realistic about what we may or may not be able to achieve in our work together. I am not willing to set up unrealistic expectations, that may lead to disappointment. It is my belief that the work that we will do together is of inherent value, even without the addition of Iboga.

All of my work is strictly confidential, with a few minor caveats, pertaining to self harm and harm of others. The boundaries of confidentiality will be discussed and laid out in our working contract and are there to serve and protect you. In addition to this, confidentiality will be maintained to the best of my ability through anonymisation during my supervision.

Our work together will be contracted with certain time restraints, however reviews may be possible that re-contract and extend our working relationship. I may also offer to refer clients on to specialists and other professionals, when this seems appropriate and I believe serves the individual. I wish to avoid developing or fostering any unhelpful dependency, but also recognise that ongoing support may be best for certain clients. I commit to managing these boundaries ethically and in service to your best interests, to the best of my ability.

Supervision is an aspect of my work that is incredibly important in supporting my work. Supervision is a regular meeting with peers or more experienced practitioners, where our work is discussed. In this way my clients benefit from my own training and expertise, with the addition of the reflections and guidance of other trusted and experienced professionals. In supervision, client names are anonymised.

My work is fully insured under UK law and I am accredited to work as a psychotherapist here. Abroad, for legal reasons relating to differences in the structure of accreditation, I work as a coach. I also have an enhanced DBS police check, which means that I am able to work with children and vulnerable people. This doesn't come into my work here, but is relevant to your understanding of myself as an ethical and reliable individual.

Where I live Iboga is regulated and illegal, meaning that I have no ability, or desire to provide medicine and I do not personally handle medicine. All of my experiences with Iboga and other plant medicines have been in locations where the law permits it and under safe conditions and with the best guidance.
I maintain scrupulous conduct, with regards to the law.

I reserve the right to cease working with any client at my own discretion. I will always commit to giving clarity on the reasons why and I commit to not taking this option, unless there is a very good reason. I will also speak to my supervisor and do my best to resource you with alternative support, should this happen.
Possible reasons for such a rare occurrence could be events taking place in my own personal life which make it impossible for me to continue working, or a breakdown in the working relationship. I would always do my best to manage such issues in a relational way and without drastic action.

I will not tolerate any aggression or violence or threats thereof, in any degree. This includes any threats to myself, my property, my associates, friends or loved ones. This also includes reputation damage or damage to my profession. Details of these boundaries will be written into our working contract.

I commit to confidentiality regarding the providers who treat my clients. I will not disclose who my clients are working with, unless this is previously agreed upon and serves a purpose. The Iboga world is rather small and such boundaries serve to mitigate any potential interpersonal drama.

In all of my work, I commit to bringing myself with integrity, authenticity, compassion and to communicate transparently and as wisely as I am able. I owe a great deal to Iboga and I take my responsibility to this medicine and the people who I work with very seriously.

Q: What the risks involved in Iboga treatment. Who should be cautious about the treatment and what are the contraindications?

Medical dangers

The primary dangers of taking Iboga are cardiac issues, which have been known to lead to death. Ibogaine blocks hERG potassium channels, which are essential for normal heart rhythm. This leads to a prolonged QT interval (the time it takes for the heart to reset between beats) This can lead to a fatal arrhythmia. Ibogaine also activates the parasympathetic nervous system, leading to bradycardia (a slow heartbeat), which can lead to heart attack and death. Ibogaine can also cause fluctuations in blood pressure, sometimes leading to hypotension (low blood pressure), resulting in dizziness, fainting.

People taking opioids, stimulants, or antidepressants may encounter severe and life threatening interactions. Ibogaine potentiates opioids and stimulants and may lead to other health crises when combined with prescription, over the counter and elicit drugs.

For this reason any reputable treatment provider will insist that safeguards are put in place. Candidates for treatment will be directed to undergo relevant health screenings, to determine good health, including heart and liver function. and will be assisted with withdrawing contraindicated substances prior to treatment.

Additional concerns relate to a candidates psychological wellbeing. It is essential that individuals are screened to determine whether they are psychologically stable enough to undergo treatment with minimal chance of major upheaval. A treatment provider may ask about psychiatric diagnoses and particularly any history of mania, psychosis, or personality disorders.

Interpersonal dangers

From the perspective of the patient seeking treatment, perhaps the biggest danger is in finding and choosing a safe and effective provider. People desperate for relief from addiction may be prone to choosing the most cost effective option and so an unhealthy alliance may be made that places the candidate for treatment at great personal risk. The flip side of this, is that a reckless or delusional individual offering treatments, may learn to be cautious in such a way that harms or kills a vulnerable individual. I have heard of individuals who feel that due diligence with regards to standard safety procedures is an insult to their special status and insight. Unfortunately people with delusions of grandeur and other varieties of irresponsible individual may be drawn to this niche area. Regardless of this, there are many excellent and highly ethical providers working today.

As a further note, for individuals who are somewhat new to the realm of plant medicines and psychedelics, first experiences may lead to states of great openness and suggestibility. Finding oneself opened up and vulnerable in the presence of anyone who has predatory or manipulative intentions, may be quite dangerous and potentially lead to traumatic experiences.

The relativity of safety concerns

Some people hear about the potential dangers of Ibogaine treatment and immediately get their knickers into a twist and scoff at how foolish it is to do such a thing.
This is arguably an extreme and absurd reaction, given the huge problem with iatrogenic sickness and deaths, meaning deaths caused by mainstream allopathic medicine and medical intervention. A 2016 Johns Hopkins study suggested that medical errors could be the third leading cause of death in the U.S., responsible for 250,000 deaths annually—behind only heart disease and cancer.
The dangers of living with addiction, whether it is to cigarettes, alcohol, or harder drugs, like meth or fentanyl are a far greater risk than undergoing Iboga treatment, which could be instrumental in remedying the addiction to these dangerous substances.
When considering the dangers of Ibogaine, weighed against the potential benefits, I would urge careful consideration of your personal situation and whether this path is truly a wise choice for you.

Previous studies estimate the mortality rate for ibogaine treatment at 1 in 300 to 1 in 400 cases. This estimate sounds scary and is not a good way to assess your own risk. You may be thinking that you have a one in three hundred chance of dying, if you seek treatment. This is a very flawed way of reading the data and the data itself may well be unreliable, not taking into account many hidden factors surrounding the safety of the treatments.
A 2012 review of ibogaine-related deaths found 19 cases documented in medical literature. Most of these involved preexisting health conditions or drug interactions.
A 2022 study reviewed early-phase clinical trials and found no deaths in controlled settings, suggesting proper screening and medical oversight reduce risks.
What we can learn from all the evidence, is that proper precautionary measures and choosing to work with ethical, experienced and well qualified people radically reduces any potential risk.

Q: What should I know about Iboga and the law?

Q: Could Iboga help me with anxiety and social confidence?

Anxiety, social confidence and self-esteem are factors that can pose an enormous challenge to our lives in nearly innumerable ways. Social and love lives, studies and work progression, finding and engaging in our interests, may all be impacted, inhibiting us from living to our fullest potential. Anxiety may drive our authentic self into a state of exile, leaving us caught in great distress and pain. Many people live to a fraction of their potential and struggle to experience their birthright of autonomy and freedom due to longstanding anxiety.

The primary consideration when seeking help for anxiety is to establish a good working relationship with a psychotherapist or coach, who work with you to address the roots of the matter. A lived experience therapist will, in my opinion and experience, be far better positioned and qualified to assist you with this journey.

As long and I can remember, in my childhood I experienced considerable anxiety, which developed into the anxiety disorder, or process addiction, Body Dysmorphia.
A long period of therapy with two main psychotherapists, followed by two flood doses of Ibogaine, to address the residual clinging of BDD, set me free.

A large flood dose of Iboga for anxiety in the early stages of recovery would in my opinion, likely be unproductive and potentially harmful, but the effects of microdosing may provide a good support for recovery, alongside psychotherapy and coaching. Larger doses may be sought by some individuals in the later stages of recovery, but this is best done with great caution and sufficient preparatory work.

The subjective effects of Iboga at low dose or microdose can be grounding and stabilising, which alongside the enhanced neuroplasticity, may provide great benefit and assist the psychotherapeutic and coaching process. I look at microdosing Iboga here, as a support, in stabilising a shaky and insecure nervous system. With practice and appropriate challenges, we can develop internal resiliency and strength and let go of any need for Iboga as a support.

As ever, it is essential to work with an experienced treatment provider for reasons of safety.
I am unable to advise you to take Iboga, however I am ideally positioned to offer support, to help you to make the progress that you desire to see in your sense of self and your life, whether you choose to make use of Iboga or not.

Q: Can Iboga help with major anxiety disorders such as body dysmorphia or OCD?

I am one of only a few psychotherapists who have been through severe Body Dysmorphia, made a full recovery and now work supporting others with their own recovery. I imagine that I must be the only one of these therapists who used Iboga as a tool for recovery.

BDD is often referred to as an anxiety disorder, which has its roots in relational trauma. This repressed material presents as free floating anxiety, insecurity, low self esteem and other expressions of shame. At some point in the journey of a sufferer of BDD, they began to associate their painful feelings with flaws in their superficial body image. The world tells us in so many ways that to be beautiful is to be worthy, valuable, safe, acceptable, lovable.

The sufferer holds an implicit expectation that if they can perfect, or fix their image, then they will feel ok, but this leads on to hyper-focus on perceived flaws, which then become perceptually magnified and distorted. Enormous distress is experienced as the sufferer gets trapped looking in the mirror and/or engaging numerous avoidance behaviours.

People suffering with BDD have their will trapped in this destructive cycle and it becomes compulsive to the point where it seems inevitable that one will tumble down into the same pit as always.

In this sense BDD can be looked at as a process addiction. Much like substance addiction, the roots are in trauma and injury to ones sense of self. Attempts are made to fix an emotional problem and a problem of identity and relatedness, through making superficial changes.
In substance addiction there is a discovery made, that the pain of inauthenticity, alienation and the underlying trauma can be numbed or escaped, in some cases facilitating a withdrawal from life and in others fuelling the efforts to maintain a false self-presentation. In this way a psychological and a chemical dependency to the drugs are established.
In BDD, the process addiction is founded on trying to address an emotional problem on a superficial appearance level. As long as we remain convinced that safety lies in looking a certain way, then we will be stuck with distorted perception of ourselves and the clinging and desperate search for answers, will keep us stuck in a holding pattern, never recognising the underlying roots of the problem.

In both substance addiction and BDD, recovery is fundamentally about establishing a healthy self-relationship and by extension, the ability to live from a place of authenticity and to feel implicit belonging. In both, attachment, or clinging to false hopes, stands in the way of deeper processing and resolution taking place.

I have observed that symptoms that arise, very often promise to serve the function to distance oneself from the core pain, but as habits develop and become increasingly compulsive, these can actually serve to amplify the negative quality of the core issue. This amplification eventually leads to a state of inescapability and therefore an inevitable confrontation with the core wound unified with its symptomatic representation. I coined the term symptomatic immutability for this observation.
As an example, feelings of alienation or injury to ones sense of acceptableness may lead to BDD symptoms, as described before. The hope is that through fixing flaws, the feelings of shame will cease. But this actually leads to the individual becoming lost in a private hell. In this way, feelings of shame and alienation are amplified and become seemingly inescapable, using the limited perspectives that gave rise to the symptoms.

The experience of inescapability may happen more than once, and these actually represent moments of grace, whereby, there may be a recognition that all of this is automatic and unconscious. In other words this may be an awakening of awareness, as much as a dreadful state of entrapment.
It is often during one of these moments, that therapy is first sought, with the notion ‘I can’t do this alone any more’, or ‘I am lost and I need help’. In these instances there is an opening beyond the self-referential, alienating cycles of dysfunction that may have been mounting over a long period of time. This is why we call it grace, because we find humility and awareness arises that transcends the limitations of our own imperfect perspectives.
These kinds of speculations are here to sow seeds, that may be useful in understanding recovery in a productive way, but I don't want to get into too much depth in this introductory passage. This is a journey to be undertaken, not a late night philosophical debate and my role is guide, not teacher.

In my own journey, I made an enormous amount of progress toward health and recovery, with psychotherapy, but I was left with a residual clinging, somewhere deep inside my body. This was like a very subtle and deeply conditioned tendency to withdraw and to experience this psychological contraction and narrowing of consciousness. I saw this as the seeds of anxiety, left in my unconscious mind and although I did everything I could to not water these seeds leading to an episode of BDD, I found that this basic anxiety and insecurity continued to bother me. No amount of talking therapy, no alternative therapies I explored, no spiritual practice was seemingly able to dislodge this thorn in my psyche.

It was at this point that I came to Iboga and underwent my first flood dose. The visions showed me the deep truth of who I am, from my physical body viewed through accepting and loving eyes, as a soul and in my relationship to the unifying spirit that moves through all things. Iboga was like a highly skilled surgeon, operating and addressing the roots of my troubles.

In my work over the past decade, I have worked with countless individuals suffering with BDD and I see varying degrees of success. Some clients make rapid recovery and some take a long path, others may see no improvement, or may become inpatient, distrustful and give up. This work is often highly challenging, as a therapist I cannot drag someone along and transplant my own insight faster than they can digest. To this point I have not guided any of my clients to Iboga, as I wanted very much to hone my skills as a psychotherapist and coach, without reliance, or promises associated with substances.

Now that I am coming out more publicly as an Iboga assisted psychotherapist and coach, It is only appropriate to bring these areas of work together, at least here.

I must be very clear that I used Iboga, after nearly a decade of intensive psychotherapy and at a point where I was fully able to integrate the experience, into a pre-established healthy foundation. I would not advocate that individuals in the depths of despair seek Iboga as a way to rescue themselves. This is highly likely to be a challenging and unproductive experience. Instead, those who happen to consider this route, are advised to seek the best psychotherapy available and to perhaps return to reconsider Iboga, once progress has been made and you are in a place where you feel recovery is well established.
Please refer to my other website, If you are interested in working toward recovery from BDD.

Q: What is microdosing?

For legal and safety reasons, I am not able to offer direct guidance on microdosing. I do not want to step outside of my area of expertise. It is important that you always seek proper instruction from a qualified individual, who can perform the necessary safety checks, including health and contraindicated medications, offer you guidance and monitor you. Observing the laws of your nation is also imperative, as you could be at risk of prosecution.

Those who are regularly consuming Iboga are advised to create a printed document that can be given to emergency services and healthcare providers, so that they are aware to avoid administering contraindicated medicines.

Microdosing is using small quantities of Iboga, or one of its extracts. Microdosing Iboga is generally at a very low dose range, from sub-perceptual, meaning that it is not noticeable, up to the level where it is a mild stimulant, but not to the point where consciousness is altered in any significant way.

It is important when considering microdosing to remember that unlike psilocybin and other classical psychedelics, which are widely microdosed today, as we understand it, your body does not build up a tolerance to Ibogaine. With Mushrooms the effects diminish, as your body adapts and metabolises the active compounds more efficiently. With Iboga, the active compounds build up and accumulate in the body, meaning that dosing regimens have to be conducted carefully, to avoid any health issues or other dangers.

I know of individuals who have microdosed with Iboga for long periods, without adequate monitoring and cycling. They have experienced altered perception and ataxia, or shakiness. This can be worrying and indicate that an individual is at risk of health complications.

Reports and limited studies suggest many potential benefits of Iboga microdosing:

Mood Enhancement – Users report reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Increased Motivation – Some people experience heightened drive and focus.

Neurogenesis – Iboga microdosing may promote brain cell growth.

Neuroplasticity- Iboga microdosing may enhance neuroplasticity, making habit break and habit formation easier as well as supporting learning.

Improved Focus and Clarity – Some users suggest that Iboga is a nootropic (cognitive enhancer).

Increased Creativity – Iboga microdosing might encourage divergent thinking and problem-solving skills.

Reduced Cravings – Iboga microdosing might support ongoing anti-addictive efforts.

Breaking Negative Patterns – Some report that Iboga microdosing helps with compulsive behaviours and emotional triggers.

Increased Energy Levels – Some report that Iboga microdosing leads to feeling more physically active, engaged and greater endurance.

Pain Relief – Iboga microdosing may have analgesic effects for chronic pain or nerve damage.

Parkinsons Disease - Ongoing research shows that Iboga microdosing may help to alleviate or reverse symptoms of Parkinsons Disease.

ADHD- Some people find that Iboga microdosing is a highly effective remedy for ADHD and ADD symptoms.

Social Confidence - Some use Iboga microdosing as a means to feel more grounded, stable and to reduce anxiety in social situations. With the neuroplastic effects, this can potentially create lasting changes in confidence and self-perception.

Iboga Insight

Q&A

Deciding to undergo Ibogaine treatment is a significant step, and it’s natural to have many questions.