JJ Biasucci, CASAC-T, travels between the US and Costa Rica working as a coach and master trainer with clients from all walks of life helping them transform their lives physically and spiritually. We spoke with JJ about his work in the therapeutic psychedelic field.

RCNY: Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us today. When were you first introduced to psychedelics?

JB: Recreationally when I was young, in my teens and early 20s. I was reintroduced about 20 years ago, the latter time was more thought out.

I was sober for some time but I still had untreatable depression, I tried an antidepressant but it made things worse for me. I was at a loss and feared I’d just have to live with being depressed, but as fate would have it, I was talking to my new friend, Jill. Jill is a nurse, a holistic chef, and an all-around healthy person, so I knew she would be a good person to talk to about my situation. She asked me if I’d ever tried hallucinogens, I told her, Yes when I was a kid, and I mentioned that even though I was sober and didn’t believe in taking mood-altering substances, I thought LSD would be helpful for people in some way, maybe if taken in a more structured way. She said “I know of a group that does that. Have you heard of Ayahuasca?” Then after doing some of my own research, which at the time was hard because Ayahuasca was not the talk of the town the way it is now. After talking to some people who were “addicts” but were using Ayahuasca to help maintain sobriety and stable life, I decided to try it. Well…It worked and it worked well. I decided I wanted t to learn more and joined the Santo Daime, a group out of Brazil and made it a point to travel there and learn all could.

RCNY: When did you transition to then helping others using psychedelics therapeutically?

JB: Even though psychedelics were a huge part of my own recovery I realized early on that they are not a magic bullet. I didn’t take them and then just stop going to therapy, or even my 12 step meetings. On the contrary, the message I was getting from the medicine was, to do even more. It encouraged me to learn as much as I can about recovery and overall health. I studied mind-body medicine, NLP, and became an avid meditator, and did over 2000 hours of yoga and yoga therapy training. I learned hypnosis, autogenics, NLP, food as medicine, and so on. I already had a strong background as a fitness trainer and developed an exercise as medicine program.

Let me say right up front I don’t sell psychedelics and I don’t give people psychedelics. I don’t do the ceremony itself, just the integration and consultation. When clients reach out to me that they are interested in learning more about psychedelic integration, I always work along side a licensed professional.

I became a CASAC-T, Certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor. As I began working in the field, I came across a lot of people, who typical therapy just didn’t work for. The trauma was too deep, and their attitude towards anything that could help was negative, like a nocebo instead of a placebo. I knew that for many of these people psychedelics could help, but they were illegal. Also, I had a firm position that these sacred plants were not to be proselytized, introducing them to others was a delicate process. Of course, now they’ve been studied and talked about in every possible media source and publication. There are pros and cons to this type of P.R. but that’s another story. Little by little through word of mouth I became known as someone others can talk to about seeking help through psychedelics. I’ve taken courses on psychedelics as a therapy. Now I travel all over the world guiding others through the process. I help answer questions and point people in the right direction towards getting the most out of the experience.

RCNY: What kinds of conditions have you seen helped through the use of psychedelics?

JB: I’ve helped people with many different conditions but mainly, trauma, addiction, depression, and end-of-life care. I also help people who have had “bad” experiences with psychedelics to reframe them, because even a bad experience can sometimes be helpful.

I had one client once, before I met him he got off his meds to do an Iboga treatment and he didn’t get the right advice before or proper integration after the experience. I got a call from his psychiatric team to go pick him up from the center in Latin America and bring him to a psychiatric hospital in New York. After I met him in Latin America, I calmed him down and instead of taking him back to the US, I stayed with him for 5 months and helped him get stable again. When I arrived he was in psychosis after 5 months he was healthy and happy again.

RCNY: Tell us about the process for getting a client prepared for a therapeutic psychedelic experience.

JB: That’s what I’m doing now with a client, he’s getting off of 5 medications and abstaining from alcohol. He’s in his midsixties and he’s been abusing drugs and alcohol for over 3 decades, he’s been in and out of rehabs for addiction and psych-wards for depression. First off, I don’t do any of this without the consultation of a doctor, psychiatrist, and/or medical team. There needs to be a medical and psych check-up, I ask a lot of questions, we need to see if there’s anything that would disqualify him from doing psychedelics, or if one psychedelic would be better than another. As we prepare physically with exercise and diet, we prepare pscho-spiritualy by setting an intention, using daily visualizations and affirmations, meditating, and learning to reframe resentments and trauma through journaling and thought inquiry. Self care is important but it can be difficult to do if the client has heavy depression or is detoxing off drugs, so I walk them through it.

RCNY: What about safety?

JB: Safety requires more than 1 set of eyes. All coaches should have a coach and all shamans should have a shaman or come from a lineage. It’s important that I work with others and get others’ opinions. I always work with and take the advice of the client’s doctors and psychiatrists. All opinions are backed by the professional opinion of 3-5 other experts. I’m lucky because I have a lot of amazing mentors, teachers, doctors and spiritual advisors to get help from. I need to practice what I preach, so I can stay present, be a good observer and of course experience has taught me what to look for, experience informs intuition.

RCNY: How does your therapeutic use relate to your practice?

JB: In my opinion the best medicine is community, family and friends. The best medicines do not require taking anything, i.e. good food, meditation, breathwork and laughing with friends. These are the “prime medicines” and psychedelics just open us to let these prime medicines do their work.

RCNY: One last question: What’s your superpower?

JB: I’m an empathetic person, I’ve been there, homeless, addicted, lonely and depressed. I can put myself in my clients’ shoes because I can see it in myself. I’m compassionate and I practice compassion.

RCNY: Wonderful, sounds perfect.

 

If you would like more information about JJ or any of our coaches, you can reach out to Cindy Feinberg, President of The Recovery Coach NY:

Phone or text: 631-921-4085

Email: recoverycoachcindy@gmail.com

Through her website: www.therecoverycoachny.com