Will Hall, M.A.
Will Hall: Speaking About Ethics
Will Hall, M.A, is a counselor and facilitator working with individuals, couples and groups. He is currently a PhD Candidate at Maastricht University Medical Center – School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, supervised by Dr. Jim van Os. His work as a therapist and group facilitator focuses especially on trauma, oppression, and working with extreme states of consciousness Since 2005 he has hosted Madness Radio: Voices And Visions from Outside Mental Health exploring ‘madness’ from beyond conventional perspectives and mainstream treatments.
Click on the arrow on the left above to listen to the interview.
Will Hall Blows the Whistle
In the recorded interview above (37 minutes) Will names particular people and organizations and recounts specific stories, including some of his own experience of being abused by trainers of prospective guides in psychedelic-assisted therapy. IMHU is very much appreciative of Will’s courage to disclose some of his story for this interview and look again into the wounding that can occur in the wider community involved with psychedelics and plant medicines.
[A fuller accounting of Will’s story, written by him, can be found in an essay on Medium and an article at Mad in America]
Will strongly calls for greater awareness about what an ethical transgression is and the negative, sometimes traumatic impact it can have on a participant, or a group of participants.
By stepping into the light Will has upset certain people who had gained positions of influence in the field of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Some have lost jobs as a result. Will’s whistle blowing has also disturbed those who want to only highlight the positive potential of psychedelics and plant medicines and fear a return to the overly-rigid position of the “War on Drugs”. The overall message is this: there is a shadow side to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy that we need to perceive and attend to alongside the enormously positive potential it has when done responsibly.
Clarity: What Are Deeply Held Ethics?
Listening to the interview will give you a very clear idea of the need for impeccable ethics on the part of guides and sitters–or anyone working with people who are in non-ordinary states of consciousness, e.g. breathwork. Participants in these therapies are highly suggestible, sensitive and vulnerable; their personal boundaries need to be respected on every level.
How a guide, coach or sitter goes about maintaining ethics in a safe space is a matter of profound self-inquiry and self-discipline–touching the heart and soul– far beyond the dry, impersonal rules and regulations schools typically teach. This inner work calls on us to identify and root out all self-interest. It calls on us to see and commit to the ideal: that the guide is single-mindedly dedicated to the well-being and safety of the participant, on every level.
Deep thanks to Tehseen Noorani, PhD, who expertly interviewed Will Hall about this sensitive and important topic. Tehseen is an academic, author, and researcher with a special interest in psychedelics, social justice, madness and awakening.
May this interview contribute to manifesting the best outcomes in all therapies that invite non-ordinary states of consciousness.
Delving into Inner Ethics
You can sign up now for a course at IMHU on “Inner Ethics®” with Kylea Taylor, MFT (above). In two hour-long pre-recorded presentations, available at registration, Kylea masterfully and compassionately uncovers some of the ways that therapists, shamans, guides and sitters may disempower or abuse participants in therapies that involve non-ordinary states. Written materials facilitate the inner reflection and inner transformation needed to improve skills in fully empowering participants in experiences with non-ordinary states. Highly recommended!
Link HERE
IMHU’s Spiritual Emergence Coaches took this course in 2023 and raved about it! IMHU is now making it available to our larger audience.
Author: Emma Bragdon, PhD, is the Executive Director of IMHU. She also provides personal coaching to individuals looking for support in their spiritual emergence or emergency.