
Protected: Psychedelic Doctor, Recovering Healer: A Memoir
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Abstract This report advances the central thesis that the Addiction as Dissociation Model (ADM) provides a scientifically robust and legally defensible framework for re-conceptualizing addiction as an adaptive, trauma-related dissociative response. Prevailing psychiatric and legal paradigms have historically failed to produce operational definitions for addiction, leading to systemic failures in both treatment and jurisprudence. This

Structured Abstract 1. Introduction: The Theological Impulse in Addiction The human search for meaning, purpose, and relief—the theological impulse—is universally acknowledged. When this impulse is filtered through the lens of trauma, it becomes pathologized. Participants in phenomenological studies of addiction often describe the addictive compulsion using language associated with ultimate authority: “It’s pure nature like

You feel it—that relentless pull toward certainty, control, or an overwhelming experience that makes you feel powerful or all-knowing. Maybe it’s chasing the perfect career, the next dopamine hit, or, more subtly, demanding that the government or a diagnostic manual give you an absolute, unquestionable truth. At the Wounded Healers Institute (WHI), we know this

The analysis herein focuses exclusively on the core arguments presented in the provided source material, “Industrialized Psychiatry PUB2.pdf,” which outlines a comprehensive critique of modern psychiatric and legal systems through the lens of lived experience and an alternative “Healer” paradigm. This synthesis identifies key assertions regarding professional competence, definitions of mental health concepts, and the

The Foundational Theses, Business Model, and Legal Framework of the Wounded Healers Institute Executive Summary Current medical, psychological, and legal systems are fundamentally failing to address human suffering. They operate on incomplete and flawed definitions of addiction and trauma, and more critically, are themselves pathologically addicted to power, control, and systemic denial. This document introduces

Introduction: A Declaration of Intellectual Sovereignty This document serves as a comprehensive strategic framework designed to codify the core tenets of the Wounded Healers Institute (WHI) paradigm and to articulate a multi-pronged strategy for its academic, legal, and professional defense. Its creation is a necessary response to a biased institutional educational environment that consistently prioritizes

Why the Department of Education is Addicted to What they Ignore and Deny The work of Dr. Adam O’Brien critiques systems that perpetuate trauma by adhering to fragmented, emotionally detached models. The U.S. education system—managed by the Department of Education—is a central target for this critique. When faced with students exhibiting behavioral or learning issues,

The Wounded Healers Institute (WHI) levels a trenchant and comprehensive critique against what it terms “Industrialized” systems—referencing the established psychological, medical (psychiatry), legal, and governmental structures—by diagnosing them with profound moral, legal, and developmental pathologies. This systemic analysis posits that these institutions are not merely flawed but are actively detrimental to genuine healing due to

Cannabis-Based Breathwork for Somatic, Relational, and Intergenerational Healing The Wounded Healers Institute (WHI) offers specialized re-educational programming centered on the Path of the Wounded Healer (PWH). This module focuses on using cannabis and breathwork to access innate states of healing by leveraging the body’s intrinsic mechanism of psychological resolution: Memory Reconsolidation (MR). This is fundamentally

WHI is announcing that Dr. Adam O’Brien and Wounded Healers Institute are leaving Brainspotting International (BI). Having achieved certification in Brainspotting, Approved Brainspotting Consultant, and was an approved Advanced Special Topics Trainer with this organization, he is leaving to continue the Path of the Wounded Healer (with our Trauma Resolution Healing Education and Training Program

Announcing that Dr. Adam O’Brien and Wounded Healers Institute are leaving EMDRIA and Institute for Creative Mindfulness (ICM). Having achieved certified, approved consultant, advanced special topics trainer status with EMDRIA and with Institute for Creative Mindfulness (ICM) under Dr. Marich mentorship), I am leaving to continue the Path of the Wounded Healer with Wounded Healers

The Wounded Healers Institute (WHI) framework posits that the prevailing epidemics of physical illness—obesity, metabolic syndrome, and chronic inflammatory diseases—are not solely consequences of diet or genetics, but are somatic manifestations of unhealed psychological trauma. This thesis utilizes the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study and Dr. Adam O’Brien’s foundational principle that the “physical body is

The contemporary healing landscape is defined by two disparate approaches to understanding human suffering: the specialized, biological mechanism of Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) and the holistic, relational philosophy of the Wounded Healer (WHI). While PNI seeks to quantify the mind-body connection through empirical scientific methods, the WHI framework, developed by Dr. Adam O’Brien, offers the philosophical and

Have you ever considered that your deepest personal struggles—the moments of pain and confusion that leave the most profound scars—could become your greatest source of strength? This revolutionary idea sits at the heart of an archetype as ancient as mythology and as modern as psychology: the Wounded Healer. This journey is more than personal; it

Let us speak of what is eternal, for the past, the present, and the future are not separate, but one process, like ice, water, and vapor. The Sickness of the Separated Mind The core struggle of this civilized world is its addiction to separation—the belief that the mind is master and the heart is weak,

As a professional expert operating within the methodological requirements for academic, professional research, and legal standardization (e.g., PhD, MD, PsyD, Judicial Doctorate level analysis), I must first address the epistemic limitations inherent in your request. A comprehensive academic report on the validity of these internal sources and discourse against contemporary external industry and professional standards

Methodological Caveat: Pursuant to established protocol requiring adherence exclusively to provided source materials, this analysis draws solely from the internal research and scholarly publications produced by the Wounded Healers Institute. The validation presented herein reflects the intrinsic claims of scientific and legal rigor asserted by the Addiction as Dissociation Model (ADM) and the Path of

I. Introduction and Foundational Thesis A. The Crisis of Fragmented Pathological Models Contemporary approaches to chronic human pathology, including addiction, mental illness, and complex physical diseases, are overwhelmingly characterized by conceptual fragmentation. Existing disciplinary models—medical, legal, and economic—operate on siloed, linear causality assumptions that are insufficient to explain the complexity of modern chronic affliction. For

1. Introduction: The Transformative Power of the Wound The archetype of the Wounded Healer is not a comforting story of personal growth; it is a radical challenge to the very foundation of modern healing. It asserts that true authority to heal is born not from academic credentials or institutional licensure, but from the qualitative supremacy

Part I: The System is the Identified “Patient”: Diagnosing a Pathological Paradigm 1. Introduction: A Crisis of Conscience in the Healing Professions The modern mental health, medical, and legal systems are in a state of acute crisis. This crisis is not a matter of inadequate funding or minor inefficiencies; it stems from fundamental design flaws

Conceptualizing Addiction, Healing, and Systemic Pathology Through the Lens of Trauma-Related Dissociation 1.0 The Addiction as Dissociation Model (ADM): A Unifying Framework for Trauma and Compulsivity The Addiction as Dissociation Model (ADM) represents a significant paradigm shift in the conceptualization of compulsive behaviors and psychological distress. Moving beyond siloed, symptom-focused frameworks, the ADM redefines addiction

Structured Abstract 1. Introduction: The Denial System and the Split in Scientific Epistemology The enduring challenge in defining and treating conditions like trauma and addiction is not merely technical, but philosophical. The Addiction as Dissociation Model (ADM) asserts that the core pathology is a conditioned bond to a survival-driven dissociative state, where the physical body

Introduction: Identifying a Unifying Mechanism for Transformative Therapies Psychedelic Therapy (PT) has achieved FDA breakthrough status for the treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and established evidence-based therapies like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) continue to show high efficacy. However, a unifying mechanism of action (MoA) that neurobiologically explains their success is not widely

Quantitative Science as Dogma and the Ethical Mandate for Separation of State and Science Structured Abstract 1. Introduction: The Epistemological Roots of Institutional Control The history of addiction and trauma is defined by a philosophical war between the objective and the subjective. The Addiction as Dissociation Model (ADM) provides a unifying framework, positing that addiction

Structured Abstract 1. Introduction: The Transdiagnostic Nature of Trauma and Dissociation The core principle of the Wounded Healers Institute (WHI) is that the physical body is the psychological unconscious, and that symptoms of chronic illness, obesity, and functional neurological deficits are communications of unresolved, somatically stored traumatic memory.1 The Addiction as Dissociation Model (ADM) operationalizes

Abstract This paper presents a unified framework asserting that addiction is a transdiagnostic, trauma-related dissociative process, using this neurobiological reality as a scientific indictment of the prevailing legal-psychiatric complex. This model deconstructs the interconnected roles of the endogenous opiate and endocannabinoid systems to expose the mechanisms through which our governing institutions perpetuate systemic pathology. Trauma

A Moral-Ethical exploration. Structured Abstract 1. Introduction: The Fragmentation of Truth The ongoing debate in addictionology—oscillating between the poles of a “choice” and a “disease”—underscores a core deficiency in Western thought: the systematic fragmentation of human experience into separate, non-communicating domains.1 The work of the Wounded Healers Institute (WHI) establishes that addiction is a conditional

Championed by the Wounded Healers Institute (WHI), is predicated on a philosophical and epistemological paradigm shift that rigorously integrates lived experience, psychedelic modalities, and a core neurobiological mechanism known as Memory Reconsolidation (MR). These three elements are indispensable, functioning collectively to define the Healer’s authority, methodology, and ultimate purpose in counteracting what is characterized as

Structured Abstract 1. From Pathological Symptom to Adaptive Survival Mandate The core misunderstanding that Fading Memory Disorder (FMD) and Absence Seizures (AS) represent lies in confusing an adaptive response with a primary pathology. The ADM redefines the loss of control inherent in these states—whether the conscious surrender to a lapse in awareness (AS) or the

This series of articles explores the concept of “Fading Memory Disorder” (FMD), or progressive cognitive decline, through the comprehensive, trauma-informed lens of the Wounded Healers Institute (WHI) and its foundational models. These articles synthesize psychological, neurobiological, and environmental research to propose that FMD is an expression of systemic, unresolved traumatic dissociation, rather than an isolated

1.0 Introduction: Establishing a Rigorous Validation Protocol For the theoretical models advanced by the Wounded Healers Institute (WHI) to be considered for integration into mainstream clinical science, they must be subjected to a rigorous validation protocol consistent with established psychometric and research standards. This document outlines such a framework, specifying the methodological steps required to

DOCUMENT TYPE: Research and Validation Report (Simulated PDF Output) PROJECT: Database for Academic, Professional Research, and Legal Standards MODELS INTEGRATED: Addiction as Dissociation Model (ADM), Path of the Wounded Healer (PWH), Meeting Area Screening and Assessment (MASA), and Imaginal Exposure Interventions (IEI/IEE) DATE OF ISSUE: October 26, 2025 (Projected) AUTHORITY: The Wounded Healers Institute (WHI)

PART I WHI Research and Validation: Foundational Psychometric Tools and Systemic Accountability Protocol DOCUMENT TYPE: Research and Validation Report (Simulated PDF Output) PROJECT: Database for Academic, Professional Research, and Legal Standards MODEL INTEGRATED: Addiction as Dissociation Model (ADM), Path of the Wounded Healer (PWH), Meeting Area Screening and Assessment (MASA) DATE OF ISSUE: October 26,

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Recovery and Moral Character are Measurable The conceptual frameworks advanced by the Wounded Healers Institute (WHI), particularly the Addiction as Dissociation Model (ADM) and the Path of the Wounded Healer (PWH), necessitate the development of novel psychometric tools and protocols grounded in moral epistemology and psychological science. Given the mandate to create a database capable

The Addiction as Dissociation Model (ADM), developed by Dr. Adam O’Brien, fundamentally redefines the etiology and nosology of human suffering by challenging the reductionist and compartmentalized frameworks prevalent in modern mental health, legal, and governmental systems. This theoretical structure posits that trauma, dissociation, and addiction are interconnected, dependent upon each other, transdiagnostic phenomena that require

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The necessity of extracting these core arguments lies in exposing the pathology of the bureaucratic apparatus that seeks to prosecute a moral professionals simply for adhering to scientific truth and the higher law of healing. Our words are not merely quotes; they are diagnostic statements reflecting the inherent psychopathology and often abusive contradictions within the

Integrated Causality of Addiction, Obesity, and Chronic Physical Illness I. Introduction: Framing the Crisis in Integrated Health The contemporary epidemiological landscape is marked by a synergistic increase in the prevalence of neurological, metabolic, and chronic inflammatory diseases. This rise runs parallel to growing clinical awareness regarding the pervasive exposure to psychological trauma and environmental stressors.

A Comparative Analysis of Industrial Commodification, Regulatory Capture, and the Prohibition of Natural Healing Agents 1. Introduction and Framing the Epistemic Conflict 1.1. Executive Summary: The Paradox of Toxic Commodification and Therapeutic Prohibition Modern industrial society has established a profound, inverted value system concerning health-affecting substances. The core thesis explored herein is that substances that

Introduction: The Emerging Paradigm of the Healer We are in the midst of a recovery reckoning, a spiritual revolution that calls into question the very foundations of institutionalized mental healthcare. This analysis draws a sharp line between two fundamentally opposed archetypes: the licensed psychological therapist, an agent of the established medical-industrial complex, and the Healer.

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Applied collective unconscious healing is possible, if and only if, healing exists in the real world. Historical context for the Path of the Wounded Healer and Wounded Healers Institute. The Addiction as Dissociation Model (ADM) The ADM, developed through phenomenological investigation, posits that addiction is not fundamentally a brain disease but a response to unresolved

The conceptual redefinition of addiction, as articulated in O’Brien’s work (2023a), fundamentally challenges established psychological paradigms by postulating that Addiction is a healing response/solution rather than a primary disease. This perspective is critical within the larger framework of Systemic Pathology/Dysfunction, arguing that the pervasive implicit irony and incompetence in professional and governmental systems stem directly

Introduction As recent political trends and movements have identified that there have been overprescribing, overdiagnosing, and overprescribing; Who is to blame for this? If governmental agencies that study and educate the public that psychedelics are addictive, then how can their policies have been legally validated by professional and research standards? The assessment of responsibility for

As articulated in the sources (O’Brien, 2023a; O’Brien, 2023b; O’Brien, 2023c; O’Brien, 2024a; O’Brien, 2024b; O’Brien, 2024c; O’Brien, 2025), represents a radical, philosophical, and professional framework proposed by Dr. Adam O’Brien to directly counteract the systemic pathologies inherent in Industrialized Systems. The WHP advocates for the re-emergence of the Healer Profession, defining its authority not

The Path of the Wounded Healer (PWH) Model is the comprehensive, phase-based framework operationalized by the Wounded Healers Institute (WHI) to implement the underlying philosophy of the Wounded Healer Paradigm (WHP). It functions as the intellectual and experiential corrective measure against the inherent pathologies of the industrialized mental health system, emphasizing qualitative wisdom, moral integrity,

Executive Summary This briefing synthesizes a comprehensive and polemical critique of contemporary psychiatric, legal, and governmental systems. The central thesis posits that these institutions operate within a fundamentally flawed, “industrialized” paradigm characterized by systemic addiction, dissociation, and developmental immaturity. This pathology manifests as a reliance on incomplete psychological diagnostics, a quantitative and reductionist worldview that

1.0 Introduction: A System in Crisis and a Call for a New Paradigm The systems governing mental health are beset by fundamental design flaws and moral compromises that result in outcomes often detrimental to genuine healing. The landscape of care is in a state of acute crisis, necessitating an urgent and fundamental paradigm shift. The

Expertise for the Healer as a Advocation and Profession The discourse surrounding the Wounded Healer Paradigm (WHP) fundamentally redefines professional competence by establishing Lived Experience as Expertise. This perspective asserts that the knowledge acquired through navigating personal suffering, trauma, and recovery constitutes an intrinsic form of authority superior to conventional academic credentials or quantitative knowledge,

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Introduction If Black Elk were to review WHI’s material through generative AI and selected source material, what would he say? DATA I have looked upon these documents (WHI published works), this great pile of paper and ink, which holds the wisdom drawn from deep suffering and the truth born of long recovery. To see these

Introduction: A Paradigm at a Crossroads The discourse surrounding mental health and addiction has arrived at a critical juncture. For decades, a homeostatic system of clinical frameworks has guided our understanding, maintaining its equilibrium through established diagnostic categories and professional hierarchies. This system is now being challenged by a disruptive force: an emerging, systemic paradigm

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Introduction: The Archetype of the Wounded Healer The landscape of modern mental health care is a broken field, littered with the failures of an industrialized system. Dr. Thomas Szasz diagnosed the sickness in 2004: “Labeling a child as mentally ill is stigmatization, not diagnosing. Giving a child a psychiatric drug is poisoning, not treatment.” This

Introduction: Beyond the Conventional Narrative What if our society’s most trusted institutions—our legal system, our medical establishment, our psychological frameworks—are built on a foundation of profound misunderstanding? We are taught to see addiction as a moral failing or a simple disease, mental illness as a chemical imbalance, and justice as a rational process. But what

Introduction The systemic issues of overprescribing and overdiagnosing addressed by the MAHA initiative are rooted in professional and institutional addiction to maintaining a flawed status quo. The Wounded Healers Institute (WHI) asserts that the field of psychiatry, psychology, law, and insurance practices are complicit in upholding these psychological constructs because this perpetuates their professional necessity

Navigating the Moral-Ethical Labyrinth: Unseen Truth of Diagnostic Privilege

WHI is now offering Donation-Based Services, including Psychedelic Care through our (Re)Education paths… What WHI have found is that people are doing the self-healing with psychedelics and are often looking for support or integration. We have seen services not have these so we are opening our (re)educational services to those who want to learn from

Psychedelic Care is an educational service that WHI and Dr. Adam provides to help counter the narrative that psychedelics are drugs or dangerous drugs when science has shown that they are agents of healing, activate dissociative states of healing, or are healing agents themselves (O’Brien, 2023a). Psychedelic Care is a direct response to D.A.R.E., continued

Introduction: A Call for a Paradigm Shift Prevailing frameworks within mainstream psychiatry and psychology often approach addiction, trauma, and dissociation as distinct, compartmentalized phenomena. This siloed, symptom-focused model, rooted in a quantitative and industrial paradigm, frequently fails to capture the profound, systemic nature of these interconnected experiences. It overlooks the transdiagnostic status of addiction, its

The main difference between addiction and mental health in the context of the provided materials is that addiction, when inaccurately defined by traditional systems, is often mistaken for a primary mental illness when it is, in fact, a transdiagnostic, trauma-related dissociative response. WHI’s research posits that the distinction collapses because: The current mental health system

The philosophical critique inherent in the work of Dr. Adam O’Brien and the Wounded Healers Institute (WHI) fundamentally challenges the intellectual architecture of modern reductionism, best exemplified by the rigid adherence to the mathematical certainty of 1+1=2. When this absolute binary logic is applied to the complexities of human relationships, trauma, and consciousness, it becomes

Structured Abstract 1. Introduction The conceptual schism between mind and body remains a central obstacle in treating complex conditions such as chronic trauma, dissociation, and substance use disorder.[1] The prevailing view often compartmentalizes psychological processes (e.g., dissociation) from physiological mechanisms (e.g., endogenous opioid activation), obscuring the unified nature of human experience. Dr. Adam O’Brien’s work

Structured Abstract 1. Introduction The path to healing trauma, dissociation, and addiction requires moving memories from an active, emotionally intrusive state into long-term, resolved storage—a feat accomplished through Memory Reconsolidation (MR).[1] Traditional trauma therapies, such as EMDR, leverage Dual Attention Stimulus (DAS) to achieve this, requiring the patient to simultaneously focus on the trauma while

Letting History be the judge can be fun for those who know the whole truth and nothing but the truth. AI Prompt Explore the Legal Injustice of the woundedhealersinstitute.org/blogs/: U.S. Congress not officially declaring war (U.S. Constitution) on a “drug” (that is not a drug but a plant), separation of church (and science) and state

Structured Abstract 1. Introduction The prevailing clinical discourse on trauma and addiction is often characterized by fragmentation, treating these conditions as distinct pathologies rather than interconnected manifestations of a deeper biological and psychological process. Traditional definitions of addiction, such as those in the DSM-5, rely on symptom-based criteria that fail to capture the profound, lived

Wounded Healers, using the new APA recent guidelines (HERE), AI analytically explored our programming and care. The American Psychological Association (APA) has established a set of aspirational guidelines for trauma-informed care, emphasizing the need for practitioners to understand the widespread impact of trauma, the biology of stress, and the social and cultural contexts in which

The recent public release of the FDA’s Complete Response Letter (CRL) regarding Lykos Therapeutics’ MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD has sparked a renewed and urgent debate. While Rick Doblin, the founder of MAPS, has framed the rejection as a frustrating “changing of the goal posts”, a deeper analysis reveals this conflict is not merely about regulatory

In an effort to support Making America Healthy, we wondered how can Wounded Healers Institute (WHI) assist with the goals and challenges outlined in the MAHA (Make Our Children Healthy Again) Report and Strategy. The MAHA reports identify a crisis in children’s health, attributing it to several root causes, including poor diet, chemical exposures, chronic

WHI asked AI (Pro 2.5 Gemini): What would recovery advocate and researcher William White say about Dr. Adam’s work at the Wounded Healers Institute (woundedhealersinstitute.org)? Use the author’s main arguments to support your findings. DATA William White, a distinguished figure in addiction research and a tireless advocate for the recovery movement, would likely view Dr.

When a citizen is murdered for voicing a different view, our collective wisdom insists that we are one big family, that disagreements are settled through debate and law, not violence. This is the moral high ground we preach. Yet, when we hold this wisdom up to our society’s own actions, we find a profound, and

We live in a time when science, reason, and technology are championed as the ultimate arbiters of truth. But what if this very ideology—the quiet, pervasive belief that only what can be measured is real—has become a form of totalitarianism far more insidious than the violent regimes of the past? What if, in our quest

When a citizen is murdered for voicing a different view, our collective wisdom insists that we are one big family, that disagreements are settled through debate and law, not violence. This is the moral high ground we preach. Yet, when we hold this wisdom up to our society’s own actions, we find a profound, and

We asked our AI (Gemini Pro 2.5) to see how WHI could be helpful in supporting the now defunded SAMHSA. Here is what it said: A Strategic Plan for The Wounded Healers Institute (WHI) to Support a Defunded SAMHSA This plan outlines a strategic framework for the Wounded Healers Institute to fill the critical void

1. Introduction: The Unseen Dimensions of Human Suffering and Societal Structures 1.1. The Provocation: A Challenge to Conventional Wisdom The prevailing frameworks within mainstream psychiatry, psychology, and modern medicine often grapple with the multifaceted nature of human suffering, particularly concerning addiction and trauma. Fate and the lived experience serve as profound challenges to these established

Structured Abstract 1. Introduction Addiction has long been a perplexing and highly stigmatized condition, with its definition often caught in a polarized debate between viewing it as a voluntary “choice” and an involuntary “disease”. The current diagnostic categories, such as those in the DSM-5, rely heavily on symptom-based criteria, leaving the underlying processes undefined. This

Path of the Wounded Healer is already an evidence-based practice, based on the logic that 1 + 1 also =’s 3 (O’Brien, 2025). The Addiction as Dissociation Model (ADM) is not Dr. O’Brien’s alone is a crucial distinction. The model was co-created with Dr. Jamie Marich, founder of the Institute for Creative Mindfulness. Dr. Marich

As a licensed professional, it is implied (and was told to us once by a legal authority) that licensees (and implying that citizens also) “must” follow the law before science. This implies the belief that we (all citizens) need follow the law above their own personal moral objection, moral intuition, gut feeling, and professional ethical

To heal, we must first recognize the pathology, then require any new form of governance rooted in both psychological science and moral-ethical integrity.

The modern world often presents a profound paradox: a society overflowing with information, yet seemingly disconnected from its own reality. We are taught to trust in “settled science,” rigid methodologies, and professional authority, yet we grapple with a pervasive sense of dis-ease, as if a vital piece of the human experience has been lost. What

Book Announcement!

Book Announcement!

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The Unseen Architecture of Addiction that Dissociation Offers

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What is the Wounded Healers Institute’s role in 2025? For those who don’t know, as SAMHSA is currently being defunded, the pain of not having addiction operational defined, the unconscious not understood as the body, unconscious informed consent being laughed at by legal scholars, and people not being diagnosed with addictions or being misdiagnosed with

The Wounded Healers Institute (WHI) is at the forefront of a profound redefinition of healing, advocating for a transformative process that extends far beyond conventional clinical treatment.

The Wounded Healers Institute embarks on a profound inquiry into the very nature of “science” and “pseudoscience” within the realm of healing.

1. Introduction: Deconstructing “Psychoactive” through the Wounded Healers Institute’s Lens The term “psychoactive” is conventionally understood to describe any chemical substance that influences brain function, resulting in alterations to mood, awareness, thoughts, feelings, or behavior. This definition encompasses a wide array of substances, from common compounds like alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine to illicit drugs such

The conventional understanding of human consciousness often suggests a widespread awareness of our internal states.

The pain of being misdiagnosed is not just about receiving the wrong label.

Illusion of Pattern: Apophenia in Academia and Governance

The Soul of Society: How True Spirituality Challenges the ‘Religion’ of the State

When Society Loses Its Mind: The Link Between Lack of Awareness and Mass Psychosis

If one thinks, believes, or knows that they are not one, then they are living dissociated from the reality that they are.

This paper hypothesizes that the physical body functions as the unconscious mind, and that the ingestion of any drug, regardless of its legal status or intended purpose, constitutes a traumatic event to this unconscious body.

From “War on Drugs” to “War on People”: How Coercive Control Shapes Immigration Policy and Perpetuates Trauma

Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk’s extensive research, dating back to 1985, demonstrates how trauma impacts individuals at different stages of development, attachment traumas, and how disruptions in caregiving systems lead to lasting psychological wounds. He highlights how the “body keeps the score”, leading to a compulsive re-enactment of traumatic patterns that allow anyone to know

Recognizing that our systems can be both perpetrators of coercive control and developmentally traumatized entities addicted to their own patterns is a crucial step. It shifts the conversation from individual blame to systemic responsibility. Just as an individual needs to become self-aware to heal from trauma and addiction, our systems need to develop collective self-awareness.

How to work with people and systems who aren’t self-aware.

Some professionals in the field don’t know what the science of the law is or who it is for.

The Addiction as Dissociation Model (ADM) represents a transformative paradigm in the understanding and treatment of addiction. As demonstrated throughout this report, the ADM redefines addiction not as a moral failing or a standalone disease, but as a deeply rooted response to unresolved trauma, mediated and perpetuated by unresolved dissociative processes. Key elements of this

The War That Never Was: Why Congress’s Silence Makes the “War on Drugs” Unconstitutional

The Legal Fiction of Equality: How “Separate but Equal” Professional Standards Perpetuate Systemic Illness

A War on Plants? The Moral and Philosophical Case Against a Government Declaring War on Nature

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The Myth of Industrialized Psychiatry: Why Our Mental Health System is Broken

Learning difficulties (LDs) encompass a range of challenges that significantly impact an individual’s academic performance and daily functioning.

The basic foundations of understanding addiction memory in psychedelic care.

The Wounded Healers Institute advocates for a paradigm shift in mental healthcare, emphasizing dissociative-informed care, recovery-focused care, and holistic healing.

The “physical body is the psychological unconscious” and they cannot be separated (Ultimate Reality). The concept of “unconscious informed consent,” introduced by Dr. Adam O’Brien (PhD), challenges the very foundation of modern medical models, legal rationale, psychological ethics, and spiritual morals. This notion proposes a deeper, more profound level of agreement that transcends mere legalities

The historical trajectory of addiction treatment reveals a persistent tension, oscillating between viewing addiction as a moral failing and recognizing it as a legitimate medical condition that holds true to science? What if the law had to follow the science? Disease, choice, or both? Early responses often involved punishment (parental or societal), but the 19th

Hindering Healing and Recovery Research

A Delayed Discovery and Its Profound Implications

Philosophically, suggesting that what is temporary is here to stay, further suggesting that the past is still here, it is not going anywhere, but how it is stored, referenced, and used are the differences between those in recovery and those not.

A Journey to Positive Addictions

Safety, Ethics, Morals, and the Future of Integrated Healing

Catalysts for Change and Reclaiming the Self

Memory Reconsolidation and the Addiction-Trauma-Dissociation Loop

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How Trauma and Addiction May Shape Experience

Integrating “Autism as Dissociation”

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The Forbidden Path to Healing: Why Psychedelics Might Be Our Greatest Ally Against Trauma and Addiction Introduction: For decades, substances like psilocybin, MDMA, and ayahuasca have been demonized, labeled as dangerous drugs with “no medical value.” But a growing body of scientific evidence, championed by thinkers like Dr. Adam O’Brien, suggests these classical psychedelics could

The political winds are shifting, bringing psychedelic therapy and psychedelic care closer to mainstream acceptance. Yet, as we discussed in our previous posts, this rapid acceleration, while exciting, is long overdue. What inherent risks to those who practice and the systems who support citizens are worried about has more to do with them then it

Hope, Hype, and the Need for Wisdom

We’ve seen how psychedelics can profoundly influence our memory systems and consciousness, leading to a reinterpretation of “hallucinations” as manifestations of deeply held unresolved dissociative memories and somatically held intergenerational expressions of stress and trauma. Now, let’s connect these insights to a revolutionary framework for understanding addiction: the Addiction as Dissociation Model (ADM). This model,

Reinterpreting Hallucinations and Healing Memories

Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Neuroscience

A New Era for Trauma and Addiction: Psychedelic Therapy vs Psychedelic Care

Adam O’Brien’s (PhD) “Industrialized Psychiatry” doesn’t shy away from controversy, extending its critique far beyond the confines of mental health clinics to indict the very foundations of our legal and governmental systems. His most explosive claim? The “war on drugs” is nothing less than a “crime against humanity.” This isn’t just a rhetorical flourish; it’s

Can Psychiatry and Law Admit They’re “Addicted”?

Reclaiming Nature’s Pharmacy from “Industrialized Drugs”

Embracing Multiplicity in a Binary World In hist work titled: “Industrialized Psychiatry,” Dr. Adam O’Brien employs a deceptively simple mathematical metaphor – “1+1=3” – to launch a profound critique of the rigid, reductionist thinking that he believes permeates modern mental health, legal, governmental systems, and Western thought. This concept is far more than a numerical

PWH Reveals What the Field of Psychology is Still Missing

Introduction In an effort to help people see the relevance of the Addiction as Dissociation Model, Path of the Wounded Healer, and our qualitative academic education to life today, WHI is using the experience outlined in the Data section below as an example of how implicit bias hides in AI and the systems (language, society,

Expanding Societal and Cultural Consciousness
The Wounded Healers Institute fully complies with all local and New York State laws, and all federal regulations. We are a harm and risk reduction, recovery-based mindfulness healing (non-clinical) program, and an (re)education company.
We do not promote illegal activities or provide resources for obtaining illegal substances or illegal psychedelic psychotherapy services.
The Wounded Healers Institute does not sell THC cannabis for any aspect of our program, training or events, and it is not a retailer, supplier, manufacturer, reseller, distributor, agent, representative or subcontractor of THC cannabis supplier or retailer.
WHI is selling legally allowed to sell CBD now. Our healing services do not constitute medical care, physical therapy, and we do not diagnose or treat mental health. WHI is a wellness and recovery program.
What we do do is provide educational experiences, create positive memories of healing that allow participants to access to their own innate healing and creative process. WHI provides wellness programming, posttraumatic growth opportunities, and skills to build resiliency factors that allow our healing model. WHI employs the spiritual and developmental model of Addiction as Dissociation and uses The Path of the Wounded Healer as our unconscious guide. See our research HERE
Aspects of Wounded Healer Institute are donation-based.
Please direct any inquiries about our services to [email protected]