About our KAP clinic (Soma Psychedelics)
Soma Psychedelics is a branch within Tucson Counseling Associates that is specifically interested in psychedelics as healing modalities, the research and study of psychedelics in clinical settings, and the offering of provider trainings in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.
Soma invokes a deep breath when our nervous systems are safe. Cool water after intense thirst. Salivation before a beautiful meal. Tears of purification during a psychedelic integration therapy session. A play of imagery which evokes that which we do not have the words for. The flush of rosy cheeks we get when we are with our Beloveds.
A definition of Soma is as a Sanskrit term that derives from the root ‘su’, meaning to “energize, stimulate, swell, expand and grow.” It first appears in the Rigveda, the oldest Vedic text that is said to give the direction for how to turn people into seers. Other definitions of Soma include ‘bliss’ and ‘nectar’. It is associated with the moon and the fertility Goddess Lalita Tripura Sundari, Goddess of the three worlds of waking, sleep and deep sleep.
Soma, in the outer world, can be seen as all forms that water takes, including the sap on plants and the vital fluids in animals. On an inner, psychological, level, Soma is said to be the principle of feeling, love and inspiration. On a mystical level, Soma is said to be secreted by the brain and mind from a meditative state, which catalyzes a state of peace and contentment.
Soma, from Greek origins, is said to be “of the body”, and in the modern context of somatic psychotherapy, soma is referred to as the first person perception of the body, what one finds therein, which is observing itself and acting upon itself simultaneously.
It is hotly debated whether Soma itself is a special drink made by a special plant, perhaps even a psychedelic compound. However, the highest Soma in Vedic scripture is the delight inherent in existence itself, resourced from within and not attached to an external object, the seeking of which is practiced through time immemorial in various spiritual and mystical traditions~ this return to the Soul, to true belonging, where we came from and where we’re going.