My personal experiences in my youth shaped me and became who I identified with. Paralyzed by a point in time and unable to confront the fear and pain that held me captive. The family trauma, sexual assault, and resulting substance use in my adolescence are what would eventually lead me on a healing journey that would culminate in my desire to help others who had similar experiences.

My healing journey began with reconnecting with nature, yoga, meditation, and mindfulness to manage my anxiety, reactiveness, tension, and overactive nervous system- all symptoms of my traumas. When I cleared my mind becoming aware of the forest or the ocean I felt at peace if only for a short moment. I realized how disconnected I had become with the earth, nature, and myself- my true self. These practices helped to bridge a reconnection with my former self and calm my nervous system, but I could not shake my reactiveness to certain words, movements, and imagery. I decided to go to therapy, and we proceeded with eye movement desensitization therapy (EMDR) , which successfully helped reprocess my traumatic memories.

After my success in therapy, I decided to study psychology. Throughout my bachelor's degree, I became interested in person-centred therapy and feminist counselling . I also became attracted to the use of psychedelic-assisted therapies for the treatment of trauma through various courses and literature reviews. I wish to explore further how psilocybin is used to assist with the treatment of anxiety and depression (Mertens et al., 2022) and how MDMA is usefulness with PTSD (Sarmanlu et al., 2024) and relationship counselling (Almond & Allan, 2019). I am also a proponent of attachment theory and how our style of attachment can change later in life, primarily through traumatic events, and the impacts our attachment style has on our relationships.

In graduate school, I intend to focus on humanistic therapy, feminist counselling, and attachment theory. After graduating, my objective will be to train in psychedelic-assisted therapies.

I respectfully acknowledge that I live, study, and work on the unceded and occupied lands of the Lil’wat, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm(Musqueam), Shíshálh (Sechelt), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh(Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Peoples, referred to as Vancouver.

Becky Gillespie

A Healing Journey:
Inspiration to Help Others