Attunement, Ethics, and the Inner Directed Approach in Psychedelic Therapy

Eric Sienknecht, PsyD, is the Co-founder and Psychologist at Polaris Insight Center, a ketamine-assisted psychotherapy clinic and training center. As a licensed clinical psychologist, he has experience treating trauma, mood disorders, and chronic pain by integrating psychedelic experiences into therapeutic care. Eric has received advanced training in KAP through the Ketamine Training Center and in MDMA-Assisted Therapy through the LYKOS MDMA Therapy Training Program.  In this episode… As psychedelic therapy gains momentum, clinicians are grappling with how to balance structure, safety, and trust in a client's inner process. How can therapists support deep psychological healing in altered states of consciousness? According to KAP clinical psychologist Eric Sienknecht, effective therapy begins with trusting the client's inner healing intelligence. He emphasizes the importance of presence, attunement, and relinquishing the urge to direct or interpret too quickly. Rather than leading, therapists can use simple, open-ended prompts like "What are you noticing?" while staying attuned across verbal, somatic, and emotional levels. Eric also highlights the value of personal therapeutic work and self-awareness to avoid imposing agendas, ultimately supporting a more authentic and client-led healing process. In this episode of Living Medicine, Dr. Sandy Newes talks with Eric Sienknecht, PsyD, Co-founder and Psychologist at Polaris Insight Center, to discuss supporting clients during psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Eric shares his psychedelic healing journey, the role of inner-directed therapy, and how therapists can attune to clients across multiple levels of experience.