Ronald Hochstenbach

About me

My passion and mission is to support as many people as possible with trauma-related issues using methods that truly work. With this deeply felt intention, I've now coached over 2,000 people. Many of them didn't even realize their issues were trauma-related.

I'm an expert by experience in the field of trauma. I developed Complex PTSD from childhood traumas. As a result, I experienced several episodes of depression at a young age. When I was around 20, someone gave me half an MDMA pill. This was such a profound and healing experience for me. I thought, "Everyone needs to experience this!" I immediately emerged from my depression. That was the beginning of a happier, more meaningful, and adventurous life.

At 26, I experienced a relationship crisis, which triggered my attachment trauma. This sent me through what is sometimes called the "dark night of the soul." I sought happiness outside of myself in love with her. When I could do nothing but let go and surrender to the pain of abandonment, a profound religious experience arose. Carl Jung calls it the numinous experience of the archetype of the Self. Others call it a spiritual awakening; in Zen, it's called a satori experience.

This experience changed me so profoundly that I began to live my life with more depth and purpose, following my intuition. I lived with the question: "What does life, or call it God, want from me? What am I meant to do, what is my calling?" This question led me to the Trappist monastery. I felt very clearly: "I need to be here." I didn't know why or for how long. But I left that open. I wanted to explore it for six months. And after three months of living as a novice with the monks, I knew: "With all my experience, I must become a therapist." Through inner guidance and "coincidence," I ended up in the Jungian Philosophical Therapist Training program. I started this four-year program in 1998. This is what Jung himself called synchronicity (meaningful coincidence).

I'm sharing this because extensive scientific research has shown that psychedelics can provide an authentic religious or mystical experience that can completely transform your life for the better. I wish this for everyone, and that one doesn't—and you don't have to, to use religious terms, wait for "the grace of God" for it.

Philosopher and neuroscientist Michiel van Elk, who calls himself a skeptical and down-to-earth researcher, writes in his book, "A Down-to-Earth Look at Psychedelics," "Give someone a high dose of psilocybin, LSD, or DMT, and you can predict with near certainty that that person will have an intense, life-changing experience.".

During my Jungian training, I also encountered Stanlislav Grof, an authority on psychedelic therapy. This led to his development of Holotropic Breathwork. I also encountered Eastern psychology and philosophy, which sparked my interest in Buddhist psychology and mindfulness, among other disciplines. In the years that followed, I continued to deepen my knowledge and trained in Eastern and Western (psycho)therapies and methods.

A friend of mine, a regular psychotherapist, pointed me to the book "Expand Your Mind" by Michael Pollan. It sparked my interest in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (PAT). Later, I delved into Internal Family System (IFS), one of the fastest-growing and evidence-based psychotherapeutic methods of our time. I read about what an MDMA session can do from the perspective of the IFS model. It resonated strongly and brought back memories of my own healing experience with MDMA as a 20-year-old.

Shortly afterward, I met someone who expressed her desire to undergo a PAT session. I felt deep inside: "I can and I want to do that." To properly guide her, I first wanted to delve deeper into PAT and enrolled in further training. This confirmed that my background in IFS and related methods, along with the training I've been providing for over 12 years in Mindfulness and Self-Compassion, among other things, are a perfect fit and are used as psychotherapeutic modalities in PAT.

This woman, who approached me, turned out to be suffering from severe symptoms and extreme self-hatred stemming from her childhood traumas. She had already undergone years of psychotherapy, which had helped her progress, but certainly not enough. She wanted to process her traumas through a PAT session. We embarked on this journey in a PAT program. And in her words:

“Ronald, this has had an even bigger positive impact than I could have imagined, I went from self-hatred to self-love in one PAT session.”

Now I knew for sure: this is my new calling, this completes my life's journey as an expert by experience, psychosocial therapist, and mindfulness and compassion-based trainer. And I can even better support people with trauma-related issues, so they can lead happier and more fulfilled lives.

Specialism

Thanks to the following training, I've learned a great deal about working with people suffering from trauma-related issues. This gives me the necessary experience, perspective, and approach to work carefully in psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Jungian Philosophical Therapist. This training in depth psychology has taught me, among other things, to interpret the symbols from the unconscious that can surface during a tripping experience, and to integrate them into daily life where necessary.

Psychodrama Therapist Psychodrama. On the program Zomergasten (Summer Guests), Bessel van der Kolk, an authority on trauma processing, explains that psychodrama, along with mindfulness (which I'll discuss later), is one of the best methods for effectively working on trauma processing. To further develop my skills in this area, I enrolled in the TSM Therapeutic Spiral Model advanced training program. This integrates classical psychodrama, attachment theory, and recent developments in interpersonal neurobiology and trauma theory.

Master Voice Dialogue and Transformational Psychology and Internal Family System (IFS). These two psychotherapeutic training programs offer clear and very helpful models for working with before, during, and after the PAT or Trip Session. IFS proves to be one of the most helpful and psychotherapeutic modalities for working in psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Mindfulness and Compassion Trainer. These methods are also very helpful in enhancing the power of working with psychedelics. Both mindfulness and self-compassion skills are supportive before, during, and after the trip.

My approach

 

The Hero's Trip

1. Call to adventure
From within, you feel, or from without, a message, a call, to take a trip (to stay within this context). If you ignore this, you'll receive an even clearer call, perhaps by experiencing more physical or mental symptoms. If you still don't listen, the third call may arrive in the form of a crisis. The question is: do you dare to say yes to this call, or do you feel resistance and refuse? Once you say yes, you enter the next phase.

2. Overcoming old power
If you say yes to the call to follow your heart, to do what you must do now, you enter this second phase. And here it's about seeing through and letting go of old beliefs and conditioning, and saying a radical yes. The old power can also manifest externally, with others holding you back, for example, through their prejudices. But most often, and primarily, it's about an internal process.

3. Allies and mentors
Did you wholeheartedly say yes? Then you'll encounter allies and mentors along the way. For example, you might have found this website. Or perhaps a book that helps you further. Or someone who has already experienced a tripping session. But this also refers to your inner support systems.

In the preparation phase. Before you begin the next phase, preparation for the trip is crucial. Therefore, we'll create an action plan based on the results of the digital intake, in which you've entered your (medical) information. Based on this, we'll assess whether you're lacking certain nutrients, and if necessary, you'll receive advice on lifestyle factors (nutrition, sleep and biorhythm, stress and relaxation, exercise, mindfulness, behavior and habits) and additional supplements.

I'll have a preliminary meeting with you via Zoom or phone. This will help clarify your intentions and ensure you're in the right mindset:

1. Choose to let go and take a deep dive and descent
2. Accept that it can be a very beautiful and healing but also a tough experience
3. But know that it is safe to dive deep inside (into the body)

As additional support, I will provide you with audio files to help you develop mindfulness and self-compassion so that you can take good care of yourself. Hero's Trip to prepare.

4. Descent into the underworld
This is the trip session itself. Many metaphors apply here. Here you can encounter your inner dragons and demons, what Carl Jung calls "the shadow." And by staying "in the eye of the storm," as it were, and observing mindfully and compassionately, they will transform. In India, this is also called "Embracing the tiger." Psychedelics help you in and through this process in a very powerful and loving way. One of my Buddhist teachers, Lama Tsultim Allione, speaks of "Feeding your Demons." Through this process, which you go through during the trip session, your inner demons transform into true allies. Trust that the unconscious and the body, which you are diving deeply into, are infinitely intelligent and will give you what you need now. Remember the ABCs of mindset from the third phase, and uncover your pearls!

5. Discovery of the Grail
After the fourth phase, at the end or during the trip, you may experience the feeling of wholeness, radical self-acceptance, and love. A glimpse of your true nature, the Buddha nature or Self. In the famous words of the Hopi Indians:“You Are the One You've Been Waiting For”.

Joseph Campbell writes about this phase as follows:
“When someone dies to their little self and begins to live from spirit, they transcend contradictions into a state of divine knowledge, love, compassion, and transcendental bliss. All previous steps in the adventure are aimed at purifying the hero or heroine and preparing them for this step, because the treasure in myths is almost always something transcendental. It is in the deep darkness that we discover the treasure of life.

Gabor Maté, an authority on trauma healing and a former addiction specialist, identifies the most essential step in trauma healing as reconnecting with your true Self.

During the fasting phase. We'll gently start talking again and explore together what your psychedelic experience can mean for you. We'll look at what pearls you have dug up from the depths of the ocean.

6. Stab and betrayal
This is the post-trip phase. It's crucial to stay true to what you learned and discovered during your Hero's Journey. Can you stay true to yourself? By not denying yourself and the lessons? How will you integrate what you've learned and what you need to do now? I'm happy to help you with this using the 4 steps of the ACE model:

1. Identify and name the gems in your experience
2. Observe and explore how the pearls are connected to the different aspects of your life
3. Set short, medium and long term goals linked to the pearls
4. Embody the beauty of the experience in your life. See it as the dance between the Mystic and the Pragmatist within you!

And to live more mindfully and compassionately, and to live more Self-guided (instead of from inner patterns and defenses), you will get access to meditations in the form of audio files.

7. Return to the light
And here is the challenge to step into your power and resume normal everyday life with the question: “Have you become the embodiment of the lessons you learned on your hero's journey? Are you beginning to recognize your own greatness and are you ready to return to the light?”

8. Master of 2 worlds
The challenge here is to be both Whole and connected to your true Self in relation to what you have to bring into the world. To live a Self-directed life. What does life, or call it Source, God, Spirit, want from me? Can I give myself permission to be Whole, Self-guided? Do I dare to live from freedom and wholeness, instead of diminishing myself through the "just act normal" conditioning?

Are you using the love and wisdom of the Source in your daily life?

My own experience with psychedelics

For me, working with psychedelics is a powerful and beneficial addition and deepening to the methods I've been using for years. They reinforce and complement each other. It's enriching for me and for those I guide, and offers the opportunity to transform your life into a meaningful and happier one. As already described in "About Me," research has shown that a high dose of psychedelics can, and very likely will, provide an authentic mystical experience, which has completely changed my life for the better.

Besides my experience with MDMA since 1990, I've participated in several Ayahuasca weekends. I deeply experienced the importance of setting a clear intention. And the immense benefit I gained from my mindfulness practice in letting go and surrendering to the process. My insights from Jungian psychology allowed me to delve deeper and gain more insight. I truly entered the underworld then, and my deepest intention came true.

My experiences with psilocybin took place in the form of truffle ceremonies guided by Marcel, the founder of trip therapy. And honestly, I wouldn't know what to write about it because the experience was so intense and comprehensive. I expected it to be less profound and healing than ayahuasca, but the opposite is true (at least for me). After the ceremony, I also noticed that persistent patterns, which still bothered me in certain situations despite much inner work, had significantly diminished or disappeared entirely.