🤎 Psilocybin, Presence, and the Power of Nursing

Feb 24

Written By Anna Desmarais BSN, RN, NC-BC

I was recently a guest on the Integrative Nurse Coaches in ACTION! podcast with Nicole Vienneau, and I left the conversation feeling energized because we named something many nurses and facilitators know in our bones.

Nursing is not just a job. It is a way of being with people.

It’s the ability to stay grounded in someone else’s fear, grief, pain, or chaos. It’s nervous system steadiness, critical thinking, and the kind of presence that helps another human feel safe and cared for.

And that is exactly why nurses belong in the emerging world of regulated psychedelic facilitation.

My journey to becoming a nurse

Before nursing, I lived in South Korea for 16 years and ran a martial arts, yoga, and fitness studio. I loved helping people get healthier and reach their potential, and I also had access to Eastern medicine and more holistic approaches long before I ever stepped into a U.S. hospital.

Eventually, I wanted the clinical rigor too. I wanted to understand Western medicine from the inside out, so I moved to Florida for an accelerated nursing program at the University of Miami.

My last rotation was in the ER, and I fell in love. It felt like my place…until I realized what I couldn’t do there. I could stabilize people, but I couldn’t follow up. I couldn’t educate them the way I wanted to, because there simply wasn’t the space for that. I couldn’t walk with them through the long arc of healing.

Then the pandemic hit, and like so many nurses, I carried burnout, moral injury, and trauma.

At some point I had to admit the truth: I did not want to be a nurse in that system anymore.

The gift of nurse coaching was learning to stop fixing

Becoming an integrative nurse coach changed my life in ways I did not expect. The biggest takeaway was not a tool or a framework.

It was holding space.

I learned how therapeutic it is to be deeply present without rushing to advise, correct, or rescue. I learned the power of the pause. I learned that silence is not empty; it is often where the truth surfaces.

That single skill has shaped how I practice now, no matter who I’m working with.

It has also been foundational to my work as a licensed psilocybin facilitator.

Why nurses are uniquely suited for psychedelic facilitation

In Colorado’s regulated model, we work through licensed healing centers and the process is structured: screening, preparation, administration day, and integration.

Nurses bring an advantage here that is often underappreciated. We understand pharmacology and physiology. We recognize red flags. We know what to look for when something feels off medically or psychologically. We are trained to stay steady under pressure.

And just as important, nurse coaches understand that the work is not about fixing. During a medicine journey, the primary job is to hold safe, compassionate space and support the person’s process with presence.

This is not “woo.” It is nervous system science and relational safety. It is skilled co-regulation.

The kind of healing I never saw in conventional healthcare

Psilocybin is not a magic pill and it is not for everyone. But when it is the right fit for the right person, in the right container, I have witnessed a depth of healing that I never saw in the conventional system.

Not because it bypasses the work, but because it can help people access what has been defended against or compartmentalized for years and then integrate it into real life.

That is where transformation happens. Not necessarily in the peak experience, but in the preparation, the safety, and the integration afterward.

If you want to listen

If you are a nurse, nurse coach, or simply curious about psilocybin facilitation, I think you’ll enjoy this episode. We talk about burnout, following your heart, the power of presence, and what regulated psilocybin work actually looks like in Colorado.

Here’s the link to the full podcast (or you can click on the image below): https://inursecoach.com/podcast/psilocybin-presence-anna-desmarais/