We were lucky to catch up with Nina Wilson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nina, thanks for joining us today. Over the course of your career, have you seen or experienced your field completely flip-flop or change course on something?

Research in the promise of psychedelics in the mental health field has once again been gaining traction in the last few years. Many of the top researchers in plant medicine and psychedelics truly believe that this will be the new way forward in the mental health field as a whole.

Three years ago I moved to Colorado to open my private mental health practice in a new area. I lived outside of Boulder and the use of psychedelics was prominent. I was having people come into my integrative practice needing to talk about their psychedelic experiences as many people at that time were going to such experiences to help assist their mental health as opposed to just experimenting recreationally. I had only had very little exposure to such things prior to this, but I could see how these particular clients were expanding their understanding a bit more than other clients.

I decided to dive into plant medicine and psychedelics in order to understand the appeal, the benefit, and how best to work with these clients. Through my reasearch of these medicines, I completely fell in love with the cultures that held them sacred. I then chose to learn experientially and sought out experiences with many psychedelic medicines. In my personal opinion you become a better practitioner when you have personal experience. This changed and transformed my world completely. I was not only able to understand how these medicines worked in the brain and body, but now I had a first hand understanding of the benefit on mental health… when done with appropriate support and integration.

Solidly having my feet planted in the mental health field and the plant medicine world, I have been able to see benefits and consequences of both sides of the fence. I have pivoted my profession to help bridge the gaps. I now provide psychedelic therapy for my private practice clients, as well as pre-medicine planning, integration, microdose coaching, retreats, and support for those working on their mental health with psychedelics. I also provide harm reduction in the plant medicine community through harm support groups, trauma informed training, and suicide prevention training for plant medicine facilitators. I am an advocate for the legal use of these medicines AND an advocate for keeping these medicines sacred thus not colonizing the indigenous communities that these medicines originate.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I have always had a passion for helping people and truly believe it is what I am meant to do. This passion has led me on a glorious journey receiving education in all areas of health and wellness. I currently maintain my license in Mental Health Counseling and Psychotherapy trained in several therapeutic modalities. I have been certified in Holistic Life Coaching, Ayurveda Nutrition, Yoga Instruction, Integration Restoration Yoga Nidra, Plant Medicine and Psychedelics, and Holy Fire III Karuna Reiki Master™, to name a few.

In the different roles that I portrayed in the social work field, I saw a need not only for trauma treatment, trauma education, and trauma-informed care but also the need for a holistic view and considerations. Having this understanding I created a holistic protocol that I use with my clients. It has proven time and time again to be highly effective, creating not only faster and longer-lasting relief, but true healing on all levels.

My professional journey led me to psychedelics and plant medicine to assist mental health. This journey quickly turned into a deeply personal one as I became a participant in the plant medicine community. I now facilitate, assist, and continue to participate in plant medicine. I am a psychedelic integration specialist.

I will never say I have not had a blessed life. I am grateful for the struggles I have been through as the path has led me here. I can recall happy moments, but life in general always felt like surviving – a day-to-day struggle to maintain. After experiencing numerous traumas in childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, the effects of those traumas left smothering side effects that built up until my life became a constant crisis. Not only was this all mentally straining, but I also developed serious medical issues. I did what I knew how to do to help myself and maintain, but it was not until I discovered yoga and the mind, body, spirit balance that I finally found relief.

Once I started seeing everything in a holistic view and started to balance all aspects of my life I was finally able to start healing from my past, actually experience my present, and feel good about my future. I finally recognized my three graces and though I still struggle, I now have a sense of well-being and have found this amazing zest for life. I am finally living WITHOUT fear and I trust the flow of life.

It is unbelievable how freeing it is to let it all go. I chose to start coaching because I want to help you find your peace, your balance, your love; help you let go of fear and trust.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I opened my dream business in Colorado in December of 2019. I had an integrative mental health practice with energy work, light therapy, and a beautiful yoga studio. Unfortunately all operations stopped in February of 2020 as the State of Colorado began to close down due to the pandemic. I took a deep breath and simply pivoted my business online. I simply saw it as a pause. I paid rent for over a year on an office I was not able to use. I networked as best as I could in a new city where I knew noone. I stayed open for the following year as things began to open up, but unfortunately my excitement for my new dream business had wittled down to nothing.

I opened my business years prior to even getting my masters degree, prior to my private practice. I had opened my business as a coaching practice while getting my masters as I had become very ill and it was difficult to work a regular job as an employee. During those first few years when I was so ill and getting my masters I struggled in business but I knew this was my path. So when the pandemic hit and my dreams came crashing down, I simply knew I needed to just take a deep breath and figure it all out. I shifted my practice to telehealth, I started studying new modalities, and I kept going. I suppose my resilience has never been about pulling myself up by the bootstraps, but more a solid knowing that my life will always been following the journey of the passion to help others remember theirselves, heal their wounds, and find peace within. I guess you call it a life’s mission. Some have called it ridiculous. I call it my life.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

I have done a lot of things in my life. I have worked so many jobs. My current career gets very disheartening sometimes. So I have definitely leaned into my many passions, my skills, and other interests during times of re-evaluating whether or not working with trauma is truly what I want to do. I always come back to it! I truly have a passion for helping others walk through their shadows in order to live in the light. It does get heavy from time to time which is why I now own three businesses. I have my integrative mental health private practice; a coaching/consulting business; and an online boutique and apothecary. These all integrate in some way and the variety keeps me in a space of balance with the heaviness.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.onelifeholistichealth.com; www.ninajcoaching.com
• Instagram: @onelifeholistichealth; @nina.jlynn
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onelifeholistichealth
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ninajspiritualmentor