We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Pam Rivers. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with PAM below.

PAM, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I come from a bold, creative, off the beaten path Mother. She was an OG feminist who busted through the glass ceiling in the pharmaceutical industry in the late 70’s. A badass woman in a mans world. She took my sister and me to protests. We listened to Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman Hear Me Roar.” I was steeped in powerful creative woman energy. So doing things differently, putting yourself out there, and going against the grain was always an option.

Three years ago, I had a defining moment with a friend. I had been watching him transform before my eyes. He had done a series of medicine journeys with an underground facilitator. A combination of psilocybin and MDMA work. He was literally transforming himself and his life. It was beautiful and inspiring. One evening we were talking, and he was sharing about the latest unfolding when he stopped midstream. He paused. He looked me in the eyes and said, “Pam, I think you should do this work.”

That was it. I knew it to be true. I did not know the path, but I knew that this was where I was going. In an instant, I knew.

It all started to unfold. I honestly never thought I would leave my work with kids and families. I loved it so much. Didn’t see this coming at all. Next thing I know I am accepted into the first Psychedelic Facilitator Training program in the U.S. to lead toward state licensure in Oregon. AKA – “mushroom school”. I began shifting my energy to my new work and then officially left my paycheck, benefits and security at age 59. The learning curve steep. Cutting edge work. Risk. Losing some people who I was close with because they felt uncomfortable with, and disagree with, my new work. Deciding to work in private practice rather than in a Psilocybin Service Center because I want to do things my way and can no longer be a part of a machine. Creating a model and programs that are powerful and oh so rewarding. Working for myself and all that that means, and entails.

Never did I imagine it would be what it is. The depth of the work, and what and who I have been lead to.

Meanwhile, on the personal side of life, having my own transformation and experiences that are powerful and defining. My art…my painting… gushing out of me. My need and desire to paint, irrefutable. What comes out of me, ever changing with themes and underpinnings.
My writing…gushing out of me. Two books in the making. The words and images needed to be brought to the surface. Pen to paper – so to speak. My need and desire to write, irrefutable.
Flow state like never before.
My athleticism and inhabiting my body…fully, more and more… Yes. I am in my body like never before. Strength. Balance. Flexibility. Endurance. Beauty. Power. It feels oh so good.
My people and my clients. Rich. Evolving. With underpinnings of a handful of lifelong friends and fresh, new connections.
I learn and unlearn so much.
My transformation is and has been profound. As I have built and grown my model, my business, my client base, I find that something deep in me is coming to life. In ways, I have no idea where I am going. My path unfolding and my life’s work clear.

My life is wild.

PAM, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a therapist by training. I’ve been a “social worky” type. Boots on the ground. Front line. Never wanting to scale the walls into management or supervision. I never thought I would go into private practice. I loved being a public servant of sorts. I loved the trauma swamp.

My life’s work as a child and family therapist was punctuated by doing what was needed, even when it meant coloring outside of the lines, or not staying in my lane. Working primarily with underserved, marginalized populations. Kids that were dealt a shitty hand. Going above and beyond, and loving the kids, that was my thing. A big ‘no-no” in the therapy world; “loving the kids”. But I didn’t care. I loved my kids and families and they knew it.

In the final leg of my journey working with kids and families, I worked with some of the most complex cases in the state. Kids in institutions, kids in the state hospital, kids in foster care, sex trafficked kids, failed adoptions, gang involved, kids in the juvenile justice system, kids with incarcerated parents, “un-adoptable” kids growing up in foster care. Trauma with a capital T. Stories that will break your heart.

And I loved it, and them.
And I had a reputation. A reputation that I love.

Now, I only work with adults. But you know what? All of my work with kids, all of the heart wrenching, underbelly of society that was my work, colored me. It colored me open and accepting. I have seen and heard things that would make some people cry or vomit. Let’s start with sex trafficked kids. Then let me shine a little light on the stories of kids who almost died at the hands of their parents. Shine a little light on those of us who have been in the ER with kids that were suicidal, had a suicide attempt, overdosed, or were sexually assaulted. Kids who lost their shit. Shine a little light on the kids lost in systems designed to help and protect, but in fact, can sometimes do the opposite.

I know my way around hell. And my clients feel it. I’m the hearty type. Built for it.

Then there is my personal story. This life of mine that ran parallel to my professional life, was not always an easy one. In fact it was hell sometimes. The sudden and very traumatic death of my husband…my love – knocked me to a place I never knew existed. I was taken down. Way down. And when you experience a certain brand of hell, people who have experienced their own brand of hellish hell on earth, recognize you. They know you know. Even though you never tell them. It’s a recognition.

All that I have lived. All the hell that has been mine. All the hell that I have witnessed and traveled through with clients, is what makes me me. I go to the depths with my clients. We stay there together. My work is more than I could have ever imagined. I had no accurate idea what this was, or would be. I finally understand that I am an instrument. It is me. And not me.

What, exactly do I do? Specifically offer?
Transformational Journeys – – – That’s what I offer.
I have three arenas. Before I go into them, I will lead with this: I do not sell or provide any illegal substances.
The clients who come to me have already made their decision to embark on medicine work. I provide the screening, education, structure, container, and therapeutic coaching for them.

First up are my MicroDosing programs. I have two offerings for this. My 12 week program is a MicroDosing MasterMind for Accomplished Women. This program is application based and is designed for badass women who are in their power but know there is more for them and in them. They are ready to align the inner with the outer and level up. Goddess work. Goddess training. Together in community. Changing the paradigm and using our power to increase our impact and our happiness.
My second MicroDosing Program is a 6 week 1:1 focused time of education, growth and transformation.
The base: Stepping into power, beauty, strength, and wisdom.

Next up…the Deep Dive Personal Curated Immersion Retreat. A 7 week process culminating midway with a 3 -4 day immersion weekend. Extensive preparation and integration. One of my clients said…Pam is not a drive through car wash. Deep Dive. This is a Transformational Journey.

And last but certainly not least, Curated Small Group Retreats. These intimate 5-6 guests experiences are thematic in nature. Whispers From Beyond: Dinner with the Dead is exactly that. We invite dead people and connect ancestrally. The main event is our Dinner with the Dead and a psychic medium friend who brings his gifted connection to our dinner. And, private “Sisters” retreats. Or entire families, groups of friends, first responders and frontline workers and sometimes I offer open retreats where strangers dive in together.
Next fall, a 12 Day, Inside Out Traveling Retreat in exquisite Morocco where we will dance under the stars in the Sahara.

Who are my clients? I have discovered that people drawn to this work are seekers. I love that. I work with artists, CEO’s, high performing athletes, nurses, therapists, teachers, lawyers, doctors, executives and moms and dads. Every client experience, every growth adventure, teaches me – and for this I am grateful.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

In all of this, I have found myself dropping some interesting elements. In graduate school and in my various roles over the years, I was tasked with diagnosing clients. It was at times, very helpful, and at times very challenging. I have pulled away from that framework more and more. The information is in my thinking as a backdrop, way beneath the surface; sometimes, but usually not, informing how I conceptualize people and situations. I find my self leaving that behind. It has been an evolutionary unlearning. I had to learn it. It was important. But I have easily unlearned it and dropped it. It doesn’t help me anymore.

I have settled into this thing…
I meet a client – we agree to work together – we set our course – and go – human to human in an arena of love, honesty and depth.
Dropping the performative. Diving deep.
I know that sounds all “Kumbaya”. But it’s true. We start where we start and we go where we go.
I know my way around hell. Heaven too. My clients recognize my comfort with the ugly, and the beautiful. Their beautiful, that they have often not been able to step fully into. Outside of the categories and labels that help us organize, I have found that the unlearning and dropping these important elements of my training has opened me up, and this up, in unexpected ways. I feel that I have become an instrument. Swimming in the depths.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

My clients come to me, mostly via word of mouth. I am two years into this venture, and now, the depth of my work is a big part of my reputation. My age is part of that as well. In a culture were aging can be experienced and viewed as unavoidable and unfortunate, for me it has been a powerful asset. I love that I am heading into my crone years. Powerful wisdom can be known if we do the work and open to it. I work with many people over age 50. I hear myself say…if we are open and continue towards self honesty and presence, experience turns to wisdom. I love the developmental evolution that is ours, if we see it, and say yes to it.
One of my first responder clients got this little gem on his journey: “There is no shortcut to here.” Such a beautiful truth.

Without my 61 years on this planet, I could not know what I know, and be who I am. I could not offer and provide, what I offer and provide – as a 35 or 45 year old. It’s like a well seasoned cast iron pan… it takes years. I bring all of my me, my life, education and experience to my work. I am my whole self. It feels different because it is different. It’s who I am.

I hold true that there is a path for each of us to step more fully into our gorgeous selves. By allowing and loving all that is, we become. We become more alive, happier, more sensually attuned, stronger and more deeply aligned. I wants this for you and am ready to be your Guide into the powerful depths of who you really are.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pam-rivers-transformation-guide.com
• Instagram: @pam_rivers_guide
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pam-rivers
• Other: substack
  @pamriverstransformation

Image Credits

@edge.light.studio (images 1 and 3)