Facilitator Spotlight: Laurel Hicks, author of “The Portal” Workbook
Psychedelic preparation and integration support for lasting healing — introducing The Portal workbook
One of the things we love most about the Wild Glow Alchemy community is the passion our facilitators bring to supporting healing both inside and outside of the journey space. Great psilocybin-assisted therapy doesn't begin and end with the medicine experience — it lives in the preparation before and the integration that follows.
Recently, we sat down with Wild Glow Licensed Natural Medicine Facilitator and Licensed Clinical Social Worker Laurel Hicks, PhD, LCSW, to talk about her workbook, The Portal — a psychedelic preparation and integration workbook designed to support self-discovery, intention setting, and lasting transformation.
We asked Laurel what inspired her to create it.
What inspired you to create The Portal?
"Over the years, myself and my colleague and co-author, Rhea Eady, noticed that many people were looking for more support before and after their journeys. They wanted a place to explore intentions, process insights, and stay connected to the work beyond the medicine experience itself.
We created The Portal to help people build a deeper relationship with themselves throughout that process. It's designed to be both practical and reflective, offering structure while still honoring the personal and often mysterious nature of healing."
Why do preparation and integration matter so much in psilocybin-assisted therapy?
"Because the journey itself is only one part of the process.
Preparation helps us become more intentional. It invites us to slow down, get curious, and listen to what is asking for attention before entering an altered state. It's also a time to build a relationship with the medicine before the journey begins.
Integration helps us carry those insights back into our daily lives. Without integration, even meaningful experiences can become memories. With integration, they can become catalysts for lasting change."
What makes The Portal different from other psychedelic journals or workbooks?
"What makes this workbook unlike anything else currently available is that it doesn't ask you to choose between the scientific and the sacred.
It was born from lived experience — both personal and professional — and that authenticity shows on every page. Whether you're working with a licensed psilocybin facilitator or guiding yourself through a personal healing process, this workbook meets you exactly where you are.
It honors the mystery. It respects the medicine. And it makes the profound work of psychedelic preparation and integration genuinely accessible to anyone ready to do it."
Who is The Portal for?
"The Portal is for anyone who feels called to deepen their relationship with themselves.
You don't have to be preparing for a psychedelic experience to benefit from reflection, intention setting, or self-inquiry. While it was created with psilocybin preparation and integration in mind, many of the exercises support personal growth, emotional healing, and spiritual exploration more broadly — making it a valuable resource even outside of a formal psychedelic therapy context."
What do you hope people walk away with?
"My hope is that people feel more connected to themselves.
Not because they found all the answers, but because they learned how to ask meaningful questions.
Healing isn't about becoming someone else. It's about remembering who you are beneath the noise, expectations, and survival strategies that can accumulate over time."
Supporting the Full Arc of Psychedelic Healing
At Wild Glow Alchemy, Colorado's licensed natural medicine healing center, we believe that healing doesn't only happen during the journey.
It happens in the days before, the weeks after, and in the small moments when we choose to turn toward ourselves with curiosity and compassion. Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy and facilitation — whether in an individual or group setting — is most transformative when the entire arc is supported.
We're proud to have facilitators like Laurel creating tools that make psychedelic preparation and integration more accessible to everyone.
To learn more about The Portal or to purchase a copy, visit Emotional Alchemy Collective.
Happy exploring.
