Payton Nyquvest co-founded Numinus as a solution to a lifetime of severe chronic pain. Born with pain, Vancouver-based Nyquvest became passionate about mental health and spirituality from age 12. “That was the anchor point of my life,” he says. “It wasn’t until seven years ago, however, that I got to a point where I felt I was out of options.”
With extended spells in the hospital because of his condition, the Co-founder, Chair & Executive Officer of Numinus turned to psychedelics in a last-ditch effort to cure his ailment and save his life.
Close to a decade later, Nyquvest claims that one week with psychedelics led him to a lifetime of being pain-free.
In the aftermath of the remission, and wanting to give back, Nyquvest – of Swedish background – tinkered with the idea of utilizing the mental health resources he had around him in his darkest hour. “While psychedelics are a powerful tool, it was the mental health resources I had around me that actually made the experience effective,” he explains.
And so, he set about to create an empowered community of people who can heal through the development and delivery of innovative mental health care. According to their website, “Numinus exists to help the world heal, starting with addressing the global crisis in mental health by harnessing the power and promise of psychedelic medicine.”
With a deep understanding of the psychedelic industry from his own experiences with multiple therapy modalities, Nyquvest is more than just a CEO in the holistic healing space: “I’ve taken countless hours of therapist training and work with indigenous groups to really deeply understand this industry,” he shares. “While I’m an executive in this space, I’ve also experienced it from the practitioner side of things as well.”
So what is the most effective and long-lasting way to enjoy this form of treatment? Nyquvest says it begins with preparation:
“In the psychedelic field there’s a lot of conversation about integration,” he begins. “You have to ask yourself what you’re trying to integrate into your experience. Therefore the recipe starts with really good preparation; working with a therapist for a period of time, and educating yourself on the entire healing process. Once that is set, the aim is to build a scaffolding that you can start to move that experience into.”
The emphasis on having a therapist handy is to be that guide to talk the participant through the experience and to also make notes. Serving as a shepherd to the ‘north star,’ the therapist’s knowledge and previous experience mean they know the spots the participants need to move to.
“Going into integration is the next step,” he continues. Asking questions like ‘How do you want to live your life moving forward?’ after the initial experimentation stage is vital to the long-term benefits and the changes taking hold. “It’s not a process that ever finishes,” Nyquvest points out. “While the experience is still fresh in your mind, and you’ve still got that period of neuroplasticity, it’s imperative to really work with the therapist to understand the changes that took place and those that still need to happen.”
With the Numinus centers conducive to the psychedelic experience, participants can expect to be in a safe, comfortable environment complete with large chairs, eye masks, and relevant music to maintain flow.
As the therapeutic side of psychedelic medicine is afforded greater awareness, it’s become evident that participants would be ‘missing the point’ as Nyquvest puts it, and that the purpose of this type of therapy is more of an intervention to cure mental health issues, as opposed to just temporarily alleviating them.
Individuals may be seeking a quick fix to their troubles, but Nyquvest insists one’s environment is key to an effective experience, rather than solely the substance. “There’s this idea of a ‘bad trip,’” he explains. “I don’t believe there’s such a thing. You could be out with friends at a house party, for example, and experience a deeply emotional process, but because you’re not with the right support system or the environment you need, the effect won’t be the same as it is with the aforementioned therapist and center.”
With over $2.9B already invested in psychedelic-related organizations across North America, Nyquvest’s company Numinus adds to the already-growing holistic community and has locations all across the U.S., and three in Canada: Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver.
To immerse yourself in a transcendental experience that provides an alternative treatment option to living a pain-free life, visit Numinus.