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Joanna Duncan

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Joanna Duncan

Brief info

Joanna is a Child, Young Person & Family Psychotherapist and Clinical Supervisor currently working in private practice. She has previously worked in the NHS Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and as a Visiting Lecturer for the Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust. She has over 25 years’ experience of working therapeutically with young people in an outdoor educational setting.

Joanna has had a longstanding interest in nurturing our deep relationship with the natural world and has a growing interest in the use of psychedelics for personal growth. She did her vision quest in the Sinai Desert and has celebrated the Celtic festivals, equinoxes and solstices through nature-based ceremonies with a group of women for over 15 years. She is part of an experiential ‘Plant Dreaming’ group which meets monthly, throughout the year. She is a mother and grandmother and is learning to embrace elderhood with humility and grace.

Christoph’s Numinous Ways

‘I had my first numinous experience when I was around five or six years old. Although I couldn’t articulate it then, the memory remains vivid even after 45 years. In a particularly striking dream, I received clear instructions on how to climb a small garage—a challenge all my peers had conquered, but not me. At eight, I encountered ego dissolution for the first time during a severe illness, experiencing the terror of emptiness and the insubstantiality of self. Though I lacked the words to describe it at the time, this experience, along with frequent strange dreams and mysterious mental states, instilled in me a persistent sense that the mystery of existence was always just around the corner.

This feeling became a constant companion, and I found the numinous in books, music, nature, and the world around me. It even guided my choice of college, and later led me to study psychology and psychotherapy as a way to channel this deep calling. I’ve always believed that many mental health issues arise from profound existential questions: Who am I? Why do I exist? I’ve devoted my life to exploring these questions and helping others discover their own truth and their own path to the Numinous.

Psychedelic mushrooms were part of my teenage years, as I grew up in the highlands where they are common. However, it wasn’t until years after my first ayahuasca experience that I understood how to integrate these experiences into my practice. Numinous Ways is the culmination of that understanding. I discovered that I have some organisational skills, which were further amplified after one of my strange yet beautiful psychedelic experiences. Perhaps because numinous experiences are ephemeral and otherworldly, I feel most at home when following a vision. I need a vision larger than myself and my desires; otherwise, I quickly lose interest.  This led me to take on the role of director at Numinous Ways, where I now help to shape its vision and strategies to achieve our goals.

Numinous Ways embodies what I consider the most precious aspects of human existence. I’m grateful that it has become not only a passion and profession but also a source of awe-inspiring discovery and meaningful relationships.’

About Christoph

Christoph is a Counselling Psychologist specialising in psychedelic-assisted therapy and existential psychology. His integrative approach combines CBT, Person-Centred Therapy, Mindfulness, meditative practices, breathwork, and Transpersonal Psychology. He is a chartered member of the British Psychological Society and its Transpersonal Psychology Section.

Christoph holds a Professional Doctorate in Counseling Psychology, a Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology and Mental Health, and a Certificate from Glasgow Caledonian University (Psychology and Mental Health, 2013). He also earned a Diploma in Counseling from the Ecological Education College in 1995. Christoph’s professional experience spans work with the NHS, the Third Sector, and private practice.

In addition, he has completed a Professional Certificate in Psychedelic Practice, a comprehensive two-year theoretical and practical program focused on psychedelic work.