What is Physis?

In ancient Greek philosophy, Physis (φύσις) represents the concept of Nature itself, embodying the idea of growth, origin, and the inherent characteristics of the natural world. The pre-Socratic Greeks conceptualised Physis as the generalised “creative force of Nature, which eternally strives to make things grow and to make growing things more perfect” (Berne, 1968).

In a psychotherapeutic context, Physis refers to our innate capacity to heal—our inner wisdom. It is not unique to human beings; rather, we are immersed in it and surrounded by it. The goal of psychotherapy and psychedelic integration is to foster a relationship within a supportive container that nurtures natural growth and development. This process is best supported by cultivating a warm, compassionate environment and a relationship in which you feel truly heard and accepted for who you are—ultimately allowing your Physis to guide you toward becoming your most authentic self.

Physis, as the Greek counterpart to the Latin Natura, describes the constitution and origin of complexes arising from themselves in various degrees of independence. In a broad sense, “physis can name the ‘growth’ of plants and animals as well as the origin or composition of the entire cosmos. […] In the realm of actions, physis can be regarded as the point of orientation on which a successful life is to be aligned – one is to “live in accordance with physis”. (Dunshirn, 2019).

Parmenides of elea — On Nature

εἴσῃ δ’ αἰθερίαν τε φύσιν τά τ’ ἐν αἰθέρι πάντα

You shall know the nature of the aether and all the signs in the aether

σήματα καὶ καθαρᾶς εὐαγέος ἠελίοιο

and the invisible works of the pure torch of the bright sun

λαμπάδος ἔργ’ ἀίδηλα καὶ ὁππόθεν ἐξεγένoντο,

and whence they were born, and you will learn the

ἔργα τε κύκλωπος πεύσῃ περίφοιτα σελήνης

wandering works of the round-eyed moon and its nature

καὶ φύσιν, εἰδήσεις δὲ καὶ οὐρανὸν ἀμφὶς ἔχοντα

and you will know the heaven around them both

ἔνθεν ἔφυ τε καὶ ὥς μιν ἄγουσ’ ἐπέδησεν Ἀνάγκη

whence it grew and how necessity leading bound it

πείρατ’ ἔχειν ἄστρων.

to hold the limit of the stars.

Berne, E. (1968) Games people play: The psychology of human relationships. London: Penguin. Dunshirn, A. (2019) Online Lexikon Naturphilosophie. Journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de Parmenides (trans. Burnyeat, M.) (2008) On Nature, in Palmer, J. (ed.) The Presocratic Philosophers. London: Routledge.

“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity... and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.”

―William Blake

ALESSIA Chiappino

I have a classical and humanistic education, followed by a Diploma in Photography from the Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan and a Master’s degree in Fine Arts at Central St. Martins (University of The Arts, UAL London), focusing on video and sound art. I worked in the music industry for over a decade before training in Integrative and Depth-Relational Psychotherapy. Additionally, I have trained in Somatic Attachment Therapy, Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration (PHRI), and Integrative Psychedelic Therapies with institutions in Canada, the UK, and the USA.

In December 2025, I will complete the two-year advanced clinical training for the Postgraduate Diploma in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy with the Institute of Psychedelic Therapy (UK). I am also currently enrolled in a Certificate in Indigenous Studies at the University of Alberta (Canada), which informs a respectful, non-appropriative stance toward the Indigenous plant-medicine traditions of the Americas.

Having worked for several years in both individual and group settings with people from minority groups and those experiencing religious, spiritual, and intergenerational trauma, I take an anti-discriminatory stance. I am committed to learning about the impact of discrimination in all its forms and examining my own biases and assumptions in the process.

I have a strong interest in Amerindian Cosmologies — the ancestral lineages of healing through teacher plants of the Native peoples of the Americas. I have experience working with Native Americans in the Navajo Nation and with the Shipibo–Conibo in the Western Peruvian Amazon, and I have experienced Master Plant dietas and the ceremonial use of plant teachers in their traditional settings. I do not practice within these traditions; I hold deep respect for them and the interdependence between people and the natural world, and I am committed to a socially responsible relationship with these medicines. These experiences have fostered my passion for social justice and biocultural conservation. I support organisations in the Western Amazon that, through reciprocity-based projects, address biodiversity loss, habitat loss, deforestation, post-colonial extractivism, spiritual appropriation, and the effects of forest and desert medicine tourism on Native communities.

I am a member of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines, and I support the Indigenous Reciprocity Initiative of the Americas (IRI), which fosters biocultural conservation and the autonomy of Indigenous communities. 

Along with my private practice, I belong to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (UK) and have professional memberships with The Institute of Psychedelic Therapy (UK), The OPEN Foundation (NL), and the Italian Society of Psychedelic Medicine (IT).

  • Certificate in Indigenous Studies — University of Alberta, Canada (2025 • in progress)

    PgDip Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy - Institute of Psychedelic Therapy (IPT 2024 • in progress)

    PgDip Integrative & Humanistic Psychotherapy — The Link Centre (UKCP 2021 • in progress)

    PgCert in PHRI - Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration — Awarded by NUMINUS, CA

    PgCert Integrative Psychedelic Therapies— Awarded by Modern Spirit USA

    PgCert in Somatic Attachment Therapy — Awarded by The Embody Lab, USA

    PgDip Transactional Analysis Psychotherapeutic Counselling — United Kingdom Association of Transactional Analysis (MBACP, UKATA) 

    Master's Degree in Fine Arts — Awarded by University of the Arts London (UAL) Central Saint Martins 

    Diploma in Photography — Awarded by Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) Milano 

  • Continuing Professional Development:

    GTT Spiritual Emergency Module w/Dr Tim Read —Holotropic Association EU (Italy)

    Mescaline and the use of psychedelics in the creative act and as treatment for psychiatric disorders — w/Catherine Bird and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience of King’s College London. 

    Soul Retrieval: Psychedelics, Depth Psychology and Reclaiming the Importance of Soul w/Dr Ido Cohen — The Integration Circle (USA)

    Psychedelic Intersections 2025 — Harvard Divinity School Cambridge, MA (USA)

    Buddhism & Deep Ecology w/Sanghasīha — London Buddhist Centre (UK)

    Indigenous Shamanic Knowledge Systems, Art and Creative Processes — Chacruna Institute, California (USA)

    Cultivating Connections: Ecological Medicine Meets Psychedelic Therapies — University of California, Los Angeles (USA)

    Healing the Soul Wound with Dr Eduardo Duran — Naropa University Boulder, Colorado (USA)

    Bridging the Worlds: The Confluence of Indigenous Wisdom and Psychedelic Science —University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (USA)

    Sacred Ceremony in Psychedelic Therapy: Ancestral Teachings of the Americas w/ Dr. Joe Tafur — Modern Spirit (USA)

    Holotropic Breathwork in Practice w/Dr Tim Read — Institute of Psychedelic Therapy (UK)

    Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy for Healthcare Providers w/Dr. Joe Tafur — Modern Spirit (USA)

    Psychoanalysis: Winnicott and Object Relations — Freud Institute London (UK)

    Eating Disorders w/GF Pace — The Link Centre (UK)

    Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy, Mindfulness & Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness w/ Dr Ronald D. Siegel — ISC (Italy)

    The Neurobiology of Attachment w/ Dr. Allan Schore — NICABM (USA)

    Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy, Mindfulness and Compassion w/ Dr Chris Germer — FCP (Italy)

    Vagal System and the Treatment of Trauma w/ Dr Stephen Porges — NICABM (USA)

    How To Work With Shame w/ Peter Levine, PhD — NICABM (USA)

    Intensive Trauma Treatment w/ Bessel Van der Kolk — NICABM (USA)

    Mindsight, Attachment & Clinical Integration w/ Dr. Dan Siegel — NICABM (USA)

My Approach:

*Psychedelic harm reduction and integration (PHRI) does not involve the administration of any psychedelic drugs as these substances are currently illegal in the UK. Please do not contact me with requests for illegal psychedelic assisted work.

My approach is grounded in a multifaceted understanding of developmental, attachment-based, psychospiritual, and somatic dimensions. I draw on the Depth Relational Process, Somatic Attachment Therapy, and Psychedelic Harm Reduction & Integration (PHRI), alongside my formal training in integrative and relational psychotherapy, and my experience in the arts supporting vulnerable people to express themselves through creative processes. The therapeutic relationship remains the primary vehicle for change; at the core is a strong therapeutic alliance that brings inner experience into focus and supports awareness, growth, and change. I weave somatic, attachment-based practices with open, exploratory work. 

At depth, the psyche may lay out traces from the early years; we listen for these implicit, preverbal, somatic, and attachment-based patterns and work with them gently. In practice, the container is deeply relational and trauma-informed. We focus on careful preparation and thoughtful integration, moment-to-moment presence, and an attachment-aware, psychodynamic lens. Somatic awareness and regulation run throughout so you can stay embodied and safe while potentially meeting intense affect or material that may have arisen in expanded states. 

Meaning-making is supported through transpersonal and archetypal frames and an understanding of what spiritual emergence and spiritual bypassing are. We might also attend to intergenerational patterns and the wider eco-systemic context that shapes our lives. My work is respectfully informed by my time with Indigenous communities, informing a stance of cultural humility and reciprocity in how I practice.

This integrated, depth-relational approach aims to nurture self-awareness, restore connection (to self, others and the more-than-human world) and support lasting integration, so you can live more fully aligned with your Physis and your individuation process.