Psychedelics in palliative care has become an exciting new framework for people looking to ease anxiety and embrace spirituality, but the concept is not as simple as just providing a substance.
In this episode, Joe interviews Livi Joy: Director of Health and Safety, Existential Palliative Ministry Lead Facilitator, and more at Sacred Garden Community (SGC).
As she screens applicants for SGC (and Beckley Retreats), she talks a lot about the process and the safety measures that are absolutely necessary when using psychedelics in palliative care – especially under the framework of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Does the patient have at least one strong support person? Do they need to start or increase therapy? Does their home need to be rearranged due to possible fall risks? How will certain medications muffle their experience? Are they truly physically healthy enough to be able to handle a powerful journey? And also, is the sacrament always necessary?
She discusses:
How preparation questions for a journey are often in line with preparation for death
Why it’s important to provide these experiences for people far from the dying process itself
What Sacred Garden’s core tenant that everyone can have an experience with the divine means to her
Atheism and the complications that arise when discussing spirituality and consciousness: Who’s really in charge?
How psychedelics can help with understanding and preparing for death, but our culture is too death-phobic too embrace it
MAPS/Lykos’ MDMA trials for PTSD delivered overwhelmingly positive results. I thought that mattered until I sat through a nine-hour deliberation among the FDA’s Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee on June 4, including two hours of public comments that skewed anti-Lykos.
After a long day of groupthink, the panel advised the FDA that MDMA therapy was neither safe nor effective for patients with PTSD. And while their vote is nonbinding, their opinion significantly impacts the FDA’s final decision on Lykos’ new drug application.
So, how did the committee come to be? Were they up to the task of reviewing this historical application? And were their votes intellectually honest, given the failing mental healthcare system in the United States?
Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee: Who Are They?
The Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee (PDAC) consists of experts who provide independent advice to the FDA on the safety and efficacy of investigational drug products for psychiatric disorders. It consists of nine core voting members, including psychiatrists, neuropsychiatrists, consumer representatives, patient representatives, and one non-voting member, typically an industry representative.
Anyone can nominate themselves or others to PDAC. However, the FDA ultimately identifies and appoints candidates based on what they perceive as relevant expertise. Members serve one to four-year terms and attend several drug review hearings throughout the year.
The FDA also invites temporary voting members to certain meetings, bringing specialized expertise to address knowledge gaps in the core group. For the MDMA review, the FDA appointed six temporary members. But curiously, not one of them had specialized knowledge of psychedelic research or medicine.
Only one permanent PDAC voting member, Dr. Walter Dunn, holds a relevant background in psychedelic research. Dr. Dunn was also the only person to dissent from popular opinion, voting yes on both final questions:
Do the available data show that the drug is effective in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder?
Do the benefits of midomafetamine (MDMA) with FDA’s proposed risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) outweigh its risks for the treatment of patients with PTSD?
I don’t think the FDA purposely stacked the group against Lykos. But the committee’s lack of psychedelic expertise was grossly negligent, given the FDA’s goal of selecting experienced field experts. This novice lineup set the stage for a lopsided debate dominated by well-meaning status quo advocates who weren’t ready to unleash a transformative medicine they didn’t understand.
Kim O. Witczak, PDAC consumer representative, put it this way:
“Once you let the genie out of the bottle, you can’t put it back in.”
The Unprecedented Nature of the MDMA Review
To be fair, the committee faced an incredibly challenging task of reviewing the FDA’s first-ever new drug application (NDA) for a psychedelic compound.
Members received a data packet with MAPS clinical trials findings and the FDA’s concerns prior to the meeting. They may have also reviewed the critical ICER report and citizen petition that prompted the hearing. Together, these documents feasibly served as their first foray into psychedelic medicine before casting incredibly consequential votes affecting 13 million Americans with PTSD.
Additionally, it was the first NDA that merged a medicine, MDMA, with psychotherapy. The FDA does not regulate psychotherapy, so the committee had never seen such a proposal before. Until the MAPS MDMA trials for PTSD, they had only ever reviewed standalone prescription drugs.
This dual application caused distress and confusion as panelists struggled to reconcile their mandate with their desire to oversee the therapeutic aspect outside their jurisdiction. Admittedly, they were out of their wheelhouse, operating under a framework that didn’t adequately address the task at hand.
“Maybe it’s time to say we have to look at the current way that we’ve always approved and reviewed drugs differently,” Witczak said.
Resistance to the Therapeutic Component
With confusion looming, Lykos’ patient-directed therapy model was central to the panel’s skepticism throughout the hearing. They consistently questioned its validity and whether psychotherapy was even necessary alongside MDMA to alleviate PTSD.
In my discussion with Witczak, she reiterated the concerns that Lykos’ protocol wasn’t tested against “recognized therapies” or no therapy at all, leading to doubts about its credibility.
She’s right that Lykos didn’t compare its MDMA-AT model to status quo approaches, like Prolonged Exposure. They also didn’t study an MDMA-only group.
In hindsight, they should have, given the panel’s doubt about alternative therapies amplified by public accusations that Lykos is a therapy cult imposing spirituality onto patients. But hindsight won’t help now. At the time of the trial, the FDA had approved the inner healer method. Also, though Lykos didn’t explicitly test mainstream therapies, scientific data give us a clear picture of their effectiveness, according to Dr. Scott Shannon, Principal Investigator in MAPS Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials. Spoiler alert: mainstream therapies are not performing great.
According to Dr. Shannon, about 50% of people in PTSD psychotherapy trials drop out immediately, and of the 50% that pursue it, only half get better.
“Our medications are even worse,” he said, adding that PTSD medicine hasn’t had a significant innovation in the last 23 years, and up to 17 veterans are taking their lives daily as a result.
Still, PDAC insisted that Lykos’ therapy was a significant X factor that might not be effective or safe.
Therapeutic Safety
A confirmed case of therapist misconduct within MAPS clinical trials exacerbated the panelists’ pushback. The case involved Meaghan Buisson, a participant in the phase-two trial, who filed a lawsuit against two MAPS therapists, Richard Yensen and Donna Dryer, alleging sexual assault and professional negligence. Buisson’s claims included video evidence showing the therapists physically restraining and spooning her during a session. Buisson moved near the therapists after the trial, where she alleges the abuse continued.
I’m not here to defend the therapists’ actions. I watched the MDMA session clip and was not ok with what I saw. I’m also uninterested in conjecture about what occurred between Buisson and Yensen after the clinical trial ended. No matter the details, this situation is a stain on the program, and the public needs to know about it so we can hold people accountable and prevent future harm.
At the same time, this inexcusable case does not erase MDMA-AT’s profound impact. For instance, Lykos’ second Phase III trial found that 71.2% of the MDMA cohort no longer held a diagnosis, compared to 47.6% in the placebo group. Additionally, its MDMA trials for PTSD had some of the lowest dropout rates in history.
We need to be able to hold two truths at once.
1. Psychotherapist misconduct is unacceptable. We must continue raising ethical standards, recording therapy sessions, and holding offenders accountable for their actions.
2. At the same time, about 7% of conventional male therapists admit to having sex with at least one patient, and no one is suggesting we ban talk therapy as a result. Lykos’ misconduct case represents a lower risk profile than the status quo, and people with PTSD deserve a treatment that works.
And not to beat a dead horse, but Dr. Shannon reminded me that the FDA has no mandate or interest in regulating psychotherapy. State licensing boards, professional associations, and the legal system assume that role.
Ultimately, the panel and public debated an issue that the FDA likely won’t factor into their final decision.
Broader Issues of Mistrust in the MAPS Clinical Trial
The FDA cares about drug safety and efficacy data. But the panel’s broad dialogue extended well beyond the numbers into downright mistrust.
“I was surprised because usually [a drug] is approved more quickly, or [the panel] doesn’t raise many concerns. But this meeting had much more discussion,“ said Witczak, who added that it was “good conversation.”
Another committee member said, “It felt strange to vote no when the p-value started with three zeros.”
A low p-value, typically below 0.05, suggests that the results did not occur by random chance. So, a P < 0.0001 value – which was present in the MAPS clinical trial – is extraordinarily statistically significant.
Members cited functional unblinding (inadvertent awareness of group assignments) and expectation bias (preconceived notions about MDMA) as reasons why they didn’t believe the results. Additionally, they floated rumors from the citizen petition that the trial’s principal investigators and therapists engaged in data manipulation.
I’ll be honest. I wondered whether their points held weight, given the fact that most people in the MDMA group knew they were on MDMA.
Dr. Shannon explained that despite functional unblinding, the trial exhibited a significant effect size of 0.9. Effect size quantifies the magnitude of the treatment’s impact compared to placebo. Moderate effect sizes range from 0.4 to 0.6, according to Dr. Shannon, who explained that the best we for current SSRIs is a dismal 0.23.
“Even if our (MDMA-AT) effect size only turned out to be half of what we measured, it’s still much better than [the current treatments],” said Dr. Shannon.
But what about the potential fraud in MDMA trials for PTSD?
“I know several sites, and I know they did nothing untoward, nothing malicious, nothing underhanded. We knew we had to perform at the highest level of ethical and scientific investigation, and that’s what we did.”
Dr. Shannon added that FDA investigators were at his site for a week and had visited most sites throughout the clinical trial.
“We have been scrutinized to a high degree and stand by our data.”
Dr. Shannon could be wrong about the integrity of other actors in the trial. Some shenanigans may have occurred, and if they did, we need to question every single outcome.
However, such accusations are grave and rely on the FDA to investigate and determine their validity. The advisory panel meeting was not the format to litigate, yet the panel members clearly factored these stories into their votes.
Trying to Keep the Genie in the Bottle
MDMA-assisted therapy will revolutionize mental health treatment and society as we know it. I see that as broadly beneficial and necessary. But what do I know? I’m just one anecdote.
The data matter more than my opinion or that of any naysayer. But almost no one at the hearing could speak to it with authority or provide any context on decades of historical MDMA therapy use. Without such a person, I witnessed the committee circle the drain in unison until they concluded they weren’t ready to let the genie out of the bottle.
I believe most members voted no out of genuine concern, like Watzeck, who said she entered the meeting with hope and optimism before the pervasive criticism impacted her vote. But others may have arrived with a pre-packaged vote.
“I would say some probably had biases. They may never agree to [MDMA therapy],” said Watzeck.
And that right there encapsulates why a committee hearing stacked with psychedelic novices could not come to an intellectually honest decision despite what may have been an utterly genuine effort.
Why the Political and Social Reality Might Supercede the Rejection
Fortunately, the FDA’s decision is not made in a vacuum.
Witczak thinks the FDA may still approve MDMA-AT despite the panel’s concerns because of pressure from veterans groups and Congress to deliver effective PTSD therapies.
Dr. Shannon also thinks that the FDA will consider MDMA because of the dire need for innovation in mental health treatment. He believes the FDA will likely impose safety restrictions, like a limited rollout, enhanced data collection, and a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program. Still, he thinks the organization will ultimately say yes.
The FDA decision whether to approve or deny MDMA therapy is expected to be announced by Aug. 11.
“We’re in a paradigm shift from either a psychotherapy or a pharmacology model, which have grave limitations, into a new model that combines them both,” Dr. Shannon said.
I’d like to agree, but I suspect the FDA is filled with well-meaning experts who fear unleashing the unknown.
Join us for this free webinar with Blossom Founder, Floris Wolswijk, to gain an insider’s overview on the current landscape and future directions of psychedelic research.
Where does microdosing and psychedelic-assisted therapy stand today across medical, underground, and religious pathways?
What developments are we expecting in integration coaching?
What’s on the horizon for legalization efforts?
What are the biggest concerns around scaling psychedelics?
Floris Wolswijk is the founder of Blossom, which serves as an informational hub for psychedelic insights, documenting psychedelics from research to the implementation of psychedelic-assisted therapy. Floris has also co-founded FLO coaching with his wife Lotte. They provide psychedelic-assisted coaching with a focus on adequate preparation and integration. Finally, Floris is a core team member of Delphi, a US-based consultancy that advises both organizations in the psychedelic ecosystem and the incumbent system, focussing on the medical introduction of these medicines.
Floris studied Psychology at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and graduated with a master’s degree in 2014. Through his decade of personal experiences with psychedelics and subsequent engagement with scientific literature, he fell in love with the psychedelics field. He is helping make psychedelics more widely available and hopes they can be widely used both as therapeutics and for self-development. Floris is also a local leader in the Effective Altruism movement, where he encourages people to do the most good they can. He donated his kidney to a stranger and gives away 10% of his income to effective charities like StrongMinds, which helps people battle depression and anxiety. Floris lives in the Dutch countryside with his wife, Lotte, their two dogs, and six chickens.
What are bad trips, or adverse, negative, or challenging experiences? Can a definition truly define the power they have to create intense distress and sometimes life-defining moments? Why do they happen, and how do you deal with them?
In this episode, Joe interviews Erica Rex, MA: award-winning journalist, past guest, thought leader on psychedelic medicine, and participant in one of the first clinical trials using psilocybin to treat cancer-related depression.
She tells the story of her recent harrowing experience, brought on by 6 times the amount of Syrian rue that was recommended: from entities threatening her, to a sense of terror she was going to die, to finding her way out of it with time, and most importantly, context to process and a strong support system. She and Joe emphasize the reality that bad trips can happen at any time, with any dose, for any reason, and that – if you can make your way through the experience without being traumatized – you can learn a lot about yourself during those states.
Her book, “The Heroine’s Journey: a woman’s quest for sanity in the psychedelic age” will be published by She Writes Press in the spring of 2026.
She discusses:
Methods to help others having a bad experience
Her skepticism about psychedelic therapy being in a medical context at all
Her thoughts on the recent ICER recommendation against approving MDMA and the multiple topics not addressed
Possible complications from MDMA use nobody talks about, from cytotoxic effects to even sudden-onset psychosis
The pathologizing of anything outside the ordinary, to the point that we’re trying to suppress natural human emotions and reactions
In this episode of Vital Psychedelic Conversations, Johanna interviews Monica Nieto: Vital graduate, psychedelic facilitator and integration coach, and founder of Holistic TherapeutiX, a retreat center offering cannabis and breathwork retreats; and Jordana Ma: past Vital instructor and psychological counselor who runs retreats in Peru following the Asháninkan tradition of traditional Amazonian medicine.
They discuss their similar paths to psychedelics and healing, the power of plant dietas and fully immersing yourself into nature, and learning to hear your true teacher: the inner healer. They highlight how we’ve lost the connection to the ecological consciousness within our bodies, and how the plants – perhaps in a self-serving way – have become allies, trying to teach us to heal the web we’re a part of and reconnect to nature and ourselves.
They discuss:
The importance of combining traditional perspectives and Western psychotherapy into a spiritual practice
The similarities between yoga and traditional Amazonian medicine
Singing as a somatic (and breathwork) practice
How things are meant to work in synergy, and the problem with science trying to extract compounds rather than respecting the power of the whole plant
Their role models who have inspired them and informed their work
In the current psychedelic resurgence, traditional medical paradigms are being called into question, and many are asking whether the profit-driven medicine model is really the best way to help people heal.
Forward-thinking, conscious psychedelic leaders and organizations are answering, and introducing new models of doing business. Moving beyond worthwhile concerns of sustainability, regenerative business goes a step further, shifting the focus from simply reducing negative effects to creating business models that actively replenish and regenerate.
This holistic, systems-based approach seems to be a natural fit for the field of psychedelics, a sector already deeply connected with more integrated views of the world.
This article explores the principles of regenerative business, its application in psychedelics, and the frameworks guiding those hoping to make a truly sustainable impact.
What is Regenerative Business?
Regenerative business models go beyond traditional efforts at sustainability. Instead of just mitigating negative impacts business can have on people and the planet, regenerative models aim to restore and enhance the systems and communities they interact with.
Regenerative economics involves resource circulation that restores and strengthens economic, social, and natural systems. Imagine natural ecosystems, like forests or mycelium networks, that thrive through nutrient and information exchange. They share and re-circulate resources, creating dynamically positive feedback loops that allow all parties to excel.
This type of collaborative system of doing business stands in stark contrast to an extractive model, which extracts resources, often at the expense of overall the well-being of the community or environment. Extractive economic models have led to an unsustainable disequilibrium, the results of which can be found in rising financial inequality, climate change, and ecosystem degradation. Personal well-being also suffers, with increased rates of mental health issues correlating with these economic and systemic imbalances.
Regenerative patterns aim to offer an antidote by promoting balance. In a regenerative economic system, interconnected webs of people and organizations support local feedback loops and other important exchanges like community capital circulation. This approach is being embraced in sectors such as agriculture, forestry, and energy, where supply chain practices play a crucial role in environmental stewardship and sustainability.
“Regenerative economics is about creating businesses that are foundationally centered on systems that restore, renew, and revitalize the people and the environment. Every aspect of the business from production and operations through company culture, monetization, and community engagement will have thoughtful holistic strategies that rejuvenate rather than deplete,” explains AnnaRae Grabstein, business strategist in emerging spaces. “This means not just minimizing harm but actively contributing to the betterment of all stakeholders. It’s about long-term thinking and innovative approaches that challenge the status quo.”
Regenerative Business and Psychedelics
A regenerative approach is particularly relevant to psychedelics and the future of psychedelic therapy and support. The traditional pharmaceutical approach to mental health, which focuses on biological symptoms with little regard for psychosocial factors, has not adequately addressed the mental health crisis. This model is also often based on a “chronic” treatment system where patients might be expected to take daily medication for longer terms or for the rest of their lives. Yet despite high sales of antidepressants and other SSRIs, rates of mental health problems have only increased.
“Using regenerative philosophy in the creation of psychedelic medicine businesses presents an opportunity to think beyond profit creation and integrate a strategy for generating positive impact,” says Grabstein, who will teach Growing Your Psychedelic Leadership and Business in the upcoming Vital 12-month program. “While businesses need to make money to exist and thrive, regenerative business principles unlock the potential to drive revenue through impactful and ethical practices. By prioritizing sustainability, social equity, and holistic well-being, regenerative business models can be a part of building a psychedelic wellness industry that benefits not only the bottom line but also the communities, ecosystems, and individuals it serves.”
A regenerative approach to psychedelics aims to create well-being by treating mind, body, and spirit holistically. Psychedelic experiences foster connection, helping individuals reconnect with themselves, their communities, and the natural world. This is achieved through group therapy, communal activities, and integration practices that leverage the openness fostered by psychedelics.
“Much of the mental distress that psychedelics may alleviate traces to the extractive pattern of our existing economic system – a pattern in which resources are extracted to benefit a single group – at the expense of overall well-being. It would be counterproductive to deliver psychedelic experiences using practices that embody the same extractive patterning making people unwell in the first place. A regenerative approach to delivering such experiences flips the pharmaceutical-centered approach on its head: rather than focusing on symptom management in an unwell patient, it aims to create well-being.”
Implementing Regenerative Practices in Psychedelics
Trying to operate in this more traditionally capitalist world can make transitioning to a regenerative business model seem daunting. But with the right frameworks and a commitment to systemic change, psychedelic companies can successfully move their work in a more regenerative direction.
Articulate Your Vision for Systemic Change: Clearly understand and communicate your purpose, impact, and influence. Define how you can reshape economies and contribute positively to the environment and society.
Map Systems and Identify Leverage Points: Analyze your internal systems, operations, value chain, and the broader market. Identify areas where you can strategically allocate resources to restore social and natural systems.
Set a Regenerative Strategy: Define how you will deliver value through regenerative outcomes. Identify key areas of impact and plan how to deliver the greatest stakeholder value.
Review Business Models: Assess your products and services. Explore how you can deliver value through regenerative practices, such as shifting models that focus on stakeholder value rather than profit or quantity of goods sold.
Define and Deliver Value: Recognize that regenerative approaches can drive financial value creation. Develop more holistic methods to understand value creation across your entire enterprise ecosystem (rather than a narrow view of short-term profit seeking).
Remaining in outdated models in an industry like psychedelics carries risks. For the psychedelic medicine space, which is closely tied to natural resources and community well-being, these risks are particularly significant. Inadequate adoption of regenerative principles can harm ecosystems, undermine the social fabric of communities, and damage the industry or company’s reputation, ultimately affecting long-term viability and growth.
While it may be tempting, and sometimes necessary, to focus on the immediate bottom line, a broader view of success can help long term viability.
Foster a Regenerative Culture: Cultivate a culture that prioritizes regeneration through action-oriented leadership and stakeholder engagement. This involves educating employees, partners, and consumers about the benefits of regenerative practices.
Pilot Projects: Start with pilot projects to test regenerative models. This approach allows companies to manage risks and evaluate opportunities before scaling up.
Collaborate and Share Knowledge: Engage in peer-to-peer and community mentorship to share insights, challenges, and successes. Collaboration can accelerate the adoption of regenerative practices across the industry.
Grabstein believes that implementing these models is a natural fit for psychedelics.
“The healing potential of psychedelics aligns naturally with the principles of regeneration – restoring mental, emotional and physical health to people, environments and communities. By integrating regenerative practices (like regenerative agriculture, circular economy principles and social equity), the companies and organizations who employ these methodologies can work towards the sustainable cultivation of natural psychedelic sources, ethical treatment of indigenous knowledge holders, and equitable access to therapies. This holistic approach can help build a resilient and responsible psychedelic medicine industry.”
The integration of regenerative business principles in the psychedelic industry offers a potentially transformative path forward. By adopting holistic, systems-based approaches, psychedelic companies can ensure sustainable sourcing, promote social equity, and build resilient economies. This commitment to regenerative practices has the potential to not only enhance therapeutic outcomes but also contribute to broader environmental and social well-being, paving the way for a truly sustainable future in psychedelics.
Are you a psychedelic professional interested in building an ethical business or practice that gives more than it takes? Consider joining our September cohort of Vital, where students can choose to specialize in Regenerative Business and Leadership (the first-ever offering of its kind).
In this episode, Joe interviews Jon Reiss: critically acclaimed filmmaker, author, and host of the Plantscendence podcast, which tells people’s psychedelic stories and is beginning its second season soon.
He talks about his early days of directing Nine Inch Nails and Type O Negative videos, and how Plantscendence was born after he realized that the conversations he was having with people about their most transformative experiences were perfect for a podcast. He discusses his first psychedelic experience with ayahuasca, how microdosing is helping him today, and his realization that people can get to these big experiences in many different ways.
He discusses:
The two episodes of Plantscendence that stand out the most to him
Using the term, ‘plant medicine’
His 30 years of meditation practice and how it likely helped him to integrate his first psychedelic experiences
The concept of plant intelligence and how plants can stop you from being a “consciousness tourist”
Kabbalah, Kashmir Shaivism, non-duality, and his Shaktipat experience
In this episode of Vital Psychedelic Conversations, David interviews Sara Reed: Vital instructor, lecturer, and lead psychedelic research therapist at Imperial College London; and Alex H. Robinson: Vital student, integration coach and psilocybin facilitator for Heroic Hearts Project, and distinguished Army SOF combat Veteran with a decade of active duty service.
Reed has worked with MAPS to make clinical trial populations more diverse and is creating culturally sensitive Clinical Research Forms for future research trials, and Robinson spearheaded her unit’s Cultural Support Team program and contributed to policy changes to help place women into traditionally male-centric Special Operations roles. Representing marginalized groups themselves, they’re both passionate about making psychedelic therapy more inclusive and representative of the general population, and getting more practitioners up to speed to be able to deliver culturally competent care.
They discuss:
The importance of having difficult conversations and calling out bad behavior
The fallacy of zero-sum thinking: Doing something special for a smaller community doesn’t take away from the main goal; it adds to it
The benefit of being able to self-reflect and personalize content when most psychedelic education consists of one-sided lectures
The challenge of getting people who don’t feel represented to enroll in clinical trials, and how personal stories go a long way
Although the late psychologist and mystic Carl Jung died in the 1960s, his ‘inner self’ legacy is enjoying an organic revival, synchronizing with the resurgence of psychedelics.
Jung’s work provides a reliable road map for a psychedelic trip through the unconscious, and contemporary psychedelic explorers are hungry to learn more about his profound teachings.
Why Jung Appeals to a Broad Psychedelic Audience
Jung’s enduring transpersonal principles can help us interpret and understand complex non-ordinary experiences, whether they’re brought on by psychedelic compounds or other endogenous methods.
Thus, his insights resonate with a broad audience: licensed therapists, reiki practitioners, guides, yogis, integration coaches, breath workers, and others.
“We’re in need of tools that help us to articulate what’s going on at that level of depth,” says Jungian analyst-in-training and clinical psychology doctoral student MacKenzie Amara. “…we don’t have [many tools] to articulate what’s happening when we get into the messy place of extreme emotional catharsis and symbolic representation through the form of visions and communication with ancestors who have been long dead.”
Understanding Archetypes on Jung’s Terms
In order to comprehend Jung’s psychospiritual philosophies, it’s crucial to first understand some basic Jungian concepts and terms. Jung believed that the psyche (mind, body, soul) is composed of three parts: the ego (or personal conscious), the personal unconscious (unique, containing suppressed memories), and the collective unconscious.
The collective unconscious is a domain of primordial images and symbols that evoke meaning and connection across races, cultures, and nationalities. According to Jung, these symbols contain ‘ancestral memory’, which is inherited. Our ancestral roots and dreams provide insights into the collective unconscious, which shapes our perceptions, knowledge, and experiences.
Within this realm, four main archetypes reflect our beliefs, values, motivations, and morals. The four main Jungian archetypes are:
The Self: The Self emerges when the ego integrates with both the conscious and unconscious aspects of our minds. It represents the culmination of an individual’s spiritual journey, known as individuation. Through individuation, each person realizes their unique, cosmic identity.
The Persona: The Persona refers to the various social masks we wear. We present different aspects of ourselves depending on the social context, such as at work, with family, or with friends. The development of the persona is influenced by upbringing, culture, and environment.
The Shadow: The Shadow contains the parts of our personality that we repress, discard, and hide. These can include traits we are unaware of or do not appreciate. While prejudices and biases originate from the shadow, it is not entirely negative; it also holds potential strengths and hidden talents.
The Anima or the Animus: These archetypes represent the ideal feminine (anima) and masculine (animus) aspects within us. The animus embodies masculinity in a woman’s psyche, while the anima embodies femininity in a man’s psyche. Society often discourages the expression of these opposite-gender traits. Integrating the anima or animus is a crucial step in the process of individuation.
Due to intense engagement with archetypes during psychedelic experiences, individuals risk having their personal worldviews disassembled in the process.
“Jungian theory lends itself to people that have had spiritual, transgressive, or transpersonal experiences more than those that are kind of stuck in a rational materialistic worldview,” Amara explains.
These transpersonal experiences make the Self the focal point of the journey of individuation.
Carl Jung’s Inner Self Explained
The Self is central to Jung’s worldview, merging consciousness and unconsciousness to represent the whole psyche. We are born with a sense of unity, but as we grow and focus on the outer world—school, work, relationships—we form an ego and lose this unity, neglecting our inner world.
Jung identified two life stages: the outer world and the inner world. As adults, we often experience tension between our conscious and unconscious minds, leading to a midlife crisis. This signals the need to nurture our inner life.
Life’s challenges can bring a “dark night of the soul,” where societal values fail us. This prompts a quest to reconnect with our soul, though many avoid this confrontation. Embracing our suffering can lead to psychic growth, uniting our conscious and unconscious realms.
Through this process, known as individuation, we integrate the ignored parts of our unconscious, regaining wholeness and inner harmony.
Carl Jung’s Process of Individuation
As we turn inward, we encounter individuation, a central theme in Jung’s work. Individuation integrates our unconscious with the conscious, restoring the wholeness of the Self. This process, akin to self-actualization, involves breaking free from societal and cultural norms to become a unique individual. Successful individuation provides deep-rooted stability, like an ancient oak tree, supporting us through life’s storms.
Individuation heals the split between the conscious and unconscious, allowing our true Self to emerge. This journey creates turbulence as we realize our conventional world and unconscious world often conflict. The conventional world shapes our beliefs and behaviors, creating a structured reality. In contrast, the unconscious is chaotic and tumultuous, divided into the personal and collective unconscious. The personal unconscious contains everything outside our conscious awareness.
From birth, we operate largely on autopilot, influenced by external conditioning. This conditioning shapes our ego and self-perception, leading to a split and psychic imbalance. Psychedelics can help repair this split, aligning our conscious and unconscious minds.
Jung, Psychedelics, and “Ego Death”
Carl Jung coined an often used term in psychedelic vernacular: ego death. Ego death refers to a compromised sense of self, and it’s a state that’s coveted by many psychonauts. While some consider it an end goal of psychedelic work, it’s really the first step towards a return to wholeness. So, why is this idea prevalent in the psychedelic community?
“Psychedelics are what we call psycho-pumps for individuation. Meaning psychedelics are connectors to personal and collective unconscious; what gives you more of the unconscious material to then work with,” Dr. Ido Cohen explains.
This idea results in the common sentiment that psychedelics are “ten years of therapy in one day.”
While Cohen doesn’t think it’s necessarily accurate, he believes people are trying to say, “Wow, psychedelics can really open up the barrier to the personal and collective unconscious which then a flood of information comes in.”
This shedding of a one-sided self-identity holds true in above ground and underground psychedelic settings, as people jump-start their individuation. Insights can follow that may lead a person to explore what has been relegated to the basement of their psyche, or the “shadow.” When we learn to dance with the shadow, we empathize and relate with all of mankind on a profound level, Cohen says.
Learning to Dance with the Shadow
As a midlife crisis arises, or we enter a dark night of the soul, and the process of individuation begins and we come face to face with our shadow. This daunting task is referred to as doing “shadow work,” (another Jungian term gaining popularity in licensed and underground settings alike).
At first glance, we may see our shadow and assume it is evil or an enemy. But our shadow is part of us, and can’t be abandoned or avoided. As we familiarize ourselves with the shadow, we learn that it is not to be feared, as it is only dark or hostile when it is ignored or misunderstood. Thus, it’s critical to understand what the shadow really is.
What is the Shadow?
The shadow encompasses all the psychic elements we reject and hope to discard by casting them into the depths. It includes the traits we’ve ignored, disowned, or removed from ourselves, forming our personality in the process. The shadow is the unknown dark side of our personality, representing everything we desire not to be.
The shadow includes negative and primitive human emotions and impulses: selfishness, rage, greed, pride, and lust. Anything we reject in ourselves as evil, intolerable, or less than ideal forms the shadow. It’s a repository of both negative and positive qualities we no longer claim. Within this mix, we find the shadow’s hidden treasures.
Cohen notes, “There is also the golden shadow, which includes beautiful aspects we repressed due to our upbringing or environment.”
This could mean rediscovering playfulness or sexuality. Or it could reveal latent talents, like a lawyer discovering a talent for writing or an athlete becoming a chef. It often emerges in psychedelic settings, inspiring life changes like new careers, divorces, or relocations. However, it’s crucial to provide quality integration and a solid container to help individuals make sound decisions and avoid regret.
The shadow compensates for what we lack. For instance, if a person is aggressive, the shadow reflects empathy and tenderness. If they’re shy, it reflects confidence and assertiveness. Honoring and accepting the shadow is an intense spiritual exercise, revealing our potential and the ideal self we strive to become.
Carl Jung’s Psychedelic Guidance is Here to Stay
For the Western mind, unaccustomed to Indigenous worldviews that embrace plant spirits and entities, Jung’s concept of the inner self offers all psychedelic practitioners an invaluable tool to navigate the mind-manifesting unknown. Think of Carl Jung as a trustworthy psychic sherpa: he guides us through the peaks and valleys of the timeless and boundless realms of human consciousness (and unconsciousness), helping us reconnect with our soul.
Do you feel called to learn more about Jung’s teachings? Consider joining us for our fourth cohort of Vital, where students can specialize in Depth and Jungian Perspectives. Applications are open now with limited seats available.
Are you interested in integrating psychedelics into your professional and personal life?
Vital is a comprehensive psychedelic training for practitioners and professionals, and the next cohort begins in September.
Check out the course overview and FAQ here, and if you have questions and want to speak to one of the members of the Vital team, register for this Vital 4 Q+A webinar, hosted by Diego. Those who attend will receive an exclusive gift at the end of the session. Does this date and time not work for you? Check out our other Vital Q+As!
Are you interested in integrating psychedelics into your professional and personal life?
Vital is a comprehensive psychedelic training for practitioners and professionals, and the next cohort begins in September.
Check out the course overview and FAQ here, and if you have questions and want to speak to one of the members of the Vital team, register for this Vital 4 Q+A webinar, hosted by Kyle. Those who attend will receive an exclusive gift at the end of the session. Does this day and time not work for you? Check out our other Q+As.
Join us for a thoughtful exploration on how ayahuasca traditions became a global phenomenon.
The global spread of ayahuasca practices creates profound cultural, environmental, and spiritual dilemmas, as well as opportunities to evolve humanity towards a more spiritually aware and interconnected whole.
Using the Santo Daime movement as the main example of how an Amazonian religion became a diffused global diaspora, this webinar will analyze the conflicts and tensions within this kind of internationalization, from the global South towards the North, covering both the backlashes in the original Amazonian traditional communities from which it came, and the different foreign locations to which it has migrated.
Dr. Glauber Loures de Assis is a researcher of sacred plants and their traditions and a psychedelic dad. He has a Ph.D in sociology from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and is Research Associate at the Interdisciplinary Group for Psychoactive Studies (NEIP) in Brazil. He is the author of numerous articles and book chapters, and the co-editor of the book, Women and Psychedelics: Uncovering Invisible Voices (Synergetic Press). Glauber is the founder and president of Céu da Divina Estrela, a legal and tax-exempt ayahuasca church in Brazil. He has 15 years of experience with ayahuasca and other sacred plants and has led more than 500 ceremonies in Brazil, Europe and the United States. He has built this practice in dialogue with his local Brazilian ayahuasca community and with the blessings of Indigenous elders and activists in Brazil. He is also the leader of Jornadas de Kura, a plant medicine center in Brazil that promotes a bridge between the ceremonial use of sacred plants, public education on plant medicine and psychedelic science. He is an Indigenous rights activist and the Director of the Psychedelic Parenthood Community. He is father to 3 children and lives with his wife Jacqueline Rodrigues in Santa Luzia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
In this episode, Joe and REMAP Therapeutics Founder, Court Wing, host Lynn Watkins: medically retired USAF JAG & Ops Resource Mgmt Specialist; and C.J. Spotswood, PMHNP: principle psychiatric clinician at REMAP Therapeutics, and author of The Microdosing Guidebook: A Step-by-Step Manual to Improve Your Physical and Mental Health through Psychedelic Medicine.
Watkins tells her story of 20+ years of chronic pain: from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome brought on by a severed nerve to multiple foot surgeries, chest pains, cognitive issues, the inability to move her toes, burning mouth syndrome, and more, which unsurprisingly resulted in depression, anxiety, and being unable to work. Wing and Spotswood talk about their initial assessment, how they figured out how to work with her and her multitude of medications, and the incredible success they saw when combining practiced techniques, neuromodulation, and regular assessments with neuroplastic windows brought on by psilocybin.
They discuss:
How much preparation was done before introducing psychedelics, and the importance of realizing that they were dealing with PTSD
How often a history of chronic pain is related to a history of trauma, whether the patient realizes it or not
Consequences and complications of medications, specifically Clonazepam in Watkins’ case
The cascade of ailments and side effects that can happen from just one injury
In this episode of Vital Psychedelic Conversations, David interviews Casey Paleos, MD: Vital instructor, researcher, psychiatrist with a private practice offering ketamine infusion therapy and KAP, and co-founder of Nautilus Sanctuary, a non-profit psychedelic research, education, and advocacy organization.
Paleos talks about how stress creates trauma, and how the symptoms Western medicine tries to silence are actually signals – a quality assurance mechanism sending an alert that something is wrong, and that when symptoms are labeled as ‘treatment-resistant,’ is it actually a case of one’s own inner healing intelligence outsmarting a medication to make sure that that message is delivered?
He discusses:
MAPS’ recent advisory board ruling, past ethical violations, and how training should be done
How consent in a therapeutic relationship is an ongoing process of checking in
How psychedelic-assisted therapy (and maybe all therapy) is simply removing obstacles so one’s own inner healing intelligence can do its job
The importance of a culture (and training) that celebrates all therapeutic modalities as complementary: There’s a lot of uniqueness in this world, so we should embrace that
Asking for help is an inherently vulnerable thing. But when it comes to becoming a better psychedelic facilitator or guide, it’s crucial. Enter: psychedelic mentorship.
When people seek help from a psychedelic professional, experience matters. One may be dealing with addiction, depression, or trauma. Or perhaps something a bit lighter: a reset, a shift of perspective. Whatever the reason, individuals place their trust not only in the substance, but in the practitioners who help guide the way.
The vulnerability and trust between individuals and their psychedelic support providers highlight the critical importance of experience. This is why professional relationships, such as mentorships, are essential. A skilled mentor can equip facilitators with the expertise to handle the most challenging circumstances, distinguishing them from those who cannot provide the same level of support.
How Mentorship Can Help Psychedelic Professionals
The resurgence of interest in psychedelic medicine has ushered in a new era of therapeutic possibilities, yet despite the exciting prospects of increased access and expanded treatment options, considerations like ethics and client safety must remain paramount. Mentorship can provide the responsible guidance needed to navigate these crucial therapeutic aspects, ensuring that the rapid expansion of psychedelic therapy does not compromise the quality of care.
Psychedelic mentorship offers numerous benefits, both for the mentees and the broader professional psychedelic community. It provides future practitioners, therapists, guides, and integration specialists with critical knowledge, guidance, and support, helping them build confidence and competence in their practice. Experienced mentors share insights gleaned from years of helping others, including best practices, ethical considerations, and the subtleties of client care that are not always covered in formal training programs.
Moreover, mentorship fosters a culture of continuous learning and professional development. It encourages mentees to stay updated on the latest research and developments in psychedelics, promoting an evidence-based approach to supporting clients. This dynamic exchange of knowledge helps advance the field, ensuring that therapeutic practices evolve and stay connected with new scientific discoveries and industry norms.
What Can Future Psychedelic Professionals Learn From Mentorship?
Through mentorship, novice professionals and healers gain hands-on experience under the guidance of seasoned practitioners. This practical exposure is invaluable, as it allows mentees to apply theoretical knowledge in real-world settings, honing their skills in client interaction, session management, and therapeutic intervention.
Mentors also provide future psychedelic professionals with feedback and constructive criticism, helping them identify areas for improvement and develop their therapeutic style. This personalized guidance ensures that new psychedelic practitioners are well-equipped to handle the varied challenges that will inevitably arise during their practice.
For insight on mentorship in the psychedelic medicine space, we spoke with Kylea Taylor, therapist and creator of Inner Ethics program. As an ethics instructor for the Vital Professional Certificate Training in Integrative Psychedelic Studies, she observes first-hand how valuable mentorship is for psychedelic professionals who are training to build their careers and work with clients.
“I think the most important training is experiential. Supervised experience of having many extra-ordinary states of consciousness oneself and sitting for others who are in extra-ordinary states of consciousness,” Taylor said.
“Along with those experiences, it is very important to be in experiential study communities with other peers who share their experiences while you listen and who listen to yours. It is important then to have trainers and trained facilitators who can answer your questions and make comments about what happened in a group session. They can answer the questions of your peers, from which you learn as well.”
The Unique Situation of Psychedelic Therapy
Psychedelic therapy and support occupies a unique and complex niche within the broader field of mental health treatment. There’s a delicate mix of hands-on client care, navigating the legal status of psychedelics, and the specific ethical and professional considerations intrinsic to this type of therapy.
The Vulnerability of Clients
Clients engaging in psychedelic therapy or support often enter highly vulnerable states. The substances used, such as MDMA, psilocybin, and LSD, can induce intense emotional and psychological experiences. These experiences can unearth deep-seated traumas, evoke powerful emotions, and alter perceptions of reality. This heightened vulnerability requires practitioners to be exceptionally skilled in managing emotional crises and providing a safe, supportive environment.
Mentorship plays a critical role in preparing therapists to handle these situations with the utmost sensitivity and care, ensuring that clients feel secure and supported throughout their journey. Mentors can share their experience, help keep mentees focused, and guide them through helping clients navigate challenging experiences.
In her training sessions with burgeoning psychedelic facilitators, Taylor places an emphasis on the importance of ethical considerations and the utmost care for clients.
“[Facilitators have] an up-power position that has a greater power differential than the one between a therapist and a client in talk therapy. The psychedelic medicine amplifies vulnerability, suggestibility, and sensitivity. It softens the client’s defenses. This makes it incumbent on the practitioner, what I call the person who is in the ‘Responsible Party’ role, to have a regular source of oversight for their work—a peer consultation group, a supervisor, or a mentor—where we can be vulnerable ourselves and talk and learn from our challenges to provide impeccable care to clients.”
The Legal Status of Psychedelics
The legal status of psychedelics adds another layer of complexity to psychedelic facilitation. While there is a growing movement towards the decriminalization of psychedelics, they remain illegal in many parts of the world. Even in jurisdictions where psychedelic therapy is permitted under specific conditions, like clinical trials or compassionate use programs, legal restrictions and regulatory requirements can be stringent. Mentors help practitioners navigate this complex legal landscape, ensuring they remain compliant with all relevant laws and regulations. This guidance is essential for protecting both the facilitator and the client, as legal missteps can have severe consequences.
Ethical Considerations & Ensuring Safe Spaces for Clients
The unique and sometimes intense realities of psychedelic therapy demand adherence to rigorous ethical standards. The altered states of consciousness induced by psychedelics can blur boundaries and heighten emotional and psychological sensitivity. Practitioners must be adept at maintaining professional boundaries, managing therapeutic dynamics like transference, and ensuring informed consent. Mentors can help trainees understand and uphold these ethical standards, offering guidance from their lived professional experiences, helping future practitioners prepare for the unique challenges that could arise in psychedelic sessions.
“Practitioners can, without realizing it sometimes, come to believe that the healing and transformation of their clients is their own doing,” says Taylor. “They can misuse a client’s transference and be in denial about their own countertransference. They can exploit a client’s vulnerability or suggestibility sexually, emotionally, financially, medically, or spiritually and rationalize their reasons for doing so. They can ignore their own semi-conscious and unconscious motivations. If they have no peer consultation group or mentor, they may have no one to remind them about their client’s best interests.”
Traditional vs. Peer-to-Peer and Community Mentorship
Mentorship in psychedelics can take various forms, each with its unique benefits. Traditional mentorship involves a one-on-one relationship between an experienced mentor and a less experienced mentee. This approach allows for deep, personalized guidance and the development of a strong, supportive relationship.
In contrast, peer-to-peer and community mentorship involve more collaborative and collective forms of support. Peer-to-peer mentorship connects individuals at similar stages in their careers, enabling them to share experiences, challenges, and solutions on an equal footing. Community mentorship, on the other hand, involves larger networks of practitioners who provide mutual support, share resources, and collectively advance the field.
These forms of mentorship can complement traditional mentorship, providing a well-rounded support system for professionals at all stages of their careers. Taylor sees benefits in a well-rounded approach.
“I think having both forms of oversight is ideal. Traditional mentorship is usually one-on-one or in small groups. One can benefit from a mentor’s greater expertise. A one-on-one supervisory session can usually provide more security of confidentiality about a client situation,” Taylor said. “Peer consultation groups can provide more points of view, a breadth of resources and greater reach in networking. Our InnerEthics Peer Consultation Group is structured to protect vulnerability as practitioners rotate in roles to help each other do self-inquiry and relational reflection. Together they do mutual consciousness development to help them do their consequential work. Members of these groups also benefit from two things that are hard to come by in modern culture: a feeling of belonging and greater self-compassion.”
Considering the unique dynamics of psychedelic therapy, and how the future rollout will be full of new participants and novel therapeutic models, mentorship is quickly becoming a cornerstone of professional development. This supportive mode of training will help equip professionals with the knowledge, skills, and ethical grounding necessary to ensure they’re well-prepared to meet the challenges and opportunities of this new era of mental health.
Are you working toward becoming a psychedelic professional, and looking for mentors to guide you? Consider Vital, where students gain access to one-on-one mentorship opportunities with experienced facilitators working in the field. Applications are open now with limited seats available.
Are you interested in exploring your inner truth through the mindful use of microdosing?
Hosted by Tiffany Hurd and featuring a Q&A at the end, this webinar will cover:
What microdosing is and why people are doing it
The dos and don’ts, best practices, dosing, and common types of microdosing regimens
How microdosing can help you reveal (and embody) your inner wisdom
Why effectively regulating your emotions while microdosing is essential to creating a positive practice
The primary benefits of today’s research
Preparation and integration frameworks to optimize the process
and more!
Join us for this free webinar, whether you’re new to microdosing, have an established microdosing practice, are looking to offer this medicine to your clients, or simply desire to be more informed.
Are you interested in integrating psychedelics into your professional and personal life?
Vital is a comprehensive psychedelic training for practitioners and professionals, and the next cohort begins in September.
Check out the course overview and FAQ here, and if you have questions and want to speak to one of the members of the Vital team, register for our first Vital 4 Q+A webinar, hosted by Kyle!
In this episode, Kyle interviews Peter A. Levine, Ph.D.: developer of Somatic Experiencing®, educator, and author of several best-selling books on trauma.
His most recent book, An Autobiography of Trauma: A Healing Journey, is exactly that: a change from more scholarly writing into an extremely vulnerable telling of his early childhood trauma and how he has healed over the years. He talks about how his unconscious convinced him to write the book, how trauma can move into the body, and how he needed a student to identify how his trauma was affecting him. He believes that we all have wounding, but it’s how we carry these wounds and tell our truth that matters.
He discusses:
The need to allow space for both Indigenous traditions and evidence-based Western frameworks
The power of having even just one distinct moment of feeling cared for and loved
How Colin Turnbull saw healing differently after living with an African tribe for three years
Why he suggests 15-20 sober experiences with non-ordinary states for each drug experience
Why not having a community or empathetic other makes us more vulnerable to trauma
In this episode of Vital Psychedelic Conversations, Johanna interviews Erika Dyck: author, professor, historian, Vital instructor, and research chair in the History of Health & Social Justice at the University of Saskatchewan.
Dyck talks about the book she co-edited: Women and Psychedelics: Uncovering Invisible Voices, which was released in March as a Chacruna anthology, and collects pieces from several different authors highlighting the untold or lesser known stories from women throughout psychedelic history. Albert Hofmann was the first person to intentionally ingest LSD, but who was the first woman to do so? Who were the women assisting in research or sitting with experiencers in the early days who never got the credit for their contributions? Who were the women supporting some of the biggest psychedelic names in history?
She talks about:
The contrast in societal attitudes towards psychedelic exploration based on traditional gender roles
Some of her favorite stories from the book, including a woman diagnosed with manic depression becoming one of the first guides in LSD trials
The use of psychedelics in pregnancy and birthing practices across other cultures
Traditional gender attributes: Are women more wired to care for others? Is there something about the psychedelic experience that’s inherently feminine?
The importance of moving past the gender binary and implementing more diversity in research – with the challenge of needing to universalize medicine at the same time
Microdosing. By now the practice has fully emerged from the underground and into the mainstream. No longer the domain of self-healing psychonauts and efficiency-chasing CEOs, the benefits of microdosing can be found in major magazines and clinical trials with Ivy-league universities.
The concept is relatively simple: taking very small, sub-perceptual doses of psychedelics (generally one-tenth to one-twentieth of a recreational or therapeutic dose). This practice has been reported to provide some of the benefits of psychedelic substances without strong sensory effects and, sometimes, help with the difficult work involved in full psychedelic-assisted therapy sessions.
As we move towards possible approval of psychedelic medicines by the FDA, and with decriminalization measures making progress in jurisdictions across the globe, how will microdosing fit into this future of psychedelic-assisted therapy? What benefits does it provide to therapists, practitioners, and the clients they serve?
Microdosing as a Tool For Practitioners and Clients
Despite an overwhelming number of positive personal stories and self-reported research, the hard science is still out as to the level of tangible benefits patients might gain from microdosing psychedelics. However, this combination of enthusiastic anecdotal reports and (slowly) mounting clinical research makes microdosing an intriguing tool for people looking to better their mental health and the practitioners who help them do it.
We spoke with Kayse Gehret, microdosing expert and founder of Microdosing for Healing, for her perspective on how microdosing can improve therapeutic results for both patients and practitioners.
Microdosing is the ideal way to introduce most individuals to psychedelic practice and therapy.
“Its relative subtlety is an advantage as it provides people a gentler introductory experience and begins to allow some challenging or unfamiliar emotions to surface incrementally versus all at once,” Gehret said. “My colleagues and I are seeing an increasing number of clients coming to us after returning from a high dose ceremonial retreat feeling destabilized. While psychedelics can bring us big truths, we must also recognize that much of the public is not appropriately prepared, resourced, or ready to receive these truths in a single weekend.”
Psychedelics primarily work by modulating the brain’s serotonin system, which plays a key role in mood regulation, cognition, and perception. They can also enhance neural plasticity and connectivity. These types of effects create states of mind that are fertile ground for mental health therapies. Openness, creativity, dissolution of the ego, the breaking of bad habits of mind — all are typical benefits of psychedelic therapy that may also be accessible through microdosing regimens.
According to Gehret, microdosing has a lighter touch, and is less of a jarring and intimidating experience. This allows patients to take part in psychedelic therapies with a gentler, more accessible introduction.
“By starting with microdosing, individuals can begin to heal and discover threads and shadow material leading up to and in preparation for their high dose journey,” Gehret explained. “In our microdosing community, I’ve witnessed repeatedly that when people begin with microdosing and work to deepen their relationship with the medicine over time, when they ultimately journey they tend to have much less fear, resistance and ‘challenging trip’ experience.”
“Professionally, I also believe microdosing is wonderfully supportive of the therapeutic bond between the client and their facilitator. By beginning with a microdosing protocol, a psychedelic guide can establish, deepen, and develop their bond with a client well in advance of the journey, which I believe can lead to much better outcomes and experiences for both client and guide.”
Therapeutic Benefits of Microdosing Psychedelics
While the efficacy of psychedelic medicine is becoming increasingly known to mental health professionals, it’s useful to look at some of the potential benefits of microdosing protocols and how practitioners may be able to incorporate them into their practices.
Depression and Anxiety: One of the most promising areas for microdosing psychedelics is in the treatment of depression and anxiety. Anecdotal reports and preliminary studies suggest that microdosing can lead to improvements in mood, reduced anxiety, and increased emotional resilience. For clients who have not responded well to traditional talk therapy or antidepressants, microdosing may offer an alternative or adjunctive treatment option. For recent clinical results, see the Phase 2 results from MindBio Therapeutics’ microdosing trial using LSD for depression.
Enhanced Creativity and Problem-Solving: Microdosing has been reported to enhance creativity, focus, and problem-solving abilities. These cognitive benefits can be particularly useful in therapeutic settings, where patients are often encouraged to engage in introspective and creative processes as part of their treatment. Enhanced cognitive flexibility may also help patients break out of rigid thought patterns that contribute to unhealthy states of mind.
Increased Mindfulness and Presence: Personal reports and self-reported research has shown increased mindfulness and a greater sense of presence in their daily lives. This heightened awareness can enhance the effectiveness of therapeutic practices such as mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and other mindfulness-based interventions.
Gehret has been guiding therapies and teaching Vital’s microdosing courses for several years, sharing her first-hand experience with burgeoning student practitioners. In addition to the therapeutic possibilities, microdosing protocols can help solve issues around access, as traditional psychedelic-assisted therapy can be a costly and lengthy endeavor, she says.
“Microdosing is a subtle and gentle way to explore a therapeutic relationship with psychedelics and test how your body, mind, and spirit respond. It’s also far more accessible and affordable than clinical psychedelic therapy treatments, which can run into multiple thousands of dollars for a single experience, is not covered by most insurers, and will leave out most of the under-insured population,” she told Psychedelics Today. “On the other hand, cultivating your own medicines and becoming part of a microdosing community will cost far less, plus provide you with the ongoing benefits of community, education and support.”
As psychedelic therapy continues to enter the mainstream, it seems that microdosing will become an important introductory tool for those looking for help but are perhaps not yet fully comfortable with the idea of psychedelics. From a logistical perspective, the shorter session time and lack of hallucinatory journey means that microdosing can provide a tool for practitioners that offers some of the benefits of psychedelic therapies but with fewer demands on resources (time and costs), which can create a more accessible experience for clients.
Microdosing group work and peer-to-peer models are also advantageous over traditional one-to-one therapy, as more people can be served, while eliminating the potential for practitioner burnout
“These models also empower people to step into their own healing, self-trust, and intuition, and support each other in the process. In our microdosing community, we have people who have been attending our gatherings since our inception – and many of them have gone on to become microdosing coaches, guides and community builders. They serve as models, mentors and inspiration for the participants just starting out.”
This psychedelic resurgence is in an exciting moment, one that offers the possibility to create new modes and models for mental health treatments. Yet as with any new frontier, it’s crucial to build solid foundations based on education and responsibility. Ensuring that tomorrow’s practitioners are receiving the proper training is vital to the health of the growing landscape. Mentors like Gehret are lending their expertise to help build these paradigms.
In the future, Gehret envisions practitioners offering a range of microdosing support: integration circles, one to one support, group programs, and weaving the practice into their existing healing modalities like bodywork, psychotherapy, end-of-life care, human design, hypnotherapy, and more.
“This new way of incorporating and blending complementary modalities is incredibly effective and also a breath of fresh air from the silos and gate-keeping we see within medical models of care where you need to get a referral for everything and the system is rigged for profit over the best interest of the patient,” she said. “It really is an exciting time to be in the healing professions and microdosing is an ideal practice and bridge for people to begin to think differently about their health and healing.”
Interested in learning more about how to become a professional specializing in microdosing? Enrollment for the September cohort of Vital is open, with limited seats available.
In this episode, Joe interviews Lia Mix, LMFT, CPTR: founder and CEO of Delphi, a consulting firm dedicated to the healthy growth of the psychedelic movement.
After many years of working in community mental health and 15 years in the commercial health insurance industry (where she helped to establish coverage for autism), Mix was one of the first graduates of CIIS’s training program, and after a very distinct MDMA-assisted therapy session, she wondered: “How can I be of service?” She’s since helped to launch The Board of Psychedelic Medicines and Therapies, the American Psychedelic Practitioners Association, and Enthea, and is working every day toward a more unified and uniform psychedelic space, with healthcare frameworks, official boards and certifications, consumer protections, and a general consensus that this is our responsibility to manage – not some outside regulator’s. So how can we, as a scattered psychedelic community, come together?
She discusses:
Her path to psychedelics and how nobody was talking about how to bring psychedelics into healthcare
The need for a unified code of ethics for any practitioner of psychedelic therapy
The FDA, Lykos Therapeutics, and how the recent advisory committee’s recommendations on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy were largely based on fear
How there actually is a lot of financial possibility if we can all agree on what is absolutely essential right now
Following the multi-decade regulatory pursuit, legal MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) seemed imminent to many people. In February 2024, the FDA accepted Lykos Therapeutics’ New Drug Application (NDA), and all markers indicated a likely approval.
However, on June 4, the Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee (PDAC) shattered optimism when nearly all members advised the FDA to reject Lykos’ application.
In a 9-2 and 10-1 vote, the committee asserted its belief that MDMA therapy, as it stands, is neither effective nor safe for Americans with PTSD.
So, what is MDMA’s FDA approval status following the hearing?
The outlook seems grim, given that the FDA aligns with the advisory panel 88% of the time. Still, Lykos (formerly MAPS Public Benefit Corporation) remains hopeful.
“We believe there is a path forward and are focused on collaborating with the FDA as they continue to review our NDA over the months,” said Lykos in an email interview.
A final decision on MDMA for PTSD is expected on or around August 11th.
The Backstory
Starry-eyed psychedelic proponents didn’t see the dissent coming. The FDA had just granted Lykos’ NDA priority review, and everything seemed to be going smoothly.
However, the contention became clear on March 26, when the Institute of Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) published draft evidence on MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD. In the report, ICER acknowledged MDMA’s potential to help people heal from trauma. However, it raised significant concerns about weaving this novel treatment into traditional medicine.
The TLDR of the report’s criticism was that Lykos’ clinical evidence did not sufficiently support MDMA therapy for PTSD. The report cited alleged data validity issues, potential biases from therapists and participants, and a reported incident of sexual misconduct. It also highlighted MDMA’s cardiovascular risks, unexamined adverse events, and lack of long-term data proving the therapy’s enduring effects.
A month later, five people submitted a citizen petition to the FDA commissioner requesting the organization convene an advisory committee meeting on MDMA-AT to discuss the application’s “shortcomings and risks.” The letter also called for an extended public comment period prioritizing concerned speakers, and a live webcast.
The letter’s primary claim against the NDA was that MAPS/Lykos allegedly “manipulated clinical trial data to hide adverse events from regulatory agencies, motivated in part by a belief that these agencies would not understand that these adverse events are a necessary part of their MDMA-AT.”
The FDA responded to the petition by granting the advisory committee meeting with an extended comment period. However, it denied the request to prioritize input from concerned stakeholders.
The Meeting
June 4th’s meeting was a nine-hour saga, inviting FDA members, public participants, Lykos representatives, and eleven PDAC panelists to debate the risks and benefits of MDMA-assisted therapy.
PDAC boasted various roles in the psychopharmacologic field, including consumer representatives, pharmacists, patient representatives, scholars, and physicians. It did not include experts from the field of psychedelic research. Nevertheless, by 5:30 p.m., the board confidently dismissed MDMA-AT’s ability to do more good than harm for PTSD.
Lykos told Psychedelics Today that they didn’t see the rejection coming.
“Going into the meeting, we knew this was a unique assignment for the panel to review a drug-plus therapy combination. We did, however, believe that the fact that studies showed MDMA-assisted therapy offers statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in PTSD symptoms and functional impairment compared to placebo across two phase 3 trials with evidence of durability over time would compel the panel to support approval.”
86.5% of patients in the MMDA-AT group clinically benefited from the treatment compared to 69% in the placebo group.
71.2% of the MDMA cohort no longer held a PTSD diagnosis, compared to 47.6% in the placebo group.
46.2% of MDMA patients achieved remission compared to 21.4% in the placebo cohort.
Despite the clinically impressive results, PDAC emphasized significant doubts about the data’s validity and MDMA-AT’s overall safety.
Functional Unblinding and Expectation Bias
Functional unblinding occurs when participants or researchers accurately predict the treatment they receive or administer. Expectation bias occurs when someone anticipates a particular result. Prior experience, previously held beliefs, and functional unblinding can cause such biases, potentially impacting patient experiences and reporting.
Dr. Paul Holtzheimer from the National Center for PTSD said, “Expectation bias can work in two ways. It can exaggerate the effect of the active treatment and blunt the effect of the placebo treatment.”
It’s true that 40% of the trial participants used MDMA in the past and may have assumed the drug worked based on prior positive experiences.
However, as Lykos points out in a recent statement, “The data indicates that prior illicit MDMA use had no impact on the results, as there was no meaningful difference in primary outcome measure or adverse events reported between the subgroup of Phase 3 participants who reported prior illicit MDMA use and the subgroup of participants who did not.”
Functional unblinding impacts, however, are far more debatable.
Renowned psychedelic drug researcher Matthew Johnson, PhD, explained Lykos’ unblinding problem in a recent X post.
Johnson said, “For those [in the study] thinking they got MDMA, the therapeutic effect was nearly identical between MDMA and placebo [groups]. Yikes.”
In other words, people who guessed they were on MDMA achieved similar therapeutic responses, whether or not they really took the drug.
Still, Johnson points out in The Illusion of Consensus podcast that functional unblinding is not a new issue for psychedelics, nor is it unique.
“There are a whole host of drugs that have been [FDA] approved. All of the sleep drugs… all of the anti-anxiety benzodiazepines, all the ADHD drugs… all of the opioid pain relievers. The practice of psychiatry is filled with psychoactive drugs that have very clear signatures… I want to know to what degree in FDA advisory panels this [functional unblinding issue] has come up… Because cutting through the blind is an issue for all these [compounds]… I don’t think psychedelics should be held to a higher standard than the normal process.”
Misconduct and Data Integrity
Potential misconduct during the MAPS / Lykos trials added to PDAC’s concerns about the integrity of the results.
Allegations included reports that principal investigators:
Discouraged patients with negative experiences, like suicidality, from participating in follow-up studies.
Influenced patients to report favorable outcomes.
Inconsistently recorded adverse events.
Purposely recruited patients who would respond well to MDMA therapy for PTSD.
PDAC also lamented the trials’ insufficient data on patients with severe trauma as well as an overall lack of diversity, citing low Black and Asian representation.
Dr. Melissa Barone, a psychologist from the Maryland Healthcare System, said, “There are so many problems with the data that each one alone might [be okay]… But when you pile them up on top of each other… I think there are still a lot of questions about how effective the treatment is and how durable it is.”
At least some of the mistrust centered on the perception that Lykos and MAPS founder Rick Doblin, PhD, are determined to push MDMA approval at any cost.
Lykos says, “Like all research sponsors, Lykos and its clinical sites are subject to regular FDA inspections. We have full confidence that the FDA will continue to assess the integrity of Lykos’ research through its inspection process.”
Durability of Effect
Lykos’ clinical trials show that MDMA-assisted therapy exhibited durable therapeutic effects for at least six months. However, PDAC questioned the claim for several reasons.
One was that patients utilized other integrative treatments in between MDMA therapy and the follow-up analysis, including:
Psychodynamic therapy
Eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR)
Other cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Group psychotherapy
Prolonged exposure
Cognitive processing therapy
Holotropic breathwork
Interpersonal therapy
The committee expressed that these therapies introduced “confounding factors,” which made it challenging to isolate MDMA-AT’s specific impact.
Meeting chair, Dr. Rajesh Narendran, added more skepticism. He said, “I’m not convinced that this drug is effective in the short term… PTSD is a disorder where symptoms can fluctuate quite a bit. We all know that. And I feel like there should have been more repeated assessments over time to gauge where these people are heading.”
Psychological Intervention
Lykos’ unique psychotherapeutic approach was another confounding factor impacting the data, according to PDAC.
The FDA does not regulate psychotherapy, so this sticking point was beyond the meeting’s scope. However, several participants expressed distrust over what they perceived as an unstandardized and unproven modality.
It employs standard protocols like Exposure Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), EMDR, and psychodynamic therapy. It also invites less conventional techniques, like Internal Family systems (IFS), Voice Dialogue, Hakomi, virtual reality, and Buddhist psychology.
Dr. Holtzheimer said, “I think the challenge here is that the psychotherapy in this case is not evidence-based yet.”
Dr. Barone added, “MDMA is not administered without the psychotherapy. And the psychotherapy is really vague. It is not well-determined. It seems like it was not standardized. And that makes it really hard to determine how effective it is…”
PDAC argued that the lack of standardization raises questions about the trials’ reproducibility and reliability. They also questioned the necessity of the therapy itself, wondering whether MDMA alone could elicit similar benefits.
Dr. Amanda Holley, a pharmacologist who previously worked at the FDA, explained this challenge in a recent Psychedelics Today Podcast.
“[The FDA] is having a hard time disentangling the contribution of therapy vs just MDMA. With this trial, they would’ve liked to see a factorial design that [tested] the therapy with the drug, an arm with the drug alone, and an arm with therapy alone. That would’ve given them a more holistic view of the data.”
Safety Concerns
Another data gap involved cardiovascular health risks, which panelists said were not fully assessed throughout the studies. They raised concerns that MDMA could cause heart attacks and strokes.
In The Illusion of Consensus podcast, Dr. Johnson explained that this argument was somewhat “absurd” due to MDMA’s known effects. Sure, it raises blood pressure and heart rate. But it’s a reasonable risk-benefit ratio. Johnson compared MDMA’s cardiovascular impact to Adderall, which doctors give to children every day.
“Even with a minor abnormality at the end of a session, it doesn’t mean it will lead to a clinical event like a stroke, which is extremely rare,” said Dr. Johnson.
The FDA said it should have required Lykos to take EKGs and blood samples after MDMA sessions. However, the agency admittedly approved Lykos’ study design without these measures.
The FDA’s admission did not shift the panelists’ perspective.
Sexual misconduct was another significant concern sparked by an incident in 2015.
A harrowing public comment on the matter came from Speaker 26, Sarah Grosh, who spoke as a proxy for Phase 2 participant Meaghan Buisson. In Buisson’s words, Grosh described the abuse that took place. Buisson’s descriptions of the assaults she suffered in session were recorded and are now publicly available.
Buisson also reported becoming suicidal during the trial and said that Lykos did not document this adverse event. She claimed MDMA therapy left her overwhelmingly vulnerable and led to further exploitation by her therapist, who she said trafficked her while still in the trial.
Grosh asserted that Lykos’ leadership did nothing to intervene after she filed the ethics complaint in 2018 and that they continue to deny any ethical violations.
Lykos responded in its statement, saying, “This was a terrible and harmful instance of malpractice that caused profound suffering to a participant. Lykos reported this violation to Health Canada, the FDA, and the relevant Institutional Review Board and banned the therapist pair associated with this case from all future work. Since then, we carefully developed and implemented new policies and practices aimed to prevent, detect, investigate, encourage reporting of, and thoroughly respond to potential instances of misconduct or unethical behavior.”
Prospects of FDA Approval
Amid the shadow of alleged misconduct, data misalignment, and safety concerns, PDAC voted an overwhelming no to MDMA treatment for PTSD. The FDA is not required to follow PDAC’s guidance. However, the overwhelming pushback casts serious doubt over whether 2024 will be Lykos’ year.
“It doesn’t look good at all. I imagine at some point MDMA will be approved for PTSD, but I wouldn’t put bets on it to be approved in August,” said Dr. Johnson.
Many people have read the statistic that the FDA aligns with advisory committees 88% of the time. However, a lesser-known fact is that in cases when the committee did not recommend approval, the FDA only agreed 67% of the time. This disparity leaves the door open for hope.
Another hopeful sign, according to Dr. Holley, is that the FDA prioritizes public health when making NDA decisions. The fact that current PTSD therapies are highly deficient and no new drugs have been approved in decades represents a significant healthcare failure.
Lykos maintains that MDMA-assisted therapy can meet the nation’s critical mental health needs, and it has not given up on approval.
“While we understand that the FDA considers advisory committee recommendations, most of the conversation at the meeting centered on known issues that have already been discussed and investigated. In addition, the panel was focused on the regulation of therapy outside the FDA’s purview.”
Lykos added that the organization is discussing a potential post-approval REMS (Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy) program with the FDA. REMS would seek to ensure patient safety and regulatory compliance through measures to monitor and manage risks.
“If FDA-approved, prescription MDMA-assisted therapy will be launched with careful consideration of its potential benefits and risks, following established medical guidelines, protocols, and quality standards,” said Lykos.
What’s Next if the FDA Approves MDMA-Assisted Therapy?
If the FDA approves Lykos’ application in August, the decision will spark a timeline that requires several bureaucratic steps before patients can access MDMA treatment for PTSD.
First, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) must reschedule MDMA from Schedule I within three months of approval.
After the federal rescheduling, states must also reschedule the drug. Most have processes for automatic alignment, while others have state-specific scheduling procedures.
“Our plan is to make MDMA-assisted therapy available, if approved, in 2025,” said Lykos, who clarified that they would initially roll out the program to a limited number of sites.
What’s Next if Lykos’ Application Fails?
Lykos declined to speculate on what they might do if the new drug application for MDMA-AT fails.
However, in similar circumstances, trial sponsors must thoroughly rectify the issues through additional studies, further data collection, or modifications to the drug’s formulation, labeling, or manufacturing process. Once finished, sponsors must resubmit a package with all the information proving the issuers were resolved. The FDA then re-evaluates the application to determine if it meets the safety and regulatory requirements.
The process can delay FDA approval by a median of 435 days, requiring companies to spend significantly more time and money to get to the finish line.
The Bottom Line
PDAC does not think the current data proves MDMA therapy is effective for PTSD, nor does it believe the potential harms outweigh the risks. Lykos asserts that the clinical trial results speak for themselves and that treatment could significantly improve countless lives. Now, 13 million Americans with PTSD await MDMA’s FDA approval status in August.
Presented by Rev. Lynda Elaine Carré, this free webinar will give attendees an understanding of what spirituality is (and is not), and why it is essential and inseparable from responsible psychedelic integration, as well as teach attendees how to prepare themselves (and their clients) to face powerful conscious and unconscious influences encountered in transpersonal states.
Rev. Lynda Carré will share concepts, examples, and approaches that enrich a practitioners’ holistic support of their clients’ preparation and integration.
In this episode of Vital Psychedelic Conversations, David interviews Kaitlin Roberson: Vital graduate and co-founder and CEO of Cacti Therapeutics, a psychedelic biotech company developing novel therapies for chronic pain; and Dr. Michele Cox, DO: current Vital student, veteran, physician, and co-founder of LifeBloom, a brand new company focusing on bringing community and connection into women’s healthcare.
They talk about their work: Roberson’s research on trauma and chronic pain, and why she feels that working in the pharma industry is a calling; and Cox’s framework as an osteopath, the value she’s found in touch and connection, and how she explains to clients what to expect when undergoing ketamine treatment.
They discuss:
Why psychedelics are such useful interventions
The body’s ability to tell us what’s wrong, as long we’re listening
The destabilization that can occur after a big experience: If you don’t have a good support system, is it really the right time?
Self-care and our tendency to never feel like we’re good enough
How there is energy in everything and we should all recognize that more
And, as Vital students, they talk about what they hoped to get out of Vital and how it delivered more than expected. If you’re just discovering Vital, be sure to check out the website and fill out an application. Secure your spot and take advantage of the Early Bird discount!
Imagine a world where psychedelic-assisted therapy helps alleviate the mental health inequities faced by LGBTQ+ communities. This breakthrough could be closer than we think.
In recent years, psychedelic-assisted therapy has re-emerged as a promising frontier in mental health treatment. With substances like psilocybin and MDMA showing efficacy in recent clinical trials in treating major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), respectively, the prospect of psychedelic medicine is becoming more distinct, though uncertainties clearly remain.
However, as this field progresses, it is crucial to ensure that the benefits of these innovative treatments are accessible to all, particularly to those in marginalized communities. This includes sexually and gender-diverse people (or LGBTQ+ communities), who remain underrepresented in clinical research despite facing disproportionately high, inequitable rates of mental health challenges.
What are the current mental health disparities among LGBTQ+ communities, the limitations of the current psychedelic research landscape, and how we may move forward to improve clinical science and promote health equity? And further, how could psychedelic-assisted therapy alleviate minority stress-related mental health challenges among LGBTQ+ communities?
LGBTQ+ Mental Health and Minority Stress
LGBTQ+ individuals, encompassing a diverse spectrum of sexual and gender identities, experience unique stressors related to their minority status, or, more specifically, minoritization and oppression. These stigma-related stressors include chronic and persistent experiences of identity-related discrimination, interpersonal and internalized stigma, and expectations of rejection, all of which contribute significantly to mental health disparities, including higher rates of depression and anxiety beginning in childhood and adolescence.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found in their Youth Risk Behavior Survey that over 20% of sexually diverse youth attempted suicide in 2021, compared to 6% of their heterosexual peers. Of note, the mental health climate varies among the sub-groups within the LGBTQ+ communities, with the CDC finding that over 30% of trans and gender-diverse youth attempted suicide in 2019 (compared to 7.3% of their cisgender peers). These alarming statistics underscore the urgent need for targeted mental health interventions for LGBTQ+ patient populations.
The minority stress theory, as initially developed by Ilan Meyer, provides a framework for understanding these disparities. This theory has been routinely supported by empirical data and posits that the chronic stress experienced by LGBTQ+ individuals due to societal stigma and discrimination – or minority stress – has profound negative effects on their mental health.
Meyer describes a ‘distal-proximal continuum,’ where distal minority stressors include stressors independent of individual psychological processes, like identity-related violence or family and peer rejection, while proximal minority stressors include stressors dependent on individual appraisals, such as internalized homo- and transphobia, or chronic threat vigilance.
Given these mental health considerations unique to LGBTQ+ communities, there is a pressing demand to investigate and potentially tailor psychedelic-assisted therapy within the contexts of these specific minority stressors to improve LGBTQ+ mental health outcomes.
Flaws in Current Psychedelic Research for LGBTQ+ Communities
Current clinical trials on psychedelic-assisted therapy have been criticized for their lack of diversity, particularly the underrepresentation of racially minoritized communities and LGBTQ+ communities. Indeed, the vast majority of recent clinical trials have not collected data on the trial participants’ sexual orientation and gender identity, leaving outstanding treatment questions for the LGBTQ+ communities.
The inclusion of LGBTQ+ participants in these clinical trials is not just a matter of equity but also scientific rigor and generalizability, as detailed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Additionally, understanding how psychedelic-assisted therapy interacts with the unique minority stressors faced by LGBTQ+ individuals may lead to more effective and inclusive treatment protocols.
A recent perspective published in Nature Mental Health by our team emphasizes the necessity of inclusive research, noting that systematic collection of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data is crucial for assessing the impact, if any, of psychedelic-assisted therapy on minority stress processes.
Additionally, the article describes how the integration of minority stress theory with existing models of psychedelic action, such as the relaxed beliefs under psychedelics (REBUS) model, offers a promising avenue for future research. The REBUS model theorizes that psychedelics are therapeutic as they make entrenched, maladaptive cognitive and behavioral patterns more malleable, ripe for establishing newer patterns of behavior and facilitating examination of old patterns.
For LGBTQ+ individuals, whose mental health may be compromised by deeply ingrained negative beliefs and expectations due to chronic minority stress, such as internalized homo- and transphobia, this psychological flexibility may be particularly therapeutic. In theory, by alleviating the rigid, maladaptive cognitive and behavioral patterns associated with minority stress, psychedelic-assisted therapy may facilitate profound psychological healing and resilience among LGBTQ+ communities. However, until research becomes more equitable, much will remain unknown for the LGBTQ+ communities–and these theories will remain hypotheses.
How LGBTQ+ Psychedelic Research Can Improve
To advance this research, several steps are essential.
First, there must be focused recruitment efforts, with study and site-specific strategies, to ensure the inclusion of diverse sexual and gender identities in psychedelic clinical trials.
Second, researchers need to systematically collect and analyze SOGI data to understand specific impacts of psychedelic-assisted therapy on sexually and gender-diverse populations, who make up over 20% of Generation Z, according to a recent Gallup Poll.
Third, clinical trials should incorporate outcomes designed to assess minority stress processes explicitly.
And finally, developing and testing SGM-affirmative adaptations of psychedelic-assisted therapy protocols will be crucial in making these therapies potentially more effective and accessible to LGBTQ+ individuals. Importantly, such efforts must be complemented by comprehensive initiatives to establish an inclusive, affirming, and empowering environment for LGBTQ+ trial participants across each phase of the clinical trial.
These efforts, however, must be mentioned in conjunction with addressing the historical distrust between the LGBTQ+ communities and the medical establishment. LGBTQ+ individuals have experienced discrimination and stigmatization in health care settings and research, which can deter them from seeking care or participating in clinical trials.
Rebuilding trust requires the inclusion of LGBTQ+ researchers, clinicians, and community members in the design and implementation of psychedelic-assisted therapy clinical trials, with explicit acknowledgment and redress of this harmful past. This approach better ensures that future research is conducted in a culturally competent, trauma-informed manner, fostering a safer and more welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ trial participants.
Moving Forward with LGBTQ+ Inclusivity
The potential for psychedelic-assisted therapy to address the mental health disparities faced by LGBTQ+ communities deserves our attention. Realizing the potential of psychedelic-assisted therapy requires a concerted effort to include these populations in inclusive, affirmative research and to investigate treatments tailored to their unique health needs.
As the field of psychedelic research moves forward, it must do so with a commitment to inclusivity and equity, ensuring that the benefits of these groundbreaking therapies are available to all who need them. By expanding the scope of psychedelic clinical trials to include LGBTQ+ populations, while exploring LGBTQ-affirmative treatment models, we can move towards a more inclusive, effective, and compassionate approach to psychedelic research and mental health care. It is also imperative to rectify the historical underrepresentation and to advance mental health equity in meaningful ways.
As we continue to explore the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, let us do so with a vision of health care that embraces and uplifts every individual, importantly recognizing sexual and gender diversity. In doing so, we will not only enhance the validity and applicability of research findings but also ensure that the transformative potential of psychedelic-assisted therapy reaches those who need it most.
The journey towards mental health equity is long, but with deliberate and inclusive efforts, we can make significant strides in creating a world where every individual, regardless of their sexual or gender identity, can access and benefit from cutting-edge mental health treatments.
In this episode, Joe interviews Dr. Amanda Holley: pharmacologist and regulatory consultant in nonclinical drug development, and previously a nonclinical pharmacology/toxicology reviewer at the FDA.
With Lykos Therapeutics working towards FDA approval of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD, ICER (Institute for Clinical and Economic Review) recently published its draft evidence report, concluding that they couldn’t endorse this modality. While disappointing to the psychedelic space, this report doesn’t determine the FDA’s official stance, and also really highlights a lot about how the FDA works, the knowledge gap between consumers and regulators, and how clinical studies should be designed in the future. Holley talks about the FDA’s dedication to safety and data, and how, essentially, drug development comes down to a risk/benefit analysis.
She discusses:
Misconceptions about the FDA, especially related to psychedelics
The path of a substance in early drug development and how breakthrough designation works
The complications with blinding psychedelics, the placebo effect, and how much therapy is a factor
The contrast between productization and harm reduction: Should we be concerned with creating products, or understanding these substances better?
How changing one molecule really does create a different drug
In this episode of Vital Psychedelic Conversations, Kyle interviews two Vital graduates: Alice Dommert: certified breathwork facilitator and co-founder of retreat company, The Infinite Center; and Kara Tremain, ACC: somatic practitioner and growth and development coach.
A huge part of Vital is the experiential aspect of attending a retreat. Students report that being part of a group process, feeling the power of the proper set and setting, taking a journey as both a sitter and experiencer, and separating from the world and connecting with each other has been one of the best parts of the program – even life-changing. With Dommert behind 13 Vital retreats to date, she and Kyle dive into what they’ve learned in how to run a successful retreat.
They discuss:
Facilitator humility and how important it is for everyone to be on the same page
How much additional activities can add to the experience (tea ceremonies, CrossFit, chanting, fireside chats)
The importance of allowing enough time and space for everything, from personal time with facilitators to possible issues
Co-creation and openness: What can facilitators and people coming to the retreat build together? How do we create the most meaningful time together?
Disclaimer: The content of this article does not constitute medical advice. At the time of this writing, psychedelics remain largely illegal in the United States. We urge parents to consult with doctors and legal experts before considering psychedelic therapy for their children.
*All names and identifying features have been changed to protect the privacy of the youths featured in this article.
Mark* was 16 when he dreamt of ending his life. Jessica* was just 15 when she tried. Ketamine therapy saved them both, their clinicians say.
Mia* faced an eating disorder at 16. Her mom’s decision to book her a psilocybin retreat in Mexico led Mia to eat normally again that year.
19-year-old Justin* lived with phobias, anxieties, and bouts of depression. An underground mushroom journey and integration coaching enabled him to feel acceptance and autonomy for the first time.
Mia, Justin, Mark, and Jessica’s teen brains hadn’t fully formed when they ingested these psychedelics. And long-term research on adolescent entheogen use is limited. Yet, parents like Mark’s and Jessica’s are pursuing psychedelic healing for their depressed teens.
Sometimes, parents seek psychedelics as a ‘hail Mary pass’ after traditional antidepressants fail. Other times, psychedelics are the preferred first line of defense. Desperate to ease their children’s suffering, parents are pursuing solutions that break this taboo known to Western culture.
Here, we explore the parent-led phenomena of psychedelic therapy for teens, spanning ketamine clinics, psychedelic retreat centers, and underground circles.
Traditional Youth Psychedelic Use Around the World
Every psychedelic experience is different. Many are uncomfortable. However, the perception that only adults can effectively harness their healing power is steeped in narrow modern framing. The view does not hold up against centuries of use among Indigenous cultures that give young children plant medicine for spiritual and cultural initiation purposes.
The Fang tribe in Gabon, for instance, administers ibogaine to children between the ages of eight and ten. Brazil’s Santo Daime Church members give ayahuasca microdoses to babies, and the Huichol of Mexico give peyote to children starting at age six. The Huichol also use plant medicines prenatally and while breastfeeding to prevent miscarriage, support fetal growth, and enhance breast milk.
Family-based psychedelic rituals remain a common practice in Mexico, according to Andrew Tansil, co-owner of Mexican psilocybin retreat center Sayulita Wellness.
He recalls the time when Sayulita was a local center serving only Mexican nationals.
“People would bring their children as young as five or six, and they would do bufo, the Sonoran toad medicine, and have whole family experiences.”
Sayulita does not serve young children today. However, the center regularly accepts accompanied minors from all over the world starting at 16.
Why Parents Are Seeking Psychedelic Therapy for Teens
Parent-led inquiries on psychedelics have steadily increased over the past few years at Sayulita, with about one teen traveling there monthly. Sometimes, the center welcomes whole households, including parents and children, who ingest the medicine together. Other times, teens engage in private psychedelic sessions with Sayulita’s registered nurse practitioners. One parent must go with minors to these retreats.
Most teens who visit Sayulita have mental health concerns like depression or anxiety. However, eating disorders are the most common problem among young girls like Mia. Fortunately, many emerge from the psilocybin experience transformed.
“Mia was a superstar. She left the retreat eating all kinds of food and continued the trend back at home. Mia really moved forward and did so fearlessly. She got out of her way, and that was the whole intention of the experience,” Tansil said.
Eating disorders are not so common among Certified Psychedelic Coach Ehren Cruz’s young adult clients. However, many suffer from persistent unexplained anxieties, like Justin. Others face existential emergencies. All seek Cruz’s coaching services to prepare for and integrate psychedelic experiences into lasting change.
“The demographic of people reaching out is getting younger. Eighteen to 24-year-olds want to launch into the world with more purpose than the provisional life their parents built. They want alignment but don’t know how to achieve it, and the disconnect is causing a real crisis.”
Cruz finds that parents of these young adults see psychedelics as an bright pathway through the harrowing transition period.
“Parents have often gone through mental health struggles themselves. They have been in talk therapy and on SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and have navigated the world from that muted sensory capacity. Now, they’re raising collegiate-age children with similar issues and want to handle healing differently.”
Cruz states that many parents seek psychedelics over SSRIs for teens to avoid clinical diagnoses. However, other parents find their way to psychedelics when all else has failed.
And if new research is any indication of the efficacy of psychedelics for teens, parents may no longer have to rely on anecdotes and their instincts to help them decide whether the compounds are the right choice for their child’s treatment.
The study aimed to investigate the long-term psychological effects and side effects associated with psychedelic use among adolescents between 16 and 24. Results indicted that not only did the teens have a greater sense of well-being after psychedelic use, they were less prone to depression, suicidal ideation, and delusional thinking.
How Ketamine Therapy is Helping Teens
D.C.-area ketamine clinic Avesta Ketamine and Wellness receives many calls from parents seeking psychedelic therapy for treatment-resistant teens. The center treats about one adolescent per quarter, like 15-year-old Jessica, who are severely depressed or nearing the brink of suicide.
Avesta co-founder Dr. Ladan Eshkevari welcomes this population because she believes ketamine saves young lives. She recognizes the potential risks but doesn’t see them as unique to young patients.
“Ketamine is a generally safe medication, but can be habit-forming in all patients,” said Eshkevari, adding, “the compound is rapid-acting with minimal side effects when done in a controlled setting, with providers trained to use it appropriately. Research shows ketamine induces synaptogenesis-growth of new synapses, impacting neuroplasticity.”
In other words, ketamine is well-tolerated at any age while helping form new connections between brain cells and reversing damage caused by stress and depression. This process typically improves mood and quickly reverses suicidal thoughts.
Fortunately for Jessica and Mark, many ketamine clinics accept teen patients. Some centers treat children as young as six.
Mark’s mom, Dana, recalls her son’s history of depression, anxiety, attention deficit disorder, and panic attacks starting at 14. At 16, he began expressing suicidal intentions.
At 18, Mark had a severe dystonic reaction to his antipsychotic medication, Abilify, involving intense involuntary muscle spasms. He refused to continue the medication afterward, so Dana searched tirelessly for alternatives.
“I second-guessed myself and worried that Mark would somehow get addicted… but in the end, it was his decision,” said Dana.
After Mark’s physician and psychiatrist agreed, Dana brought her son to Priority You ketamine clinic in Clearwater, Florida.
“By the sixth infusion, Mark felt different and no longer had suicidal ideation. He felt hopeful and creative for the first time in years,” said Dana.
The ‘Rubber Band Effect,’ Close Monitoring, and Expert Support
Mark worked with a therapist for two months after the protocol, developing healthy life skills like nutritious eating, exercising, and engaging with nature. However, four months later, he had a setback after his best friend committed suicide.
Mark went back to the clinic for an infusion. However, instead of feeling better, the ketamine experience confronted him with deeply repressed guilt.
“He had a breakdown,” said Dana.
Like Mark, Justin faced mental health deterioration after his psychedelic experience. However, Justin’s distress appeared just weeks later, and for different reasons.
“We call it the ‘rubber band effect,’” said Cruz.
The rubber band effect refers to the period after the peak experience when the mood-boosting psychedelic glow wears off. Initially, the person feels empowered and capable of transformative change. However, weeks or months later, old fears, egoic patterns, and anxieties can resurface with a vengeance.
“As the mind returns to its normal state, it can perceive the psychedelic insights as threats and tries to reassert itself,” said Ehren.
Justin’s rubber band smacked him into a full-on spiritual emergency. He experienced suicidal thoughts, couldn’t sleep, and started taking stabilizing medications.
“In [recent] conversations with Justin, he said he wouldn’t trade the psychedelic experience. He found the true grace and the essential self he was looking for. But he’s still coming through it two or three months later. The situation was incredibly disruptive,” said Cruz.
Justin and Mark’s psychedelic therapy challenges are common amongst people of all ages. However, young people are particularly vulnerable because they lack engrained self-regulation skills. The shaky emotional defenses teens have mean they need attentive, professional support before, during, and long after breakthrough psychedelic sessions to process fears, contend with disruptive insights, and avoid re-traumatization.
“It’s a big responsibility, and you must ensure young people have a support structure, a network, and other channels to hold it down,” said Cruz.
Ehkevari agrees.
“At Avesta, we ensure adolescents have a lot of support from parents, therapists, psychiatrists, and pediatricians.”
“… differences in acute subjective effects, specifically the less positive role of ego-dissolution experiences for long-term changes in adolescents, as well as a higher prevalence of HPPD-related symptoms suggest that special considerations might be required when assessing psychedelic treatment design and risks,” the report cautions.
Therapeutic intervention helped Mark a great deal after his friend’s suicide. Talk therapy and two additional ketamine infusions allowed him to process and heal the repressed emotions that the first session revealed. Mark started college a month later and is pursuing a degree in game design.
He visits the clinic for booster ketamine doses every six months.
“I don’t think Mark would still be here now if it weren’t for ketamine,” said Dana. “Mark still experiences anxiety. However, he does not have to take medication for it because he’s learned to cope.”
Coping with life’s ups and downs while staying present for the ride is precisely the promise that psychedelics offer. Parents like Dana value that pledge and are helping their teens feel their way through pain rather than medicating their young minds and managing symptoms.
“Current medications have a 70% failure rate and come with a whole host of side effects, with a long uptake time. I think patients and their families are starting to think about treatments that may get to the brain’s ability to heal versus medications that are mainly for symptom management,” said Eshkeavari.
According to Tansil, starting these alternative treatments earlier in life could be crucial.
“Younger people have less conditioning. And so they have a higher chance of having positive, transformational psychedelic experiences. The young person’s mind is also more open. So, healing happens much quicker and more fluidly.”
“The number one comment I hear from people over 60 who come to Sayulita is, ‘I wish I would’ve done this so much earlier in life.”
In this episode, Joe interviews Charles Stang: Professor of Early Christian Thought and the Director of the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School.
The Center was created to gain a better understanding of world religions by bringing scholars from their respective countries to study and live alongside Divinity School students. As students and Stang started to become interested in psychedelics, a zoom series, “Psychedelics and the Future of Religion,” began, and the school just hosted their second conference, “Psychedelic Intersections: Cross Cultural Manifestations of the Sacred.” Next year’s Psychedelics and Spirituality conference will take place February 15, 2025.
He discusses:
Harvard’s psychedelic history, and why it’s important to not erase the past out of the interest of presumed legitimacy
How people are consistently having extraordinary experiences with psychedelics, but not always with religion: Are people becoming less (or more) religious?
The Immortality Key, the Eleusinian mysteries, and psychedelic enthusiasts’ need to connect Christianity with psychedelics
Psychedelics and other mystery religions, like Hermeticism and Mithraism
Why religion is important to so many people, and how it helps us understand the “more-than-human”
In this episode – the first in the 2024 series of Vital Psychedelic Conversations – David interviews Pierre Bouchard, LPC: Vital instructor and lead trainer for the Congregation for Sacred Practices; and Kara Tremain, ACC: recent Vital graduate-turned-instructor, somatic practitioner, and growth and development coach.
In this series, we pair up a Vital instructor with a current or previous student as a way of showcasing different (and aligned) perspectives on what they feel is most vital for the psychedelic space to be discussing, while also highlighting their experiences with Vital, our 12-month training program. The next cohort begins September 17 and we’re accepting applications now!
As they are both are passionate about somatic work, they discuss:
The power of somatics in showing people how much our bodies and nervous systems matter, and how our thoughts are often not the main driver
How ketamine or MDMA can help with somatic work
How somatic sound can be, through music for journeys, sound bowls, or tuning forks: Can just the right frequency create magic?
How somatic work is not solely about resolving trauma, but also about learning to conduct energy and use one’s body as a tuning apparatus
During a crowded mid-pandemic Zoom seminar on microdosing for addiction treatment, a few attendees raised caution over the dangerously simplistic ways in which addiction was being presented. Within moments, a frenzy of animosity resounded.
“Why are you bringing your negativity here?” one participant asked.
“The presenters are doing great—why not recognize that?” another chimed in.
“If you don’t like microdosing, you can git out!” yet another declared.
I would have been surprised if I hadn’t witnessed other psychedelic conversations where “negativity” was not welcome and legitimate criticism was deemed “bad vibes.” What did surprise me was the group’s validation – even the facilitator joined in and scolded the critics. Then again, since such critiques threatened his microdosing livelihood, I suppose his attitude made sense.
I noticed a similar – albeit more concerning trend – arise in February 2021, when a video surfaced of former 5-MeO-DMT facilitator Dr. Martin Ball boastfully recounting the time he vomited on the face of a client incapacitated by the powerful toad venom. For each objection to Ball’s blatantly unethical behavior, a defense kicked back, spitefully ridiculing the judgmental “snowflakes” and their “low vibrations.”
I’m all for a fair trial. But some actions are not OK, and vomiting on the face of an incapacitated person in your care is one of them. Evidently, many psychonauts disagree.
What is this trend I’m pointing to, this negativity about negativity, this shaming of voices raising valid concerns? This is a trend I’m calling “psychedelic bypassing.”
Psychedelic Bypassing: The many ways the mind can excuse abuse, ignore the darker sides of ourselves, categorize the vast scale of emotions into little boxes of “good” and “bad,” and cast aside anything deemed “lesser than” — all in the pursuit of a more enlightened life.
A Primer on Spiritual Bypassing
To understand psychedelic bypassing, it’s important to first understand spiritual bypassing.
In 1984, meditation teacher and psychotherapist John Welwood coined the term “spiritual bypassing.” As laid out in Robert Augustus Masters’ book Spiritual Bypassing: When Spirituality Disconnects Us from What Really Matters, spiritual bypassing is “the use of spiritual practice and beliefs to avoid dealing with our painful feelings, unresolved wounds, and developmental needs.”
In other words, it is disguising patterns of avoidance with New Age lingo that liberates us from confronting difficult and painful realities. In short, Masters describes spiritual bypassing as “avoidance in holy drag” — a strategy “not only for avoiding pain but also for legitimizing such avoidance.”
But What Does This Have to Do With Psychedelics?
Don’t psychedelics force us to confront difficult and painful realities, no matter how fervently we resist? A lot of the time, yes. But not all the time.
Amidst abundant scientific research demonstrating that psychedelics catalyze profound healing for an ever-expanding cast of conditions, many advocates appear to have forgotten that psychedelics can also inflict harm. Despite suggestions from mainstream narratives, taking psychedelics is not a guaranteed route to healing. Just as psychedelics can heal our wounds, they can also amplify our capacity to avoid those wounds — and, in the case of the face-vomiting Ball, even inflict them on others.
Plunder the depths of Erowid and you’ll find no shortage of reports of psychedelics catalyzing psychotic breaks. Read through Chacruna‘s website, and you’ll find abundant articles on sexism and racism in psychedelic spaces, sometimes at high levels of influential organizations. Dig deeper, and you’ll find stories of people being physically, psychologically, and sexually abused in “safe” psychedelic environments.
Psychedelics are non-specific amplifiers, meaning they can amplify our darkness as well as our light. Just as psychedelics can open space for curious inquiry and new perspectives, they also provide fertile ground for embedding distorted beliefs and behaviors more deeply. If psychedelics solely induced awakening, why would the CIA spend decades researching their potential to control people in myriad ways?
Intention and context make all the difference. When self-delusion is the operating principle, psychedelics can amplify the delusion. And we mustn’t underestimate the mind’s capacity to delude itself. In the words of Carl Jung, “People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls.”
And still a perspective spreads that psychedelics can only transform our world for the better, and anyone who raises concerns about their potential harms is a “threat to the movement.” Victims and their allies are silenced by a chorus of proselytizers who justify themselves, saying, “We’re so close to FDA approval! It’s not worth putting all this progress in jeopardy!”
No one wants another Nixon slamming down the great gavel on substances that can clearly help countless people. But when avoidant patterns proliferate unchecked, they become a culture, and when a culture avoids serious issues and vilifies those who speak about them, that culture deepens traumatic neural pathways that damage ourselves, our loved ones, and our world.
No matter how enraptured in the Godhead its constituents become, a culture that evades its most pervasive issues will never be a culture of widespread healing.
Why Do People Engage in Psychedelic Bypassing?
Sometimes, it’s as simple as refusing to hear what we don’t want to hear. For instance, early in 2021, preliminary research from Imperial College London showed that the life-enhancing benefits of microdosing, as reported on countless podcasts and blogs, may be attributable to the placebo effect.
The response of the microdosing community?
A chorus of people instantly ripped on the study, refusing to consider the possibility that the results had validity, because… well, the results didn’t jive with their beliefs (or their business interests).
Such instances of bypassing are easy to recognize. Other times, bypassing is more complex, stemming from sources beyond the reach of awareness.
Psychological vs. Spiritual Bypassing
Robert Augustus Masters argues that bypassing flourishes when the spiritual is separate from and given more significance than the psychological. Countless spiritual practices emphasize “letting go” of pain, securing stability in a palace of positivity whose iron gates seal out all dementors. “Don’t mind the dementors that breach the castle in your nightmares!” the spiritual teacher preaches. “Just focus on the light, and your pain will dissolve away.”
The thing is, that pain often stems from psychological wounds, and spiritual practice that denies it won’t make it disappear. While meditation can be healing, it can also enhance patterns of disassociation and withdrawal that bar people from experiencing intimacy and love.
Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield speaks to this phenomenon in his book, A Path With Heart. After a decade of vigorous Buddhist training, Kornfield felt he had resolved his issues. However, when he returned to the States and entered a romantic relationship, he found he was “still emotionally immature, acting out the same painful patterns of blame and fear, acceptance and rejection that I had before my Buddhist training.”
Kornfield’s monastic isolation kept him distant from his deepest wounds, which were relational in nature. “I’ve seen how many other students misunderstand spiritual practice, how many have hoped to use it to escape from their lives” and “avoid the pains and difficulties of human existence” writes Kornfield.
Whether we meditate for decades or blast ourselves into cosmic unity with every psychedelic under the sun, we still may be avoiding the most pertinent issues stunting our psychological development.
The Traps of Transcendence and Oneness
Transcendence is a psychedelic buzzword, often regarded as a healing path of “overcoming” wounds and becoming more whole. It can also justify bypassing, for many transcenders cast negative judgment on that which must be transcended — often their psychological and emotional pain.
“When transcendence of our personal history takes precedence over intimacy with our personal history, spiritual bypassing is inevitable,” Masters writes. Healthy transcendence embraces that which is transcended, while “unhealthy transcendence avoids it, making a spiritual virtue out of rising above whatever is deemed ‘lower’ or ‘darker’ elements of our nature.”
In the framework of influential transpersonal psychologist Ken Wilber, development is not about transcending, but transcending and including what came before.
Transcendence is similar to another psychedelic buzzword, “oneness.” In the face of conflict and difference, many psychedelic advocates like to remind others that “we are all one.” While this is true at some metaphysical level, it invalidates the reality of difference and the struggles many face because of those differences, such as people who hold marginalized identities and experience overt oppression every day.
What kind of “oneness” casts out all who don’t bliss out on the same medicine? Nothing more than the oneness of a bubble that resists what threatens to pop it.
The Happy Place Where Egos Die
Masters writes that we are vulnerable to spiritual bypassing when we practice to reach a better place — where suffering is abolished, where love and light reign in the resuscitated Garden of Eden.
When that’s the ideal, we villainize and shame the parts of ourselves we believe block us from that idealized perfection. We may even deny their existence, because according to our high/low, positive/negative ethic, these parts indicate we are far from reaching Happy Fun Land. If we’ve been presenting ourselves as a spiritually-evolved being, then no one can know about these parts of us. So we shove them down with a Buddha smile, forcing ourselves to connect to compassion and eliminate the enemy of our “lower” nature.
This trend is especially evident in the psychedelic concept of “ego death.” Psychedelic folks often villainize the “ego,” which is typically comprised of these “lower” aspects of our nature. When ego death is the aim, anything resembling ego becomes an obstacle. When ego is not recognized as an essential part of our inner world, that essential part of our inner world becomes the villain, creating a war within ourselves.
I imagine this is partly due to psychedelic healing being framed in the same way that yoga, meditation, and numerous “alternative” healing methods are marketed: Do this, and your life will improve dramatically. This idea is even more intoxicating with psychedelics because a) they work faster, and b) a boatload of science backs up their efficacy. But when we fall prey to this “magic pill” mentality, we follow a falsely advertised claim that psychedelics will transport us to Big Rock Candy Mountain, where our egoic problems evaporate.
This thin narrative brings too little focus to the fact that psychedelic healing isn’t sustainable without significant changes in lifestyle and thought patterns. Feeling awesome and gaining perspective on your suffering is rarely sufficient. It is the beginning of a new path, and without commitment to new ways of being, benefits tend to vanish as quickly as they appeared.
Psychedelic folks often speak of “integration” as some finite place, like, “I integrated deep realizations about my anxiety on MDMA, so now it’s gone!” Healing isn’t always linear, nor is it about arrival. It can be cyclical, and when we cling to states of bliss, we bypass whatever threatens those states’ supremacy. Integration isn’t a final arrival, but an ongoing process of active engagement. As Jung wrote, “There is no linear evolution; there is only a circumambulation of the self.”
Recognizing Dualistic Thinking
Bypassing can also be a symptom of dualistic thinking getting carried into the nondual realms psychedelics can open, where reality does not abide by rational structures. Rather than categorical frameworks like “good/bad” and “self/other” ruling the day, the ground of truth becomes paradox, beyond the reach of reason’s limits. As rationality fights to make sense of such an experience, it often subjects the paradoxical to the categorical, applying dualistic labels like “good” and “bad,” and “me” and “not me” to the experience.
Picture this: say I have a mystical experience on five grams of mushrooms, and I realize that at my core, I am love embodied. I’m so immersed in the experience that I am certain my demons have been forever cleansed. Three days later, I get cut off on the highway, and a familiar anger takes hold as I curse that reckless SOB. I pause, thinking, “This anger can’t be me, because I now know I am pure love, and I can’t be love and simultaneously feel such hostility.” So I reject my anger, creating a schism in my psyche that spawns a dualistic battle that will rage indefinitely, no matter how vehemently I deny it.
If, on the other hand, I recognize that I can be love embodied and feel intense anger at the same time, I give myself more space. In that space, I can feel anger without identifying it or fearing it is me at the core.
Passivity and Aversion to Anger
In numerous spiritual communities, anger is the quintessential “low vibe” emotion. Countless frameworks teach to restrict its expression, if not eliminate it completely. Only then can you abide in whatever nirvanic illusion is the goal.
The problem is, anger is an essential human emotion, and a powerful one. Powerful emotions don’t just go away when we deny them. They get stronger, and even if we stop ourselves from expressing them externally, we end up expressing them toward ourselves.
“There isn’t any such thing as a negative emotion,” Masters writes. “There are negative things we do with our emotions, but our emotions themselves are neither negative nor positive. They simply are.”
When we judge anger, we are often judging harmful expressions of anger, such as hostility and violence. The emotion and the behavior are distinct, and becoming more intimate with the emotion and its sources will open healthier, more conscious avenues of expression.
When we judge our anger as “bad energy,” we judge it as such in others. When a community validates that judgment as virtuous, that community shuns an essential emotion that has a lot to teach us about boundaries, needs, and deep wounds.
In hearing about practitioners abusing clients, it makes sense to be angry. If we shun our anger, we disregard the wisdom of this response and may even justify the practitioner’s behavior, saying, “They’re doing their best. Who am I to judge if that’s right or wrong?” In that response, both our anger and someone’s harmful behavior are bypassed under a distorted ethic of “acceptance” and “forgiveness.” This encourages a passivity akin to numbness, a glorified distancing from a dark reality and the looming prospect of confrontation. It’s more comfortable to just “let it go.”
Maybe this trend is reducible to a reluctance to cast judgment. Moral relativism — the notion that each person’s moral code is justified unto itself — is a seductive ethos, but it promotes a passivity that allows harm to flourish unchecked. Anger about harmful behaviors is not “bad energy”; it is a valid, important response to issues that could implode this whole psychedelic renaissance if they remain unchecked. Transformation can only come by calling problematic issues to conscious light, and anger can sometimes show us where those issues lay.
What is Guru Syndrome?
The psychedelic space is home to many self-appointed “guru” facilitators, many of whom are far less skilled at facilitation than they are at bypassing. How else could a self-described “healer” inflict sexual abuse on participants — an ongoing problem in psychedelic spaces — and free themselves of responsibility?
According to Masters, this form of bypassing spawns from “delusions of having arrived at a higher level of being.” Quite likely, these facilitators have had profound psychedelic experiences, and they mistakenly “confuse the attainment of such states with being at an advanced stage of spiritual practice.”
Here’s where psychedelics create a particularly tricky form of bypassing. Unlike meditation, which can take years to induce a peak experience, psychedelics can rocket anyone into sudden confrontation with the mystical. The confrontation can be so earth-shattering that the individual emerges completely certain they have been reborn, where yesterday’s troubles that occupied their “previous self” have forever melted away. That may be true for a while, but what about when yesterday’s troubles return? Since this experience birthed them anew, those troubles can no longer be them, right? This person fails to recognize this new “egoless” persona is actually the structure of a new ego that bears more similarities to the previous one than they care to admit. And how could it not, with root issues continuing to fester unresolved?
The danger then emerges as justification of harmful behavior. “Even clearly abusive behavior on the part of a spiritual teacher may be excused as an opportunity for students to grow in their practice,” Masters writes. It’s gaslighting to the extreme, fueled by an ego-boasting infallibility under the claim it is egoless and insusceptible to “lower” impulses.
It may be tempting to pass this trend off to a handful of underground practitioners, but recent revelations again show that above-ground clinicians are susceptible as well. Researcher Matthew Johnson describes this trend as “the inclination to believe that the nature of the experiences people have on psychedelics are so sacred or important that the normal rules do not apply, whether they be the rules governing clinical boundaries, the practice of clinical psychology or medicine, sound philosophy of science, or ethics.”
“Psychedelics might magnify the subtle abuses of differential power that can be at play in the routine practice of clinical psychology or medicine,” Johnson continues. “The scientist or clinician might, perhaps without explicit awareness, fall into the trap of playing guru or priest, imparting personal philosophies without a solid empirical basis.”
While psychedelics can amplify the healing of therapy, they can also amplify the transference — a client’s unconscious feelings toward the therapist. If practitioners are adept at bypassing, they are vulnerable to excess countertransference — the therapist’s feelings in response to the client’s transference. That countertransference can manifest in harmful ways, and the practitioner can justify their harmful behaviors as “part of the client’s healing” — exactly how Martin Ball justified vomiting on his client’s face.
Responsibility in Facilitating Journeys in Non-Ordinary States
What level of psychedelic bypassing has to occur for people who have allegedly perpetrated significant abuses in psychedelic spaces to rise the ranks and become some of the most influential spokespeople of the entire psychedelic ecosystem?
Part of me wants to give those who stay silent during abuse scandals the benefit of the doubt, to bury my responses beneath a higher kind of “understanding” and “forgiveness.”
Maybe everyone deserves a second chance, but giving people a shot at redemption cannot be the same as enabling them to perpetuate harms without consequence. Taking an honest look at our capacity to bypass, with or without psychedelics, strikes me as a good place to start.
In this episode, Kyle interviews Alex Belser, Ph.D. and Bill Brennan, Ph.D.: psychologists, psychedelic researchers, authors, and co-creators of the EMBARK model, a framework for psychedelic therapy.
When Belser and Brennan worked together at Cybin, they canvassed the field of psychedelic research and saw very little reporting (if any) of the manuals researchers were using. So, they created the EMBARK model as a “big tent” framework – a way to understand what patients were going through from the perspective of six different clinical domains, where the clinician can go deeper into whichever domain is needed based on their specific skill set. The EMBARK model has been used in two randomized controlled trials to date, and its corresponding book, EMBARK Psychedelic Therapy for Depression: A New Approach for the Whole Person (which they co-authored), was released in April through Oxford University Press.
They discuss:
The six domains and four ethical care cornerstones that make up EMBARK, as well as the many proposed change mechanisms that come into play
Concerns over facilitators stepping aside and letting the medicine do the work: How much of a factor is someone’s presence in the room?
How much smaller, “little t” traumas can affect people – trauma doesn’t always come from a single hallmark event
The need for facilitators to be trained well (and trauma-informed), as it’s nearly impossible to tell when an adverse outcome is coming
Editor’s Note:To date, no empirical studies have concluded that psychedelics cure long COVID. Though case study research in this area is ongoing, this article represents one person’s experience and should not be taken as medical advice. For a more comprehensive understanding of this topic, we encourage you to listen to the full episode of our May 31, 2024 podcast, which includes a broader conversation with experts in the field.
Driven by a deep need for relief and guided by curiosity, in 2022 I turned to psychedelics in my battle against long COVID. What started as a mission to manage post-viral symptoms transformed into a meaningful exploration of psychedelic healing, culminating in unexpected relief, and a shift in my life path. This is my story of navigating the challenges of long COVID, the healthcare system, and my own journey to recovery through the use of psychedelic medicines.
The Turning Point
While I might not be the typical image of a person experimenting with psychedelics, my situation led me there. A married 40-something suburban mother of two, working in academia and technology, I was an unlikely candidate for a psychedelic journey. Yet, desperation and long COVID pushed me in this direction. The fear of stigma and the potential impact on my professional reputation initially made me hesitant to share my experience with substances that remain illegal. However, meeting Court Wing, a passionate advocate for the potential of psychedelics in treating chronic pain and long COVID, changed my perspective. I met Court at a Plant Parenthood integration circle for parents using plant medicines. In that session, I discussed my initial experiences with plant medicines, unaware that this would lead to my story being featured in a medical journal, and even mentioned in TIME magazine.
The Challenge of Long COVID
In early 2022, my life seemed on track. I had a great job at a Canadian university, a bustling family life, and I had just started a Ph.D. My husband, Neil, supported my career ambitions as a full-time caregiver to our children. The U.S.-Canada border reopening in early 2022 prompted me to take the kids to visit family in Connecticut.
We were fully vaccinated and took precautions to keep from contracting the virus. But the Omicron variant was still circulating, and at some point before leaving for our trip, we were exposed and became ill.
The journey back to Canada, coupled with an extended isolation and constant scrutiny from health authorities, left me exhausted, stressed, and at a low point in my mental health.
Severe COVID-19 patients often arrive at the hospital already in respiratory crises. I never needed oxygen, but COVID-19 devastated my body and brain in many ways, initially unbeknownst to me. The aftermath was debilitating: I couldn’t think or regulate my emotions, suffered from severe fatigue, confusion, headaches, and a deepening depression. The healthcare system offered little support, with constant changes in my primary care situation and delayed access to a long COVID clinic.
Determined to recover, I initially pushed myself too hard, only to relapse and sink deeper into despair. I then shifted to prioritizing self-care, including meditative walks in the forest, which helped mildly with depression and brain fog but hit a plateau in cognitive recovery.
After a few months, I was finally able to get a referral, and was accepted into the local hospital’s long COVID rehab clinic. I was so relieved that I would finally get proper care. Then the other shoe dropped – ‘getting in’ only meant that I was now on the waitlist. The estimated wait was a staggering seven months.
From then on, I entered reluctantly into a new phase of acceptance. I made self-care my only priority.
Despite the lack of health care, I took my care and rehabilitation into my own hands. I joined long COVID online communities and read the recent research.
Turning to Psychedelics for Help with Long COVID
My research on emerging treatments led me to anecdotes of psychedelics aiding COVID-related olfactory loss and brain fog. The growing evidence of psychedelics treating depression, anxiety, addictions, and trauma piqued my interest further. Though no clinical trials were testing psychedelics for long COVID, the safety and efficacy in related conditions motivated me to experiment on myself.
My journey led me to a friend and trained guide, Kate, who understood my symptoms due to her own severe traumatic brain injury. Kate guided me through a psilocybin and MDMA-assisted ceremony that became a transformational experience, comparable to the births of my children in its impact. Almost overnight, my anxiety and depression vanished and my cognitive clarity returned. My headaches eased dramatically. The veil of the long COVID fog was gone.
Learning to Live Again
I cautiously eased back into life. I experienced no crashes in the week following the ceremony, and continually increased my exercise until I reached my pre-COVID workout routine. The day I reached my usual 40 laps in the pool, I knew in my heart that I was truly on the path to recovery. Within weeks of this journey, I initiated a progressive return to work.
Over time, I began to see sharing my story as a responsibility to those suffering from long COVID and other conditions that could benefit from psychedelic medicines. My experience has profoundly changed my personal and professional direction, and I am now pursuing studies in Psychedelics and Consciousness at the University of Ottawa.
My greatest hope is that I can contribute in some small way to the launch of clinical trials for the use of MDMA and psilocybin for the treatment of long COVID. My story is mine alone, but hopefully it will serve to inspire others.
In this episode, special guest host Court Wing interviews Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, MD: professor and chair of rehabilitation medicine at UT Health San Antonio; Joel Castellanos, MD: co-founder and associate medical director of the Center for Psychedelic Research at UC San Diego; and MaryAnn Welke Lesage: a long COVID survivor who reports experiencing drastic improvement in symptoms after MDMA and psilocybin therapy.
As the world slowly recovers from COVID, many people are seeing continued or new symptoms, and while much is still not understood, these symptoms are being categorized as long COVID: essentially a persistent viral inflammation causing brain fog, headaches, depression, and other hard-to-diagnose symptoms. With estimations of as many as 18% of people in the U.S. experiencing this at one point and 6.8% currently dealing with it, could psychedelics – which can decrease inflammation and reset neural networks – help alleviate these symptoms?
They discuss:
How long COVID fits into what we already know about psychedelics, pain, and inflammatory medicine
How MDMA or psilocybin therapy, specifically, could help
The importance of physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) and the myriad of tools these physicians have learned to work with
Why anecdotal evidence matters towards future research
Psychedelics have been a part of Australia’s cultural landscape for decades, gaining renewed interest for their potential for healing and self-exploration. If you’re considering or pursuing a career in psychedelics in Australia or want to understand how we got to where we are, you need to know where we’ve been.
The Deep Past and Early History of Psychedelics in Australia
It’s worth noting this article was written from a non-Indigenous perspective. So, even with the best intentions, any discussion of pre-European psychedelic history given here is inherently incomplete.
Australia has a long and rich history of customs, traditions, and knowledge that pre-dates European colonization by many tens of thousands of years. So, it’s natural to ask about the Indigenous use of species such as Psilocybe subaeruginosa.
Anthropological and historical records don’t support that Indigenous Australians used plants or fungi as classic psychedelics. But we don’t know what natural medicinal knowledge was lost through the widespread displacement, genocide, and destruction of culture that First Nations in Australia have experienced since colonization began in 1788. So, we can’t know for sure.
Some people believe there is secret Indigenous knowledge of psychedelics. If there is, maybe once we collectively acknowledge that modern Australia is built on stolen land, we’d finally be deserving of it. A great deal more reconciliation work needs to be done to improve understanding of Indigenous culture and connection to plant medicine generally.
Regarding psychedelics, Australia was quiet for the next hundred and fifty years after colonization. But during that time, we developed a voracious appetite for mind-altering substances, particularly alcohol, opium, and cocaine. Sadly, we were also relatively early adopters of racially and politically motivated laws prohibiting drugs (other than alcohol, of course). So, when psychedelics finally came onto the scene, we were primed to adopt them enthusiastically and make the same legal and social mistakes as basically every other country attempting to manage drugs in their respective societies.
The Counterculture Psychedelic Explosion
Two factors primarily drove the emergence of psychedelics into popular culture in Australia. One was the Vietnam War. American service personnel based here or visiting on leave bought many novel ideas – one of them was LSD (along with heroin and cannabis).
The other was the rise of surfing culture over the ’60s. This attracted surfers, including many from California, who knew about Psilocybe cubensis. In 1969, the Sydney Sunday Telegraph and the Canberra Times claimed that people in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales were eating Psilocybe cubensis for its psychedelic effects. Mycologists, J. Picker and R.W. Rickards reported psilocybin in the native P. subaeruginosa in 1970, and awareness of the potency of this native mushroom spread quickly.
Like the rest of the world, the counterculture era in Australia was also a time when psychedelics were used in questionable circumstances. One of the most high-profile examples centers on a cult known as The Family (also known as Santiniketan Park Association or the Great White Brotherhood). This group operated in the Dandenong area outside of Melbourne and had a small but active membership of medical professionals who practiced an eclectic mix of Christian and yogic traditions.
One of the members, Marion Villimek, owned and operated the Newhaven psychiatric hospital in nearby Kew. Many of the staff at the facility, including psychiatrists and nurses, were also involved with the cult. Officially, the hospital supplied a range of interventions, including LSD psychotherapy. Many “patients” had no official diagnoses, but their treatments were part of the group’s recruitment process.
And while Australian participation in MK-Ultra was mainly around hypnosis research, our defense department reportedly researched how to synthesize mescaline from eucalyptus sawdust (entirely innocent purposes, I’m sure).
The reaction of mainstream society and politicians to psychedelics in Australia largely mirrored the responses elsewhere. Popular culture firmly linked LSD and psilocybin mushrooms to hippie counterculture and the anti-war movement. Local media effectively used these associations to incite wide-scale moral panic. Just as we followed the U.S. into Vietnam, our politicians enthusiastically signed us up for Nixon’s War on Drugs. The party, in every possible sense, was over.
The Underground Revival of Psychedelics in Australia
In the ’80s and ’90s, most above-ground psychedelic activity languished, though isolated pockets of research continued, including Dr. Balvant R. Sitaram’s extensive investigations into the psychotomimetic nature of DMT.
But during this same time, the underground in Australia was quite different. Against a backdrop of burgeoning outdoor raves (locally known as “doofs”) and recreational MDMA, a subtle change was afoot. Entheogenic knowledge was rapidly expanding via dedicated communities of citizen scientists and enthusiastic psychonauts, many of whom were members of the world’s longest-running ethnobotanical online forum, The Corroboree.
In 1992, an enterprising University of Sydney chemistry student found scientific records that there were native acacia species that contained DMT. Their story of finding the plants, extracting, and then trying the DMT would be published in a student newspaper, then find its way onto the Lyceum and Erowid. Australian DMT had been set loose upon the world!
In one of his last journeys abroad, Terence McKenna spoke about DMT at the Beyond the Brain club in Byron Bay in 1997. He also left another B.caapi vine cutting in Australia, setting off a chain of events leading to the rise of local ayahuasca circles.
In 2004, Australia saw the first Entheogenesis Australis (EGA) conference held in Belgrave, Victoria, introducing a wider Australian audience to the study of ethnobotanical plants. The centrality of EGA to psychedelics in Australia can’t be overstated.
For example, in 2010, MAPS founder Rick Doblin attended the EGA Symposium. Discussions with him after a workshop led to the formation of Psychedelic Research in Science & Medicine (PRISM), Australia’s leading psychedelic research charity.
Around the same time as EGA was kicking off, changa appeared. Changa has a range of formulations, but it’s essentially acacia DMT recrystallized on dried B. caapi leaf or bark shavings, along with ingredients such as mullein or blue lotus. Smoking changa is gentler and longer lasting than vaporizing DMT due to the MAOI effect of the ayahuasca leaf.
By the end of 2010, the rise of MAPS and Doblin’s visit gave tapped-in Australians a sense that something bigger was happening with psychedelics. As someone who watched these events unfold from the late ’90s onward, I can tell you – we had no idea what was coming.
Recent Psychedelic Developments
The last decade has been one of unexpected growth and change for psychedelics in Australia. In terms of above-ground activities and broader community awareness, more has happened since 2000 than in the previous century. New organizations like the Australian Psychedelic Society and Mind Medicine Australia have appeared, each with their own visions for the future of psychedelics, which influenced their focus on issues like clinical access or decriminalization.
But no event was more momentous or surprising than the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) decision to add psilocybin and MDMA to Schedule 8 in February 2023, permitting their use as controlled drugs by specialist psychiatrists (albeit only under specific circumstances and with a great deal of paperwork). This change, driven in no small part by Mind Medicine Australia’s allegedly relentless lobbying, caught many of us off-guard, and has driven a massive and sustained increase in community and commercial interest in psychedelics. The first legal offerings in this area have gone live in recent months, with reported prices for a full course of treatment of up to $25,000 AUD ($16,625 USD).
The underground continues to grow in Australia as more people become aware of the potential of psychedelics to relieve suffering, to change how they relate to the world and themselves. Psilocybin use has doubledsince 2019, meaning that nearly 500,000 Australians used them between 2022 and 2023. If nothing else, this should serve as a reminder that, in terms of raw numbers at least, the mainstream of psychedelics here is very much out in the wild.
Organizations such as AMAPP aspire to be the peak body for legal psychedelic-assisted therapy in Australia. Clinical professionals are navigating new processes with regulators, for treatments they may never have administered before. Legal reform advocates continue their efforts to end the War on Drugs.
How any of this will play out is uncertain. But there’s definitely something meaningful happening with psychedelics in Australia worth paying attention to.
Are you interested in being part of the future of psychedelic therapy in Australia? Check out our comprehensive course, Navigating Psychedelics: Australia. Developed with the best of international expertise and local knowledge, it could be the first step in finding your place as a psychedelic professional.
In this episode, Joe interviews Sean Lawlor: writer and therapist specializing in ketamine-assisted therapy at Reflective Healing in Fort Collins, CO.
His first book, Psychedelic Revival: Toward a New Paradigm of Healing, will be released on June 4. Written as somewhat of a primer for psychedelics and psychedelic therapy, he talks about how he decided to write the book, how Michael Pollan was an influence, and the importance of making psychedelic literature not boring: Research and statistics are important, but how does one relate to data points when trying to understand something so rich and weird?
He discusses:
Studying philosophy, from Nietzsche and Freud to Jung and William James
When a clinical frame or license is important (but can you always trust a license?)
How context and interwoven culture matter when differentiating between plant medicines and man-made psychedelics
Brian Muraresku’s The Immortality Key and research into ancient Greeks using psychedelics: Why do we place so much importance on proving this?
The importance of community, rituals, shared meanings, mythology, and rites of passage
In this episode, Joe interviews Elliot Marseille, DrPH, MPP: founding director of UC Berkeley’s Collaborative for the Economics of Psychedelics (CEP), a network of health economists and researchers analyzing the economics behind emerging psychedelic-assisted therapies.
In the early days of drug research, efficacy was the leading factor in decision making, but as time has gone on, people are looking much more into the economics of everything: If a government is granted X amount of money, what should they spend it on that will be the most beneficial to the most people? How do you create models for future research and regulations based on the data we have now? Can there be a time in the near future when someone sits before Congress and says, “This is the exact societal cost of not making psychedelic therapy accessible”?
He discusses:
His early work with the SEVA Foundation, studying at the economics behind HIV/AIDS treatments in developing countries
His experiences working with Ram Dass and having a big psychedelic journey with Leo Zeff
His issues with the recent ICER (Institute for Clinical and Economic Review) report which said they couldn’t endorse MDMA-assisted psychotherapy
Why we need more studies tracking people for long periods after psychedelic therapy, specifically analyzing their healthcare utilization over time
In this episode, Joe interviews two members of The Daschle Group: Founder and CEO, Senator Tom Daschle; and Public Policy Advisor, Charlie Panfil.
As Senator Daschle served in the House of Representatives for eight years (starting in 1978) and the Senate for 21, he was deep in the War on Drugs at its peak, and thankfully, as seen with so many of his constituents in recent years, the data and personal stories of so many healed people has broken through the propaganda and made him a strong advocate for psychedelic-assisted therapy. While minds are changing, and progress is happening before our eyes (the majority of substances the FDA is currently researching for psychiatric indications contain some form of psychedelic ingredient), government bureaucracy, a severe lack of communication between the FDA and DEA, and decades of lies are still massive roadblocks. How do we address all of this while advancing research?
They discuss:
The need to develop a partnership between the public and private sectors, mostly for the cost of treatments
The DEA’s place in all of this: If they’re essentially a law enforcement agency, why are they involved in the safety and efficacy of medical treatments?
The STATES Act, the Breakthrough Therapies Act, and how they can affect research
Why we need to move past relying on opioids, and instead, embrace a science-based drug policy
He digs into depth psychology and why it’s a beneficial framework for navigating non-ordinary experiences – a practice he believes will be the next focus in psychedelic education and understanding, alongside more analysis into the archetypes and myths that reside within (and all around) us. In an age of hyper-individualism and isolation, the stories and archetypal energies we share (which can be brought more to the forefront with psychedelics) can be incredibly healing and connecting.
He discusses:
The challenges of reintegrating to reality after the classic Hero’s Journey, and how some people don’t want to
The time he ate 7 grams of strong mushrooms and nothing happened, confirming to him the omnipresence of trickster energies
Jung’s theory on individuation, and how true individuation actually creates deeper engagement with the world
How myths offer windows into deeper realms, and a breakdown of his Mythopoetic Integration Method
How psychedelics show us our souls, and how so much of the chaos in the world can be related to a denial of the soul
The body seems to mend itself from illness and injuries without conscious effort. Yet when the mind wanders down a deep self-loathing abyss, it can get stuck there for years. Amidst serotonin-boosting drugs and clinical psychotherapy, millions still suffer from persistent depression. But within this reality, a more profound truth might be at play.
According to psychedelic therapists, researchers, and explorers, the mind doesn’t have to accept unyielding despair: all humans, they say, may have an ‘inner healer’ who can guide them to balance.
This article explores the concept of inner healing in psychedelic therapy, examining the theory, the debate, and the latest study testing its merits, led by Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris.
What is the Inner Healer?
According to leading psychedelic theories, the inner healer is “the innate capacity or wisdom of the self to guide its own healing process.”
The inner healer is the deep knowing that emerges from the subconscious to help people resolve emotional and psychological challenges. It empowers them to navigate back to their intrinsic wholeness.
The notion posits that just as the body naturally mends wounds, the mind can instinctively recover from depression, PTSD, anxiety, and all other imbalances when freed from habitual fears that command ordinary consciousness.
In the context of psychedelics, MDMA, psilocybin, and DMT facilitate access to this profound wisdom. And through therapeutic support, psychedelic explorers can safely self-direct their own transformation.
Psychedelic therapy sessions offer a safe haven for people to work through trauma and conditioning. The experience can create a unique bond between the therapist and client, akin to a healthy parent-child relationship, where the client feels open to exploring challenging topics.
Along the way, clients may reconnect with and soothe exiled parts of themselves, like the wounded inner child who unconsciously drives their habitual patterns. By soothing these traumatized parts, clients might experience greater ease, compassion, integrity, and flexibility in their daily lives.
Modern Emergence of the Inner Healer in Psychedelic Therapy
Psychotherapist Dr. Michael Mithoefer was integral in spreading the inner healer theory throughout the psychedelic movement.
In a pivotal 2013 Bulletin published by The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelics Studies (MAPS), Mithoefer reflected on the mysterious nature of the mind and challenges in understanding how psychotherapy – be it MDMA-assisted or traditional approaches – really works. Rather than struggling for comprehension, he embraced the tension.
“We [as psychotherapists] strive to do rigorous science without losing sight of the remarkable richness of the process as we observe and participate in it,” Mithoefer said.
Inspired by psychologist Stanislav Grof’s transpersonal theories, Mithoefer asserted that psychotherapy wields effects across emotional, cognitive, physical, energetic, and spiritual levels. And that psychedelics’ pharmacological mechanisms play a role in the process. But he emphasized that the client’s inner healing pathway in relationship to the therapist and the medicine was the key to guiding transformation.
Mithoefer quoted psychedelic therapy patients in the article whose experience embodied the inner healer theory:
“I keep getting the message from the medicine, ‘trust me.’ When I try to think, it doesn’t work out, but when I just let the waves of fear and anxiety come up, it feels like the medicine is going in and getting them, bringing them up, and then they dissipate.”
“Maybe one of the things the drug does is let your mind relax and get out of the way because the mind is so protective about the injury,” he said.
Co-authored by Dr. Mithoefer and MAPS Founder Rick Doblin P.h.D., the manual emphasizes prioritizing the patient’s wisdom over the therapist’s expertise. It provides instructions for practitioners to take a non-directive approach to psychedelic therapy. It invites clinicians to listen empathetically and encourages the patient to trust their own capacity to heal from trauma and inner child wounds. In underpinning the approach, the manual emphasizes respecting each patient’s ability to process painful memories on their own terms.
MAPS’ MDMA protocol is now with the FDA for a new drug application review. If approved, the inner healing pathway may be seminal to the first nationally regulated psychedelic therapy program.
Following MAPS’ lead, psychedelic therapy researchers, universities, training programs, educators, and practitioners have broadly adopted the inner-directed therapeutic approach. Even ketamine clinics have embraced the practice despite the dissociative compounds’ distinction from classic psychedelics.
Trusting the client’s inner guidance during psychedelic therapy is so ubiquitous the method appears in Colorado’s draft rules for psilocybin facilitators. Under the state’s Natural Medicine Act, practitioners must prepare clients for psychedelic sessions by advising them to trust their inner guidance, inner genius, the self, wise mind, soul, or spirit.
Unlike Colorado, Oregon doesn’t require psilocybin facilitators to employ inner healer models. However, the state’s service centers promote the approach, including Satya Therapeutics and Omnia Group.
The Industry Debate
Despite widespread consensus, not every psychedelic proponent ascribes to the inner healer theory. A recent article challenged the notion that people possess this inherent capacity.
The critique raised several concerns about the inner healer’s scientific validity, coherence, and mystical undertones. It argued that attributing healing to unexplainable subconscious forces may oversimplify complex psychological processes, leading to pseudoscientific woo-woo practices. It also cautioned against inappropriately introducing spiritual-based therapies into tax-funded programs. Finally, the article pointed to the contradictory nature of a “self-led” process that requires significant intervention from therapists and hallucinogens.
Proponents of the theory, however, emphasize that therapists merely facilitate access to deep healing. But that they are not the source of the healing, per se. These practitioners believe that psychedelics serve as the prime catalysts for unlocking humans’ innate wisdom and that their role is to help people address unresolved wounds in a safe and supportive setting.
At the same time, proponents acknowledge that their perspective is steeped primarily in observation rather than empiricism.
The Inner Healer Study
Famed psychedelic researcher Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris does not see the inner healer as mystical or supernatural. He believes in its credibility, publishing a placebo-controlled study, “Psychedelics and the ‘inner healer’: Myth or mechanism? to “deconstruct, test, and potentially validate” the concept.
The research randomly assigned 59 participants diagnosed with moderate-to-severe depression to two groups: one receiving high-dose psilocybin therapy and the other a placebo alongside the antidepressant, escitalopram. Both groups receive psychological support.
Psilocybin therapy group: Participants received two high doses (25 mg) of psilocybin three weeks apart. They also received a daily placebo after the first dosing session.
Escitalopram therapy group: Participants received two placebo doses (1 mg) of psilocybin three weeks apart. They also received daily escitalopram for six weeks. The dosage was 10 mg for the first three weeks and 20 mg for the last three.
After the sessions, participants completed an assessment called the “inner healer item,” where they rated the degree to which they strongly agreed or disagreed with the following statement:
“I felt like my body/mind/brain was healing itself, automatically/naturally/by itself.”
The Results
In the end, the high-dose psilocybin group was far more likely to report inner healer experiences compared to the escitalopram group. Additionally, higher inner healer scores within the psilocybin group marked greater declines in depression symptoms two weeks after the protocol. Additionally, patients who reported higher inner healer scores experienced more significant mental health outcomes, regardless of the self-reported intensity of the psychedelic effects.
Critics argue that the results might be skewed because the study focused solely on patient perspectives during medicine session days. It did not ask the escitalopram group about their inner healing experiences throughout the therapeutic protocol.
Additionally, according to the research team, the study did not empirically prove whether the inner healer feeling is an intrinsic, quantifiable neural mechanism or an event caused by subtle therapeutic guidance.
Still, the outcomes suggest that the inner healer construct, defined as “the belief that psychedelic compounds, plants or concoctions have an intrinsically regenerative action on the mind and brain…” is a substantive phenomenon worth investigating further using detailed scales and qualitative methods.
Enduring mental health may rely on this integrative approach.
In this illuminating episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, host Paul F. Austin engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Joe Moore, the CEO of Psychedelics Today.
Recorded in-person at the 2023 reMind conference in Las Vegas, this conversation delves into the profound lessons and insights gained from navigating the unique challenges of the psychedelic space. Paul and Joe unpack the often-overlooked necessity of incorporating best business practices into psychedelic companies and explore the critical components of effective psychedelic training or coaching programs. Join Paul and Joe as they break down their respective programs—the Psychedelic Coaching Institute’s Coaching Certification Program and Vital Psychedelic Training—and compare the content and approach of each.
Together, Paul and Joe share their hard-earned lessons from running psychedelic businesses, discuss the pros and cons of relying on investments in the psychedelic space, and ponder the potential future of the psychedelic landscape amidst legal shifts and evolving healthcare models. This conversation provides an insightful and balanced exploration into the heart of the psychedelic renaissance.
An Initiation. A profound psychedelic trip, in the form of a near death experience, that gives way to the five year meditation of “What the hell am I doing here?”
Host April Pride engages in a conversation with David Drapkin, Director of Education & Training for Psychedelics Today, to review the report titled “The Emerging Psychedelic Workforce” released by Vital, a psychedelic facilitator training program. Gain a better understanding of how individuals trained in psychedelic-assisted therapy are incorporating their skills into various careers, the role of personal experiences in career choices, and the intention to serve diverse communities.
In a world where the search for mass mental wellness is becoming ever more desperate, a quiet but powerful revolution is underway.
The resurgence of interest in psychedelics – a topic that once echoed mostly in the halls of counterculture – is mobilizing a global workforce to usher in a new era of healing. Perhaps this is the most significant psychedelic movement since the 1960s, with people from all walks of life and professional backgrounds are eagerly getting involved.
Psychedelics Today recently surveyed students and graduates of its 12-month intensive professional psychedelic certification programme, Vital, publishing its findings in The Emerging Psychedelic Workforce report.
Aiming to understand more about the emerging workforce, Psychedelics Today spoke to 130 students and graduates of its Vital course about how they are building their psychedelic careers.
With the nascent psychedelics industry seeing rapid progress, the report highlights the need for a knowledgeable workforce of people with a variety of skills — not just doctors and therapists.
On this episode of the Psychedelic Invest Podcast, host Bruce Eckfeldt is joined by Kyle Buller, the Chief of Training and Clinical Education for Psychedelics Today (and Vital Training).
In this episode, David interviews Sami Awad: Palestinian peace and nonviolent activist and founder of Holy Land Trust in Bethlehem; and Leor Roseman, Ph.D.: Israeli neuroscientist, researcher, and senior lecturer at the University of Exeter.
They talk about Roseman’s 2021 paper, “Relational Processes in Ayahuasca Groups of Palestinians and Israelis,” which looked at what happened when people with fiercely different opinions moved beyond fear, anger, and othering, and sat together in a safe container and drank ayahuasca with the purpose of healing collective trauma. When the focus of the participants moved toward understanding each other, Roseman and Awad saw a unity that gave them a lot of hope, leading to the creation of their nonprofit, RIPPLES, which is focused on using psychedelics for peacebuilding – first in the Middle East, and hopefully soon, everywhere. As Awad says, “If it can happen here, it can happen almost anywhere.”
They discuss:
The efficacy of psychedelics as a tool for nonviolent activism, building peace, and recognizing – and healing – collective trauma
The balance between the idealistic and the practical, or ‘the irony of harmony’ – if you focus too much on the connectivity of psychedelics, do you actually exclude voices?
The concept of “my liberation depends on your healing and your liberation depends on mine”
The challenge in doing something with the hope and enthusiasm that comes after a powerful experience: How do you make sure that wave of hope continues rippling through choppy waters?
It’s no secret that psychedelics and creativity are intrinsically linked. If you look around, you won’t have to go very far to find psychedelic-inspired byproducts from visionary figures whose work has changed the world, from Yoko Ono, to Aldous Huxley, to Steve Jobs.
While psychedelics’ impact on art is well-documented, the psychedelic influence on design remains largely unexplored, despite luminaries like Jobs attributing psychedelic experiences to shaping their design ethos.
How do people working in the design world work with psychedelics in 2024? Spoiler: psychedelics are being used to foster unconventional problem-solving, inspire new empathic design systems, and lead to designs that reconnect people with each other and the planet.
Psychedelics and the Creative Process
Psychedelic experiences influence creative processes in various ways. Research and anecdotal evidence suggest that psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin can enhance creative thinking by inducing a hyper-associative state of cognition, increasing global entropy in the brain, and reducing conventional, logical thinking while giving rise to novel thoughts and insights. A 2022 Beckley Foundation study revealed that psychedelics can lead to a shift of cognitive resources towards originality, convergence, and symbolic thinking, which are fundamental phenomena for creativity. The altered state induced by psychedelics can unlock creativity by allowing individuals to imagine things that don’t exist, experience profound visual and sensory hallucinations, and increase connectivity in brain networks associated with idea generation and evaluation.
“My current creative process is intrinsically connected to psychedelics,” said Jannyl Molina, Psychedelics Today graphic designer. As part of her role, she reads unpublished articles (including this one), to distill and visually articulate the main themes and conceptual complexities such as ‘integration,’ the ‘default mode network,’ and the ‘War on Drugs.’
“In a way, my process for design is really informed by past psychedelic experience and current research,” Molina said. A 2019 Maastricht University study found that psilocybin has several notable effects on creative thinking. It led to a differentiation of effects over time and across constructs; it resulted in higher ratings of spontaneous creative insights; it decreased deliberate, task-based creativity; and seven days after psilocybin use, the number of novel ideas continued to be elevated.
Reconnecting Nature and Humanity Through Life-Centric Design
Beyond just design, there’s a bigger idea at play. Based on our work at Psychedelics Design, a platform exploring how psychedelics and design overlap, we think the benefits of psychedelics could deeply change how designers create.
By helping us understand what people need and making us appreciate nature more, psychedelics may inspire products and systems that are innovative, beautiful, profitable, and also good for the planet.
In design, it can’t be overstated the degree to which psychedelic experiences change an individual’s view of how humans and nature are connected. These profound experiences frequently evoke a profound sense of unity and interconnectedness among all life forms.
For designers, these new perspectives can become their inspiration to use more earth-friendly methods in their work. It may inspire switching to green materials and putting nature first in the assembly of their work. Psychedelic experiences also fill the design process with more caring and respect for nature, possibly guiding designers to solutions that keep ecosystems in balance.
“You likely can’t get too far into psychedelic exploration without feeling a deeper connection to nature. As we like to remind people in our work, everything is designed – by humans or by nature. And spoiler alert: humans are, in fact, just another expression of nature,” say Tracy DeLuca, founder of the How Might We Design LLC., and Elysa Fenenbock, founder of The School of Psychedelic Design. Both are instructors of Stanford’s Psychedelic Medicine x Design course.
“More specifically, psychedelic experiences have profoundly reshaped our view and reconnected us with nature’s own creative problem-solving abilities, honed over billions of years of evolution. Psychedelics have expanded our understanding of what’s possible in problem-solving and encouraged us to consider the needs of all living beings, not just humans,” the pair wrote.
A long-term follow-up study by MAPS founder Rick Doblin of the Good Friday experiment found that participants’ appreciation for life and nature was enhanced 24 years after their psilocybin experience, suggesting long-lasting impacts on nature-relatedness. The findings from these studies align with the biophilia hypothesis, which argues that humans naturally prefer nature because we evolved in it.
Molina says she found “greater urgency to care for nature and take care of others” when under the influence of psychedelics.
“It’s as if that inner wisdom says to me, ‘you are healing and need to aid others in their healing, so that Earth can also heal.’ That becomes louder each time I journey,” she said.
This natural connection may be why many people choose outdoorsy settings for psychedelic experiences and report a deep appreciation of the world around them. Together, this research suggests psychedelics could help fix our modern disconnect from nature by making us feel more connected to and appreciative of the environment.
Creative System Changes Through Psychedelic Design
The idea of changing how we design things after having mind-opening experiences with psychedelics is exciting. Instead of only thinking about what’s best for humans, we can think about what’s best for all living things. This could help us work together better and fix big problems in the world.
This shift from human-centered to life-centered design holds promise for addressing complex issues and presents an opportunity for designers to elevate their collaborative efforts with clients and stakeholders. Rather than isolating themselves within traditional structures, designers can integrate more deeply into organizations, becoming integral parts of the growth ecosystem.
“In the realm of healthcare, psychedelic medicine shows promise not only in providing relief for individual mental health challenges but also in catalyzing a broader transformation of our broken healthcare systems,” DeLuca adds.
By embracing principles of expanded consciousness, conscious connectedness, collaboration, regeneration, and reciprocity, the Psychedelics Design Philosophy offers the potential to revolutionize the very essence of how we approach design, moving beyond mere problem-solving to co-creating harmonious and sustainable solutions that resonate with the interconnectedness of all things.
While there is plenty of room and indeed a need for the design process to evolve and benefit from an expanded state of knowing and doing, Jeff Salazar, partner at McKinsey Design, sees potential to more dramatically shift design structures.
“After 30 years of consulting experience, I’ve seen many teams have less impact than they are truly capable of by isolating themselves as the keepers of the process and/or are hampered by living within a corporate structure that puts them a Grand Canyon away from where strategy gets shaped. To this point, I’m inspired to see us open the aperture on how we might reimagine ‘design’ becoming even more a part of (not apart from) the organizations and institutions that can gain greater benefit from the practice,” Salazar said.
The chance to create new ways of designing naturally with psychedelics is a hopeful idea for the future of creativity. It lets us go past the limits of how we design things now and imagine a new way forward. This way of designing is about being open, aware, working together, helping things grow back, and being good to each other. It could change not just how we make new things but also help make bigger changes in the world.
“It is from being in an expanded-state, that designers can gain new perspectives on their role – not only in creating highly desirable, harmonious and sustainable solutions – but also to help broaden and challenge how they engage within the overall ecosystem of growth,” Salazar said.
By using what we’ve learned from psychedelic experiences, we can start to take apart old ways of doing things that don’t work anymore. We can make a system that includes everyone and lasts a long time. Ultimately, this can lead to a world where all living things live together in a fair and peaceful way.
What Creatives Can Learn From Set & Setting
Making new things can seem impressive, but it’s a lot of hard work and can be tiring for both the body and the mind. Just like in psychedelics, having the right attitude and a good environment – a.k.a. ‘set and setting’ – is essential.
Similarly for creators, who often possess heightened sensitivity, factors like sound, scent, and others’ emotions can profoundly impact their work. Creative agencies and some tech giants have known for a long time that it’s important to give their workers a place where they can flourish. A great workplace for creatives might offer different rooms to work, a variety of refreshments, places to sit quietly, opportunities to practice yoga, and special headphones to block noise in busy work spaces.
Henry Winslow, founder of Tricycleday, says psychedelics have shifted in his perspective on the creative process.
“I don’t force ideas anymore; I create space for ideas now. It might sound like a semantic shift, but it’s not. In my days working at giant agencies, we’d schedule 30 or 60-minute structured brainstorming sessions. They didn’t reliably generate anything remarkable. Now, I understand that the answers are within me. It may sound corny, but I just have to create the conditions for them to reveal themselves spontaneously,” he said.
Many creatives also experience a sense of detachment or otherness, creative blocks, and feelings of impostor syndrome driven by the pursuit of perfection, all of which can significantly elevate stress levels.
“I have noticed that if I have a ‘creative block,’ microdosing or even doing a larger dose will help me return to my usual creative self. The process of ideation has to be generative, by definition, and psychedelics are primordial for linking up parts of my brain and allowing new ideas to burst out,” Molina says.
According to UCSF researcher Robin Carhart-Harris, whose pioneering fMRI study captured images of a healthy brain under the influence of a dose of LSD capable of inducing a trip, the psychedelic experience involves a breakdown of the conventional sense of self, replaced by a profound sense of connection with oneself, others, and the natural world. Commenting on the study, Carhart-Harris notes that “[i]n many ways, the brain in the LSD state resembles the state our brains were in when we were infants: free and unconstrained. This also makes sense when we consider the hyper-emotional and imaginative nature of an infant’s mind.”
Hector Pottie, creative director of Moving Brands, believes that “maybe psychedelics are something that would help create the right conditions for us to think wider, to think differently.”
Psychedelics have the potential to alleviate tension, silence our inner critics, foster receptivity, enhance our sense of connection, and ultimately unlock intricate visions. This could help us develop new ways to design things that are just right for the complexities of our world.
“The practice of mind-expanding activities such as the taking of psychoactive substances was, I think, fundamentally interwoven with the early development of man, helping to expand the boundaries of consciousness. The mind was opened to new visions by maximizing hyperconnectivity, and spreading further the network of simultaneous associations, inspiring higher levels of creativity and spirituality.”
A placebo-controlled study by Isabel Wießner and colleagues at the University of Campinas, Brazil, found that compared to placebo, LSD changed several creativity measurements pointing to three overall LSD-induced phenomena: a ‘pattern break’ reflected by increased novelty, surprise, originality, and semantic distances; decreased ‘organization,’ reflected by decreased utility, convergent thinking and, marginally, elaboration; and ‘meaning,’ reflected by increased symbolic thinking and ambiguity in the data-driven results.
Carly Dutch-Greene, founder of Studiodelic, says: “My psychedelic experiences have given me the ability to deeply attune to my intuition and because of that, I am able to transmute thoughts and ideas into visual designs in a really meaningful way.”
For designers, psychedelics open up a new realm of creative possibility, offering a unique tool for problem-solving and innovation. By altering perception and expanding consciousness, psychedelics may unlock creative insights that were previously inaccessible, paving the way for design solutions that contribute to regenerative futures.
It is essential to acknowledge the complexities and risks associated with psychedelics – they are not a panacea for creative problem-solving, and may not be the best choice for all creative thinkers. The ongoing dialogue within the design and psychedelic communities must carefully balance the potential creative insights with potential risks. While psychedelics may offer profound experiences and new avenues for exploration, we can’t overlook that they also carry legal, ethical, and health considerations, too.
Ultimately, the intersection of psychedelics and design carries both profound opportunities and formidable challenges. By proceeding with open yet critical minds, this intersection has the potential to expand the frontiers of humanity. With wisdom and care, this resurgence could catalyze a new creative wave that redesigns our innovations and how we innovate.
Join Psychedelics Today CEO Joe Moore at PSYCHEDELICS DESIGN conference on July 11. Joe’s keynote presentation, titled: The Great Reconnector: Designing Our Way Back Together with Psychedelics will explore modern alienation, and how psychedelics can serve as catalysts to bring people back together. Additional speakers include Peter Reitano of Gwella, Dennis Walker of Mycopreneur, and others. Join us to collectively reimagine the possibilities at the convergence of consciousness and creative endeavors. *Get 15% off your ticket with code JOE15.*
In this episode, Joe interviews two members of the Heroic Hearts Project team: Director of Donor Development and founder of The Hope Project, Allison Wilson; and Director of Research and founder of Hystelica, Dr. Grace Blest-Hopley.
They discuss how The Hope Project – a nonprofit that supports spouses of veterans, Gold Star Wives, and female veterans with scholarships to psychedelic healing retreats, integration, community, etc. – merged with Heroic Hearts Project, and why this is such a necessary part of the veteran healing story: How does a family hold space for a vet returning to a suddenly alien civilian life (especially after a psychedelic journey)? How does a spouse deal with their own trauma from constant worry and isolation? Wilson and Blest-Hopley are learning that, for many spouses, having their own experience (and with other spouses) has been incredibly beneficial.
They talk about:
The concept of secondary PTSD (often referred to as ‘compassion fatigue’) and the many ways it can manifest
How Heroic Hearts is working with Imperial College London to use veteran retreats as real-world observational research
The importance of involving family in the healing process, and how positive outcomes can trickle down to children
The need for more research into how PTSD and the effects of psychedelics are different in women based on their unique physiology (as most studies have focused on men)
In this episode, Joe and Kyle interview William Richards, STM, Ph.D.: senior advisor at Sunstone Therapies, psychologist at the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, contributor to Vital, and author of Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics & Religious Experiences.
He talks about the first time he experienced psilocybin in a research study in 1963, his early studies on the psychology of religion, working with Abraham Maslow, how he became one of the early psychedelic therapists, and what it was like for all of that to disappear when Nixon came into office and shut everything down. He discusses his move into psychedelics and end-of-life care after seeing patients’ fear of death completely disappear, and contemplates whether psychedelics could help people prepare for death – how would we live if we no longer feared death?
He also discusses:
How the integration of psychedelics into palliative care should be a huge step in cultural acceptance
How psychedelics could be used for education and boosting creativity, problem solving, and even new perspectives on history and classic works
The study of comparative religion and the potential for psychedelics to find the connections and commonality between seemingly disparate religions
The impact of psychedelic experiences on the perception of the sacred
How fascinating it is that the same substance, dose, and set and setting can create such incredibly different experiences
In this episode, Joe interviews Shahar Amit: psytrance musician who has created what may be the world’s first modular album for psychedelic exploration under his project, Held By Sound.
He talks about his background in the rave and festival scene, the moment he realized he wanted to make music, and the realization that he could create soundscapes specifically for journeys into non-ordinary states. And he digs into the ‘choose your own adventure’ framework of the free album: how he actually recorded 3 different albums and figured out how to transition into different moods based on which direction the listener wants to go – from more still to more expansive, to darker or more bittersweet. He has also created music for DMT trials in the UK, and talks a lot about the potential in extended-state DMT experiences.
He also discusses:
How he came up with the flow of the album related to phases of the trip
How much of a catalyst and safe container music can be, with or without a complimentary substance
How psychedelics in a fun, festival experience with lots of laughter can be extremely beneficial – you don’t need to do them the ‘correct’ way
Graham Hancock, Donald Hoffman, and the concept of consciousness as the building block of all reality
Psytrance, classical music, traditional Bwiti music, Lady Gaga, and what music he feels is best for exploration
Have you been considering taking a psychedelic journey, but want to avoid a bad trip? Do yourself a favor: don’t make the most common psychedelic mistakes.
Understanding the most common pitfalls before you engage with a psychedelic substance can have a colossal impact on the outcome of your experience. Whether you’ve just learned about psychedelics, you’ve recently begun a journey of re-discovery, you’re working to include psychedelics in your career, or you’re a seasoned psychonaut, knowing the most often-made psychedelic mistakes could mean the difference of having a positive or negative – or even dangerous – outcome.
Ignoring Set and Setting
Psychedelics are powerful tools that can amplify your inner world. Imagine a mirror reflecting back everything you’re feeling – that’s what a psychedelic experience can be like. So, if you’re anxious going in, that anxiety can intensify and make it difficult to avoid a bad trip.
Similarly, a chaotic or unfamiliar environment can create a sense of unease and disrupt the flow of your experience.
Set (Mindset): Your emotional and psychological state profoundly affects your psychedelic journey. If you’re stressed, worried, or harbor unresolved conflicts, these can manifest and become overwhelming during the experience.
Setting (Environment): The physical and social space you choose can significantly impact your trip. Some settings are inherently riskier than others.
To avoid making this mistake, consider your internal state of being, and if it’s the best time to introduce psychedelics into your life. While some may argue that a period of difficulty is the best time to use psychedelics, take the time to evaluate whether dealing with what may arise will be a wise or productive choice right now – only you can answer this question, but don’t be afraid to share with someone you trust to help you evaluate it.
Think hard about how the setting could impact your overall experience, both positively and negatively. While fun, a noisy party can be disorienting. Unfamiliar surroundings and people could become frightening during the trip, too. Whereas a safe, comfortable space with trusted companions can foster a sense of security and allow you to surrender to the experience. Thoroughly assess what level of comfort and control feels right for you, and choose your setting wisely.
Lack of Planning and Research
Ingesting a substance without stopping to understand the substance and its effects is like taking a bad trip to a foreign land without a map. You might end up lost, confused, and potentially in danger.
While psychedelics are increasingly being mentioned or portrayed casually in movies and on social media, they’re powerful substances whose effects vary wildly depending on the individual, the substance, the dosing, and what they’re combined with. Without proper research, you could have a drastically different experience than you signed up for.
Treat your psychedelic journey (and yourself) with an appropriate level of respect. Research the substance you plan to use, including its typical effects, duration, and potential risks and contraindications. Get familiar with typical experiences by reading trip reports and articles, listening to podcasts (we have many to choose from), psychedelic books, and studies.
Begin forming a plan. Decide who you want and who is able to be present, or act as a “sitter.” Make sure this person has some psychedelic experience and can provide emotional support. If you also choose your setting mindfully and have a good understanding of what to expect (while being aware that the unexpected may still arise), you can enter the experience with confidence.
Neglecting Drug Testing
One of the most common mistakes in the modern era of psychedelic use is failure to test your substance. These days, it’s increasingly risky to assume that a substance is safe, pure, or that the substance is even what you believe it to be. Because a great deal of psychedelic use still occurs outside legal frameworks, where substances are tested and verified, there could be adulterants or molecules you are unfamiliar with on board. This potential comes with a high risk of unpredictable and dangerous side effects, ranging from discomfort to death.
Fortunately, there has never been greater access to substance testing for people who are concerned about the safety of their psychedelics and avoiding a bad trip.
At-home testing kits are widely available for a wide variety of substances, with the most common testing for accuracy and adulterants. Services like GetYourDrugsTested.com offer free mail-in drug analysis for free, groups like Dancesafe, Bunk Police, and Test Kit Plus offer kits for home use. Be sure to follow the instructions, and opt for a kit that checks for a wide variety of substances.
While purchasing a test kit is an added expense, strongly consider the cost of your health and well-being: if you can afford to ingest, you can afford to test.
Misjudging Your Dose
One of the most common mistakes we see: taking an arbitrary or high dose without realizing it or understanding its potency.
Dosing is highly variable from substance to substance, and highly individualized. The dose that works best for one person may be far too much, or too little for another. Taking too much without realizing it or anticipating the level of intensity can quickly result in an overwhelming and potentially harmful situation.
To avoid this potential for a bad trip, start with a low dose and increase gradually if necessary, tailoring it to your desired experience.
If it’s your first time taking a substance – or even a new batch of a familiar substance – the safest route is to begin with a low dose. It’s far easier to increase the dose if necessary than it is to deal with an overwhelming experience when it’s too late.
Consider your intention: do you want to have a more subtle, amplifying experience, or a mystical experience? How well do you know your body, and how do you typically react to mind-altering substances? What’s been said on message boards and within your local community about the substance recently? Exercising caution, asking yourself important questions, and doing some external research can help you avoid a bad trip.
Remember: you can always take more, but you can’t take less.
Learn the Rest of the Most Common Psychedelic Mistakes
Are you feeling prepared for your journey? Maybe don’t take off just yet. While this article includes crucial information to help you stop a bad trip before it starts, there’s more to learn.
We’ve packaged an extensive list of psychedelic pitfalls (and, most importantly, what to do instead) in a FREE course designed for wherever you’re at in your journey: 8 Common Psychedelic Mistakes.
In this self-guided digital class, you’ll learn:
Why you shouldn’t overlook set and setting.
How to plan and research thoroughly.
Why substance testing is crucial.
The value of knowing your dosing.
How to begin vetting your shaman or facilitator.
How to stay present during your trip.
The importance of choosing a support team.
How to be set up for success before and after your trip.
Join thousands of other psychedelic explorers and supporters in this FREE course so you can prepare for every psychedelic journey with knowledge and confidence. Students receive a complimentary printable guide and trip checklist, and free, unrestricted access to course materials for life.
Psychedelics and pregnancy is a highly controversial and often unspoken topic. But beyond the stigma, what does the research, law and culture say about mothers-to-be consuming psychedelics?
As she had done many times before, Leticia Pizano sat in ceremony with her medicine sisters waiting to feel the effects of the four grams of magic mushrooms that she had ingested. An experienced journeyer, Pizano found it strange that 45 minutes later she began vomiting, an effect she was unaccustomed to so early in the trip.
“The medicine just showed me that I needed to get that out of my body because I was with baby,” she told Psychedelics Today.
Still, the mushrooms took effect and led her on a trip she described as beautiful and empowering. The experience enabled her to form a deeper bond with her unborn child. “There’s just a different connection with her; almost non-human,” Pizano says of her daughter, six months old and the youngest of her twelve children at the time of this writing. After her daughter’s birth, Pizano brought her “medicine baby” to every plant medicine ceremony she attended.
For Pizano, participation in community-based ceremony was a motivating factor for her use of psychedelics, and her use during pregnancy was consistent with cultural norms — she is a member of the Sac and Fox and Kickapoo Tribal Nations, where partaking in ceremonies that include plant medicine sacraments occurs all through a person’s life. For most non-Indigenous people, such participation would be unusual and likely stigmatized, perhaps viewed as dangerous or irresponsible.
Yet, as psychedelics enter a more mainstream era, non-Indigenous birthing parents are relying on them as tools for wellness and even lifesaving measures to address treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, PTSD and addiction. Our current paradigms for substance use during pregnancy do not look at psychedelics with a thoughtful, critical lens. A new approach may be required to accommodate the myriad ways our culture has shifted towards turning to psychedelics over conventional treatments and medications for well-being.
Information, Misinformation, and Disinformation: Research and Public Health Information on Psychedelics and Pregnancy
Just as with other psychotropics like antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications, birthing parents and their healthcare providers need to evaluate existing information on psychedelics and pregnancy to make informed decisions about whether to continue using them during pregnancy. But seeking information on the web yields few results. And what little information does exist on the topic is often confusing, incomplete and misleadingly shaped by the War on Drugs. One study on pregnancy and LSD – the study most commonly cited online in reference to psychedelics and pregnancy – was published in 1970.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists offers a blanket statement recommending the cessation of all marijuana use. Other psychedelics are similarly classified into a category of “substances that are commonly misused or abused,” a classification that bears the markings of bias and misinformation. According to the Global Drug Survey, we know that many psychedelic users ingest these substances in a safe, prepared and informed way, and according to longtime drug researcher David Nutt’s book, Drugs Without the Hot Air, psychedelics like mushrooms and LSD are not inherently addictive.
The March of Dimes, a research and advocacy group for mothers and babies, offers an unsourced page last edited in 2016 on their website that reads: “Street drugs are bad for you, and they’re bad for your baby.” The psychedelics included in this category are “ecstasy” and “other club drugs.” This broad categorization fails to account for the therapeutic applications of psychedelics. It also excludes critical factors like set, setting and dosage, all of which make a significant difference in a psychedelic user’s experience.
Mother to Baby provides more nuanced and specific information on psychedelics, but offer inconsistent guidance on the site. One article advises “Other street drugs, like cocaine, heroin, LSD, MDMA (ecstasy or Molly), and methamphetamine, also are harmful during pregnancy.” While the site’s Fact Sheets for both LSD and MDMA state that it is unknown whether the substances cause pregnancy-related problems.
These blanket prohibitions are largely based on the absence of—rather than the presence of—information about how a substance will impact a growing fetus. The medical research canon contains very little information about the effects of these substances during pregnancy, and substantial obstacles exist for this research to take place at all.
Due to ethical and safety concerns, “The research we do have on pregnancy in general—let alone pregnancy with psychedelics or plant medicine—is minimal because we don’t do research in pregnancy for the most part,” says Jessilyn Dolan, a registered nurse, herbalist, hemp farmer and former member of the Board of Directors for the American Cannabis Nurse Association.
Aside from ethical considerations, says Dolan, another challenge is measuring the long-term health impacts to the child of just one substance due to the enormity of confounding factors. For example, is a person who consumes cannabis edibles during pregnancy also consuming caffeine, alcohol, or prescription medication? How might these substances along with the birthing parent’s diet and lifestyle impact the long term health outcomes for the child? And how might the child’s environment, including exposure to toxins, food insecurity, poverty or traumatic life events, play a role in their health as well?
“When we look at pregnancy, breastfeeding and chest feeding and then doing longitudinal studies around kids, we have so many factors working against us to make that research really legitimized and standardized,” says Dolan.
Of the existing research on this topic, most is either outdated or based on small sample sizes. As legal restrictions on these substances shift, this may change. But information about the safety of ingesting substances during pregnancy is still scant, inconclusive and conflicting.
A study from 1968 on nine children exposed to LSD-25 in utero found elevated levels of chromosomal damage compared to a control group. However, none of these babies exhibited any birth defects. This study, with its very small sample size, has never been replicated. It also did not look at long-term outcomes for these children, rendering the results limited in value.
Similarly, an often cited and widely circulated study from 1994 compared 24 newborns exposed to cannabis to 20 who were not; results at 30 days showed that the cannabis-exposed babies actually scored higher on measures of alertness, were less irritable and had better reflexes. But this study, again with a small sample size and never replicated, did not take into consideration the many confounding factors that could have contributed to the results. For example, the study took place in Jamaica where cannabis use during pregnancy is a common practice and is not stigmatized. In addition, the heavier cannabis-using birthing parents were also more educated, more financially stable and had fewer other children to care for, all of which could have impacted outcomes for their babies.
More broadly, research on prenatal drug exposure is often mired in biases. In his book Drug Use for Grownups, Dr. Carl Hart details several problems associated with brain imaging research on people exposed prenatally to drugs. It is easier to get findings published, he says, when they are consistent with the widespread notion that drug use is bad for the developing fetus. In addition, Hart writes the findings are almost never replicated and researchers often ignore their own data in order to draw conclusions that reflect their own biases.
Still, experts in the field like Amanda Feilding, executive director of the Beckley Foundation, a UK-based NGO that funds psychedelic research and supports policy change, remain hopeful about the prospect for more research on the topic
“Scientific exploration could be carried out using animal models, or using naturalistic surveys to get answers from people who are already using or have already used psychedelics during their pregnancy,” Feilding says.
Keeping a Close Watch on Pregnant Bodies
Weighing risks of physical harm to the fetus against physical or mental health outcomes for the birthing parent is one framework for decision-making of this kind. But these calculations are not the only ones a birthing parent will have to assess. Most people who have experienced pregnancy will be familiar with an increase in monitoring by friends, family and even strangers who may feel entitled to comment on body changes, touch the pregnant person’s body without permission, or offer unsolicited advice or opinions on what the pregnant person ingests. Using psychedelics openly may create social stigma and isolation; the anxiety and stress that those conditions create may pose an additional risk for pregnant people.
Pregnant people are also monitored more closely by state and healthcare agencies. The American Academy of Pediatrics and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends screening a pregnant person for drugs when they enter prenatal care. Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia require healthcare professionals to report even suspected drug use, and eight states require them to test for prenatal drug exposure if they suspect drug use. In 2014, Tennessee became the first state to pass a “fetal assault” law specifically allowing prosecution of pregnant women who use drugs, imposing penalties of up to 15 years in prison. The legislation was so controversial it was discontinued in 2016, but has been introduced several times since.
Monitoring for drug use, however, happens disproportionately along racial lines. While white and Black birthing parents have similar rates of any drug use during the prenatal period (though the substances used and patterns of use may differ slightly), an often-cited study from 1990 found that Black birthing parents were 10 times more likely than their white counterparts to be reported to health authorities for their drug use.
Some states are actively working to correct these disparities, with mixed results. A 2015 study of California hospitals that adopted a protocol to monitor all birthing parents for prenatal substance use found that it did not impact child protective services reporting disparities.
New York has taken a different approach. In a testimony to the New York City Council from 2020, David Hansell, Commissioner of the New York City Administration for Children’s Services, stated that the agency had actively discouraged health professionals from making reports to them about a child or parent who tests positive for a substance if there is no negative impact on their well-being and instead make a referral to a service agency. While this could theoretically help level out racial differences, the question remains whether the service agencies would be equipped and trained to adequately address the physical and mental health and other needs of a birthing parent using substances.
Vermont has also taken steps to eliminate the reporting requirement for healthcare practitioners treating birthing parents using substances. If a birthing parent tests positive only for marijuana, they are exempt from hospitals’ and healthcare professionals’ reporting requirements to the Department of Children and Families (although if the marijuana use is thought to endanger a child, it must be reported). The marijuana-only exemption in Vermont is informed by the lack of sufficient evidence suggesting that marijuana use during pregnancy is harmful. But similarly, there is a lack of sufficient evidence demonstrating that other psychedelics are harmful.
For birthing parents who do test positive for substances, their risk of losing custody is also informed by structural racism within the child welfare system. According to Dr. Kelly Sykes, a psychedelic integration therapist and child forensic psychologist, disparities exist between legal systems that govern custody and child protection systems. Allegations of abuse, neglect and drug abuse requiring court intervention exist in both systems. However, only parents within the child protection system—which disproportionately impacts poor single parents of color—can have their parental rights terminated and be permanently banned from having contact with their child. Further, all aspects of their parental judgement are subject to scrutiny; they may be randomly tested for substances, regardless of whether substance abuse was a part of their child protection case.
Community Support: Making Decisions on Psychedelics During Pregnancy
In this landscape of inconclusive, biased, and misleading information, how can birthing parents make informed decisions on this topic? And without information from peer-reviewed, evidence based research, what might drive someone to elect to use psychedelics all the same during their pregnancy?
For some birthing parents, the mental health benefits outweigh the potential risks.
“Psychedelics can reduce anxiety and depression, and can help people cope with dramatic changes in their lives,” said Feilding. “For those reasons, it’s certainly possible that psychedelics could be beneficial for expectant mothers struggling with prenatal depression or anxiety.”
Dolan, who has worked with pregnant people using cannabis to address treatment-resistant hyperemesis, a condition in pregnancy that creates severe and persistent nausea, frames the issue similarly. If anxiety and stress impede on the connection between parent and baby, research shows that “the relationship and connection is just as, if not more important than the little bit of pharmaceutical that’s going to pass through your breastmilk or pass through in utero to the child,” she says.
Being in a safe, supportive community to help weigh those decisions and process experiences in a nonjudgmental way can be very helpful. For someone like Pizano, this community is built into her everyday life. She grew up attending peyote ceremonies for occasions like baby namings, funerals or healing, and the wisdom she relies on comes from a long lineage of oral tradition, passed down by elders.
For those without such a cultural container, more options are emerging for pregnant people in need of support. A recent Psychedelics Today webinar explored the subject of psychedelics and parenthood with Dr. Glauber Loures de Assis, Associate Director of Chacruna Latinoamérica in Brazil. Groups like Plant Parenthood (which this writer founded) and Moms on Mushrooms also bring together parents to speak about topics that are so stigmatized, they’re rarely spoken about with others.
“Obviously safety is still a primary concern when it comes to kids and psychedelics, let alone issues like pregnancy,” says Andrew Rose, who co-facilitates Plant Parenthood. “But the riskiest thing is not talking about it at all. You can’t have good healthy community education without open, non-judgmental communication.”
Without a clear path for more research on the horizon, and with a landscape of confusing information to draw from, birthing parents will likely struggle to find simple answers. Individuals will still need to factor in their own level of vulnerability, which varies greatly based on race and other socioeconomic and cultural factors. Perhaps the answers we seek do not exist within a search engine, but in a patchwork of wisdom from Western medical research, ancestral knowledge and most importantly, our own inner healing intelligence.
In this episode, Joe and special guest, Court Wing, interview Tommy Aceto: former Navy Seal and trauma medic, NCAA athlete, Michigan State Champion Wrestler, and now, psychedelic advocate and ambassador for the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition.
He discusses his journey from childhood to wanting to become a SEAL, and the toll that military life and its programming can take on a person: how a life built on high levels of endurance, deprivation, and constantly surviving in a fight-or-flight mindset often manifests in Operator Syndrome, chronic pain, depression, and addiction. Veterans are seeing the potential of psychedelics to rewire their brains and allow them to process pain differently, by allowing them to feel emotions they were trained to turn off: “You’ve got to feel to heal.”
Aceto discusses:
The affirmation and approval many who join the military seek, and how that often translates into needing to stay at certain levels of risk to truly feel alive
The similarities between soldiers and professional athletes and high performers
Dealing with chronic pain, and how forcing movement is often the best tactic
The Controlled Substances Act and how opioids became a business
Why the most important thing vets can do today is to tell their healing stories
We’re offering this exclusive, free online webinar, Navigating Psychedelics Q&A: Essential Skills for Psychedelic Practitioners with David Drapkin, LCSW. This live event, taking place on May 1, 2024, at 9 a.m. PST / 12 p.m. EST, is your opportunity to gain insights about how to safely and ethically incorporate psychedelics into your professional practice.
This webinar is a perfect fit for individuals currently working in, or aspiring to work in the following areas:
Clinicians
Therapists, social workers, and counsellors
Wellness workers
Holistic medicine practitioners
Graduate students and researchers
Nurses and healthcare workers
Coaches
Patient advocates
And so much more!
During this interactive coaching Q&A session, David will share his expertise on the essential skills required for psychedelic practitioners, providing you with a comprehensive understanding of this rapidly evolving area. He will also be available to answer any questions about our upcoming cohort: Navigating Psychedelics Live. This webinar is perfect for anyone interested in learning more about psychedelics, including practitioners, therapists, researchers, and those seeking personal growth and development.
Connect with a community of like-minded individuals and gain the skills and knowledge you need to navigate the complex world of psychedelics.
In this episode, Kyle and Johanna catch up, interviewing each other about psychedelic education and what they’ve learned, the biggest challenges, and what advice they would give to anyone looking to get involved in the psychedelic field.
They discuss:
How sometimes it’s not about the substance: If you want to be a psychedelic therapist, do you see yourself doing therapy without the psychedelics?
How no part of education is exempt, and becoming truly psychedelically-competent can involve studying psychology, neuroscience, somatics, religion, history, etc.
How people’s experiences are evidence – it doesn’t have to come from a research study to be valid
The importance of figuring out what your gifts are and how you could best contribute to progress, and then finding the job that matches it
and more!
The next round of our year-long training program, Vital, begins in September, but for those who feel that may be too much of a commitment, our most popular course – the 9-week Navigating Psychedelics for Clinicians and Wellness Practitioners, LIVE – begins on May 8. Head to the Psychedelic Education Center for more details!
What if there was a potentially life-saving drug that could relieve depression and PTSD but also, potentially, force frequent users to rush to the toilet every 15 minutes?
Well, it does exist. It’s ketamine, the most rapid-acting antidepressant in use today.
The drug has morphed in popular consciousness in just half a century from legal anesthetic, to dissociative dancefloor sniffing powder, to FDA-approved depression treatment, to addictive bladder-buster. Like heroin and cocaine, ketamine has much-needed medical uses – but it can be dangerous if abused. Rising problematic recreational use and calls from industry for greater professional accountability in therapeutic settings is showing that ketamine can be fun, restorative, and even addictive. In some cases, all at the same time.
The Ascension of Ketamine in Medicine and Culture
The commonly used anesthetic, in clinical use since 1970, was never placed under the strictest of legal controls like other drugs – partly since recreational ketamine use did not emerge until the 1990s and was rarely demonized. This enabled ketamine-assisted mental health treatment to become the first psychedelic available in therapy form, while in 2019 the FDA approved a ketamine nasal spray named Spravato for depression.
While its therapeutic usage has taken off, recreational consumption has seemingly followed suit.
“Recreational ketamine use has almost tripled over the last decade,” says Dr. Rayyan Zafar, a neuropsychopharmacologist at Imperial College’s Centre for Psychedelic Research.
In some cases, ketamine appears to be replacing alcohol, and that may broadly be positive for public health, Zafar adds. It’s not the only benefit: Ketamine-assisted therapy, “is a game changer for treatment resistant depression.”
To service the emerging therapeutic demand, ketamine clinics have opened all over the Western world over the last decade (there are a dozen in Manhattan alone).
And the party drug du jour – which along with other psychedelics is today replacing cocaine on dancefloors and at dinner parties – is making its way into pop culture: in ‘Ketflix and Chill’ memes, usage in films such as 2023’s Rotting in the Sun, and the so-called “ketamine chic” look. A song with a perhaps era-defining lyric, “Gimme ket, gimme ket,” recently made the top 20 in the German pop charts.
Naturally, plenty attest to its benefits.
“A ketamine meditation last year was one of the most profound and freeing experiences of my life,” says Bryan. “I only had awareness of peace.”
Others speak of ketamine use precluding suicidal ideations, spawning life changing realizations and facilitating mind-body connection.
For Sophie, ketamine has helped her “to zone in on what my soul purpose is” and spawned a long-overdue, radical career change. “It quietens the noise in the mind.”
Away from the dancehalls and art studios, there are reports of relief from depression, suicidality, PTSD and anxiety. (The author had a transformative, intentional experience with ketamine which helped him process the memories of a number of traumatic events). Many others, from model Amber Rose to average Canadians, tell of how ketamine saved their lives – wrenching them away from suicidality. “That’s the only thing that saved my life,” Rose said recently.
The Hidden Dangers of Ketamine Misuse
But the story of ketamine in 2024 isn’t all healing and happily ever afters for everyone who uses it. The scale of the harm from misuse has become so serious that hundreds on both sides of the Atlantic are undergoing therapy for addiction as ketamine support groups emerge for those who cannot afford rehab.
At a recent meeting in Oakland, California, attendees shared stories about the consequences of daily ketamine use: gastrointestinal pain, neuropathy, tingling in limbs and extremities, and leaky bladders. Tolerance to ketamine develops swiftly. In a short-sighted attempt to get around that, some people are “boofing” – rectally ingesting – several grams a day to get the hit that has become elusive nasally for them.
“Very little is known about how to recognize ketamine addiction,” says Brad Burge, founder of Integration Communications, a public relations agency serving the psychedelic industry, who was present at the well-attended meeting. He went because a friend of his recently died by suicide after more than two years struggling with pain likely caused by ketamine addiction.
Others are still living with the damage from misuse previously in their lives. Ryan was sniffing several grams a day at the height of his addiction.
“Robotripping and dissociation; it’s the ultimate escape. It was only when I moved back to my family home that I was saved.” Ketamine, at mid-to-high doses, he adds, brings about a more lucid and less warm experience than psilocybin or LSD. “It’s like getting lost in an emotional but placid sea of neuronal misfire.”
Ryan has lasting damage to his bladder as a result of ketamine overuse. So does Adam. “I did it every day for a few months years ago,” he says. “To this day I have ‘ket bladder’. I’ll go for a wee four times for every wee my mates have.”
The mental and spiritual strain of ketamine can range from hallucination persisting perception disorder, to being thrust unwillingly into “k-holes,” a dissociative ego-death realm.
“I felt like I was going to die,” Marie recalls. “I had seizure-like symptoms for about half an hour.” She and others did not know that many take ketamine purposefully to enter the k-hole for pleasure and enlightenment.
Growing Scrutiny On Take-Home Ketamine
Even lesser-known, in the enduring world of “just say no” public drug messaging, is the addictive potential of ketamine, “especially at-home ketamine use,” adds Burge.
The concerns over at-home ketamine use – for which a telehealth industry has sprung up to cater for, with slow release ketamine lozenges and prerecorded trip mixes – were blown wide open in late February when the former CEO of an at-home ketamine provider withdrew his support for at-home ketamine therapy after a female patient had a reported massive overdose and went into hypoxemic respiratory failure. It came after the death of Friends actor Matthew Perry, from “the acute effects of ketamine,” a few months earlier.
“After being at the forefront of at-home ketamine treatment, recent findings, like the case study of unintentional overdose via telehealth have led me to reevaluate,” Juan Pablo Cappello, the former CEO of Nue Life Health, tweeted. “I can no longer endorse ketamine’s prescription without stricter controls. Safety must come first.”
The Ethical Divide: Confronting Challenges in Therapeutic Practice
Some advocates of drug policy reform argue that reducing controls to accessing drugs like ketamine is the whole point – and that greater education and support from the companies purveying the lozenges should come before any knee-jerk legislative responses.
But with recreational and therapeutic use rising swiftly – bolstered by ads on social media and digital platforms from which at-home lozenges can easily be accessed – it seems like the emerging issues may only worsen, even if far more people experience ketamine’s benefits.
“There’s all sorts of ethical companies and practitioners who are doing the good work every day on the front lines, and we have to recognize that,” Cappello told Psychedelics Today in March. “We also have to be honest that it’s harder and harder for those ethical practitioners to make a living because of what unethical practitioners are doing every day in the trenches, which is slinging ketamine.”
In a letter advocating for standards that prioritize patient safety over profits – profits that seem to be fuelling the trajectory of the ketamine craze (both in the clinics and in the clubs) – Cappello proposed that those at the helm of industry have the power to safeguard the therapeutic potential of ketamine therapy for those in need.
“Do I think that it’s probably a good trade to take ketamine six times a year as opposed to taking an antidepressant every day? Yeah, that’s probably a good trade. But there’s a better trade, which is: let’s address the root cause of your depression, anxiety, or trauma once and for all.”
In this episode, Joe interviews Philip Wolf: writer, member of Rolling Stone’s Culture Council, founder of Cultivating Spirits (the first company in the U.S. to offer legal culinary cannabis experiences), and founder of CashoM, an education company offering a certificate in cannabis stewardship.
He discusses his recent Rolling Stone article about the need to divorce ourselves from the colonial mindset that pervades the psychedelic movement, and he talks about the difficult conversation that came about when he asked a very critical group of psychedelic leaders how they felt about the article, and how it taught him just how powerful having these difficult conversations can be.
He also discusses:
The importance of asking questions and not making assumptions
Why we may need to abandon the “no justice, no peace” attitude if we ever want to move forward
The idea that instead of endlessly battling the establishment, maybe it makes more sense to change our consumer mindset and allow capitalism to do its thing
The importance of reaching out to local Indigenous tribes and allocating resources to go to them, not make them come to you
The challenge of merging spirituality and science, especially for a regulatory model focused on profit
Join us for a free webinar on the importance of self-awareness for psychedelic practitioners.
In this workshop, you will learn:
How to identify and work with your own implicit biases, beliefs, and emotional triggers that arise when working with clients using psychedelics
How to honestly and compassionately recognize your personality edges and professional limitations that require further introspection and growth
The use of Inner Work tools and life routines that promote reflective insight, such as meditation/mindfulness, somatic practices, journaling, peer support and affinity groups
The significance of practitioner self-awareness in maintaining ethical standards and establishing appropriate boundaries with clients
The concept of shadow work and its relevance to practitioners in the psychedelic therapy field, focusing on the importance of accountability and confronting unconscious biases
This workshop is designed for psychedelic practitioners of all levels of experience.
In 2024, the discourse around the effects of microdosing psychedelics is deeply polarized.
Positioned at opposite ends of the conversation are microdosing evangelists who swear by its benefits and skeptical scientists demanding more empirical evidence.
Ask whether it ‘works,’ and you’ll receive an emphatic ‘yes’ from believers or an all-but-certain ‘no’ from doubters, highlighting a divide that hinges largely on perspective.
Despite plenty of anecdotal reports attesting to the positive effect of microdosing – the practice of taking sub-perceptual or slightly sensory enhancing doses of psilocybin or LSD on a regular basis for wellbeing, to improve focus or diminish depression – the lack of faith is traditionally rooted in an absence of robust science proving its efficacy. But that could all soon change.
MindBio’s Latest Trial Results: Breakthrough or Overreach?
“We are delighted to share that MB22001 showed rapid and statistically significant improvements with 60% reduction in depressive symptoms and 53% of patients experiencing complete remission from depression,” said Justin Hanka, Chief Executive Officer of MindBio Therapeutics. “These Phase 2 trial results are transformative for the company as it takes its next steps into late-stage pharma.”
This should all be taken with a grain of salt. The sensationalist manner Mindbio announced the latest microdosing results – which have not yet been released in a scientific paper – provoked the ire of some commentators.
Exploring Microdosing’s Effect on Mental Health
But for the many who have benefitted from the effects of microdosing, it’s only a matter of time before the data corroborates their experiences. I decided to ask my Instagram friends about their experiences.
“I was going through a really hard period at home,” one microdoser said. “I felt almost like the mushrooms held me: Everything softened and I felt safe and held. And, after a while, I felt fine without microdosing and didn’t need it anymore.”
“I was coming off antidepressants and had a horrendous time,” she said. “The mushrooms were my savior. They took away feelings of negativity and made me feel lighter and more at peace.”
Scientific Scrutiny: Measuring the ‘Real’ Effects of Microdosing
Such reports, however, will do little to convince the doubters. This skepticism is compounded by the trend of bots marauding social media conversations about psychedelics, relentlessly regurgitating pro-microdosing talking points and incessantly hawking magic mushroom capsules. The volume of posts, especially on X, has contributed to claims from psychedelics researchers that microdosing is “ridiculously overhyped and predatory.”
Other research – and numerous press reports, which began in 2015 when microdosing first entered cultural consciousness – presents the microdose as a versatile tool for increasing contentment effect and improving cognition.
“As of right now, there are still no published clinical trials investigating microdosing on people diagnosed with mental health issues, so their efficacy as a clinical treatment is unknown,” said Manesh Grin, a postdoctoral psychedelic neuroscientist, University of California, San Francisco.
The survey-based papers “generally don’t measure placebo or expectation effects and aren’t the most reliable,” he added, while “in laboratory studies, where they compare against a control group, people do often experience improvements in mood, anxiety, and other measures but so do the people who get an inert placebo and thought they got a microdose.”
The main challenge of the clinical microdosing studies undertaken so far is that most did not observe patients for any significant period – in which time a microdosing protocol might take effect. Perhaps the most robust microdosing study to date, conducted with LSD in New Zealand by University of Auckland associate professor Dr. Suresh Muthukumaraswamy on 14 patients over six weeks, suggests some benefits that are greater than placebo.
“My sense is that, if there are real effects, they are likely particularly for people who are struggling,” added Girn. “Whether they help people who are already healthy and high functioning is more of an open question, but the data so far suggests the effects might only be modest and largely placebo in most cases.”
Some are less enthusiastic about microdosing’s possible efficacy as they believe larger macrodoses, taken less often, are more effective and that there are emerging business interests behind the dubious bots – and others – who seem to want to sell folks a lifetime of pills.
“High-dose psychotherapy (is) about having this transformative experience that one learns from, whereas microdosing psychedelics would be … a traditional psychiatric medicine model,” psychedelic scientist Dr Matthew Johnson tweeted.
“Common for microdosing fans to say: any skeptic hasn’t tried it. Not true,” he said in another tweet last year. “I’ve know [sic] many people (including a number of scientists) who have taken plenty of psychedelics & are believers in high dose therapeutics, who have tried microdosing a bunch and say, meh, not convinced.”
But microdose advocates still maintain that smaller, more regular doses will be more practical, and cheaper, for most people than the hair-raising visionary trips scientists propel themselves into.
Hanka says his company’s data – from a new study led by Muthukumaraswamy – is promising, but that ultimately the jury is still out.
“I’d really like to know for sure that these drugs work better than antidepressants with lower side effects and that is exactly what we are trying to find out,” he said. “I am open minded and will be completely led by the data as we step through clinical trials.”
Studying the effects of a sub-perceptual medicine while calculating the impact of brain power may always be tricky, and the success of any microdose, self-help regime comes down to the intentions and discipline of the microdoser. But I don’t think my Instagram friends are tripping. They didn’t take large doses after all.
Interested in doing your own self-exploration? Consider our Microdosing Masterclass, your complete guide to understanding and integrating the best practices for effective microdosing.
In this episode, Joe and Kyle interview Lenny Gibson, Ph.D.: philosopher, Grof-certified Holotropic Breathwork® facilitator, 20-year professor of transpersonal psychology at Burlington College, and the reason Joe and Kyle met many years ago.
He talks about his early LSD experiences and how his interest in the philosophy of Plato and Alfred North Whitehead provided a framework and language for understanding a new mystical world where time and space were abstractions. He believes that while culture sees the benefits of psychedelics in economic terms, the biggest takeaway from non-ordinary states is learning that value is the essence of everything. And as this is being released on Bicycle Day, he discusses Albert Hofmann’s discovery and whether or not it’s fair to say that Hofmann intentionally had the experience he did on that fateful day.
He also discusses:
The end of Cartesian thinking and the need for a new understanding of reality that incorporates the insights of quantum mechanics
How philosophy has been taught as an intellectual endeavor, and how we need to embrace the practical and conceptual side of life
John Dewey and quantitative thinking, William James and pragmatism, and was Aristotle a Platonist?
The novelty of the creation of LSD, and how it gave us a path to a mystical experience that wasn’t culturally bound
In this episode, Joe interviews Joey Lichter, Ph.D.: professor in the Chemistry & Biochemistry department at Miami’s Florida International University, and one of the few professors in the U.S. teaching a course about psychedelics at the collegiate level.
He talks about his path towards the course, the challenge of creating a curriculum that covers everything in a few months, and the importance of teaching young minds about psychedelics the right away; shifting drug education from the “Just say no!” D.A.R.E. model to a more balanced, honest, and evidence-based approach. He aims for his students to think critically, ignore the hype, and see all possible angles with a fairly simple approach: Present the full story.
He discusses:
The importance of teaching history, from Stan Grof to MKUltra
The work of David Nichols, David Nutt’s drug harm scale, and the greatest lesson William Leonard Pickard took from LSD
The representation of Spravato as a new drug, and his concerns with the over-medicalization of psychedelics
Teaching about the complexities of Timothy Leary: Was he a positive or negative force?
Decriminalization, legalization, and how he gets students to think about drug policy
Legal psychedelics frameworks in the U.S. and abroad are rapidly shifting thanks to growing recognition of their transformative benefits. Where are psychedelics legal currently, and what can we expect around legal reform in the near future?
As of April 2024, dozens of U.S. cities have deprioritized criminal law enforcement for possessing psychedelics, while two states have passed sweeping regulated adult-use bills. Globally, Australia became the first country to codify legal psychedelic therapy. And Jamaica leads the world’s commercial psychedelics sector, fully embracing psilocybin use, sales, and cultivation.
Psychedelics legalization is occurring in various forms around the globe. The bottom line? Adults don’t have to look far for places that allow entheogens for personal or therapeutic use.
**Disclaimer: This article speaks to the legality of possession and use of psychedelics for personal, therapeutic, and ceremonial use, and largely, does not reference legal possession and production for research purposes. Be advised: drug laws change rapidly and frequently. This article is not a legal resource and may not be 100% up-to-date. Always check the latest local, state, and federal laws before engaging in psychedelics use in the U.S. and abroad.Have we missed anything in this article? Reach out to our team at editor@psychedelicstoday.com with your input.
Defining Legal Psychedelics
‘Legal psychedelics’ is an incredibly broad term. People use it interchangeably with ‘decriminalization,’ ‘deprioritization,’ and ‘regulated use.’ These terms integrate and sometimes overlap. But they also hold distinct implications worth defining.
Fully legal psychedelicsrefer to hallucinogenic substances that adults can use, produce, and sell because no local, state, or federal law prohibits it. Jamaica has one of the most robust legal psychedelics industries, but it only applies to psilocybin-bearing mushrooms.
Regulated psychedelics accessrefers to places with targeted legalization bills that allow adults to purchase and use these compounds for specific purposes, such as therapeutic treatment or research. Regulated access can also include state-level bills that enable limited psychedelic use under professional guidance, such as in Oregon and Colorado. However, state-level bills do not supersede federal legislation.
Decriminalization involves reducing or eliminating criminal penalties associated with possessing or using psychedelics for personal reasons. Decriminalization codifies psychedelic use as a non-criminal offense. It does not legalize production, sale, or distribution.
Deprioritization means that local law enforcement agencies decide to treat psychedelic possession offenses as their lowest priority. However, the substances remain illegal under the law, and offenders could still face penalties from state and federal prosecutors.
Where are Psychedelics Legal in the U.S.?
Psychedelics are not fully legal anywhere in the United States. Classic psychedelics, like psilocybin mushrooms, LSD, and DMT are Schedule I controlled substances. MDMA, mescaline, bufotenine, ibogaine, and several psychedelic analog compounds fall under the DEA’s Schedule I designation as well.
However, Oregon and Colorado recently legalized psilocybin mushrooms for adult use under professional supervision. These legal psychedelic states created regulated access industries – as of this writing, Oregon is ahead of Colorado – but do not allow retail sales or public consumption.
Oregon’s Legal Psychedelics Framework
Oregon became the first state to create a paradigm for the legalization of psychedelics after it passed Measure 109, the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act, in November 2020. The Act gave the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) two years to regulate psilocybin production, transportation, delivery, sale, purchase, and establish a psilocybin services industry through licensed healing centers.
In June 2023, the first healing center opened its doors, where Oregon adults over 21 could purchase and ingest psilocybin mushrooms in a supervised environment. State-certified facilitators must be present during the entire experience. Adults do not need a referral or a diagnosis to participate.
Who can become a licensed psilocybin service facilitator in Oregon?
People often assume Oregon’s psychedelic facilitators must be mental health professionals. However, any Oregon resident over 21 with a high school diploma can become a psilocybin facilitator if they complete the state-sponsored training program, pass an exam and background check, and pay a license application and renewal fee.
Oregon’s psilocybin services program did not legalize psychedelic therapy, where licensed practitioners offer psychotherapy services throughout the journey. Thus, facilitators cannot provide professional counseling during psilocybin sessions. Therapists who want to participate in Oregon’s psilocybin program can offer pre- and post-journey counseling.
Measure 109 only legalized psilocybin mushrooms in Oregon. And only in a licensed and regulated environment.
Decriminalization in Oregon
However, Oregon’s Measure 110 reduced criminal penalties and expanded addiction treatment services for various illicit drugs, including LSD, psilocybin and psilocin, methadone, oxycodone, heroin, MDMA, cocaine, and methamphetamine. These compounds remain illegal, but they are decriminalized – for now, anyway. In February 2024, the Oregon Senate passed House Bill 4002, aiming to reverse the decriminalization policy, introducing up to six months in jail for possessing small amounts of psychedelics. The bipartisan bill now awaits Governor Tina Kotek’s review. As of this writing, Gov. Kotek has not indicated whether she will sign it.
Colorado’s Legal Psychedelics Framework
Two years after Oregon’s landmark Psilocybin Services Act, Colorado voted for Proposition 122, the Decriminalization and Regulated Access Program for Certain Psychedelic Plants and Fungi Initiative. Prop 122 made Colorado the second U.S. state to affirm regulated access to legal psychedelics.
Proposition 122 directed Colorado’s Department of Regulatory Agencies to establish a Regulated Natural Medicine Access Program where licensed healing centers will administer supervised natural medicine services. The Department may start accepting facilitator applications by the end of 2024, with healing centers expected to open in early 2025.
The measure also decriminalized personal use and possession of natural medicines but did not provide a framework for retail sales.
Which psychedelics are legal in Colorado?
Colorado’s Proposition 122 defines the term “natural medicine” to initially include only psilocybin and psilocin. However, on June 1, 2026, the term may be expanded to incorporate ibogaine, DMT, and mescaline (excluding peyote) if the Natural Medicine Advisory Board recommends it. Additionally, Proposition 122 decriminalized the possession, growth, and transport of these natural psychedelics for adults age 21 and older.
Decriminalization in Colorado
Colorado’s Prop 122 included a provision for decriminalizing psychedelics. The provision affirms that “possessing, storing, using, processing, transporting, purchasing, obtaining, and ingesting natural medicine for personal use, or giving away natural medicine for personal use without remuneration” is not an offense under state law or the laws of any Colorado locality. It allows Colorado adults to grow natural plant psychedelics and fungi so long as they remain in the person’s private home and are secured from access by minors.
However, Colorado’s lawmakers recently revised the bill, placing $100 penalties on public consumption and $1,000 fines on people who violate the private property requirement.
Where in the U.S. are Psychedelics Decriminalized?
As of April 2024, Oregon and Colorado are the only states to enact statutes decriminalizing psychedelics use, possession, or cultivation. However, more than two dozen U.S. cities have deprioritized criminal enforcement of psychedelic offenses.
Which U.S. Cities Have Deprioritized Enforcing Criminal Penalties for Psychedelic Use?
Twenty-four cities, primarily in Massachusetts, California, and Michigan, have reduced psychedelics offenses to the lowest possible law enforcement priority. Most resolutions incorporate entheogenic plants and fungi, including psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline (except peyote), and ayahuasca. Most reforms exclude synthetic compounds like LSD, MDMA, and ketamine.
The current list of municipalities that have reduced psychedelic offenses includes:
1. Seattle, WA 2. Port Townsend, WA 3. Berkeley, CA 4. San Francisco, CA 5. Santa Cruz, CA 6. Oakland, CA 7. Eureka, CA 8. Arcata, CA 9. Denver, CO 10. Ann Arbor, MI 11. Detroit, MI 12. Hazel Park, MI 13. Ferndale, MI 14. Ypsilanti, MI 15. Portland, ME 16. Minneapolis, MN 17. Cambridge, MA 18. Somerville, MA 19. Northampton, MA 20. Easthampton, MA 21. Salem, MA 22. Amherst, MA 23. Provincetown, MA 24. Washington, DC
Where Are Psychedelics Legal Around the World?
Legal psychedelics only exist in a handful of places, including Jamaica, Brazil, Nepal, Samoa, and the British Virgin Islands. However, several countries allow psychedelic use and possession through decriminalization and spiritual freedom measures.
Austria Austria decriminalized personal possession of psilocybin in 2016 and generally avoids criminal penalties as its first drug enforcement option. However, all psychedelics are still illegal under federal law in Austria.
Croatia Croatia decriminalized drug use in small quantities, including psychedelics. However, psychedelics remain illegal overall in the nation. Offenders caught possessing psychedelics in Croatia may face mandatory rehab, community services, or a fine of €2,680.
The Czech Republic The Czech Republic’s criminal code does not treat drug use as an offense. Possessing small quantities of drugs, including psychedelics, for personal purposes is punishable by a fine.
Costa Rica Costa Rica does not list Ayahuasca as a controlled substance and broadly accepts its cultural use. This acceptance allows ayahuasca retreat centers to operate without fear of prosecution throughout the country. Additionally, Costa Rica’s societal norms accept psilocybin use in traditional and spiritual contexts, although psilocybin mushrooms are not explicitly legal.
Bahamas The Bahamas legally allows the use of psilocybin-containing mushrooms, as they are not classified as a “dangerous drug” by the government. The 1971 UN Convention technically prohibits the sale of all illicit drugs in the Bahamas. However, psilocybin retreats and ibogaine clinics are prevalent throughout.
Brazil People can readily find ayahuasca and mushroom retreats in Brazil and likely won’t face criminal penalties for possession or use. Neither are commercially available, and the active compounds they contain are banned. However, Brazil legalized the ayahuasca plant for spiritual use in 1968. And psilocybin mushrooms do not fall on the country’s list of prohibited substances.
British Virgin Islands The British Virgin Islands permit the legal use and possession of psilocybin mushrooms. Selling them remains illegal. However, visitors and locals report that mushrooms are available for discreet purchase at public events.
Jamaica Jamaica has become the world leader in the legal psychedelics industry. The Jamaican government actively promotes the nation as a destination for researching, developing, and exporting psilocybin products. It has set interim protocols for supporting cultivation and processing. Jamaica is also a global hub for psychedelic retreats and retail sales.
Mexico Psilocybin mushrooms are Schedule I in Mexico. However, Indigenous communities openly use psilocybin mushrooms in traditional healing rituals, and several psychedelic retreat centers operate openly in Mexico. That’s because Article 195 of the Penal Code says Mexico’s Federal Public Ministry will not prosecute people who possess narcotics for personal medical treatment or who have peyote or hallucinogenic mushrooms intended for traditional ceremonies.
Netherlands Magic truffles are legal in the Netherlands and available for sale in smart shops throughout Amsterdam. Additionally, psychedelics retreat centers operate legally in the nation, serving various entheogenic plants. However, possessing, selling, and using traditional psilocybin mushrooms remains illegal in the Netherlands. Additionally, psilocin, mescaline, and DMT extracts are banned, even for religious use.
Nepal Psilocybin mushrooms are unscheduled in Nepal, meaning the government does not regulate or criminally prosecute their use, possession, sale, or distribution. According to local producers, psilocybin mushrooms have a significant cultural presence in the country, and adults regularly consume the fungi for spiritual purposes.
Ecuador In Ecuador, certain medicinal plants and derivatives, including San Pedro and ayahuasca are legally permitted in certain ceremonial contexts. Retreats serving foreigners are common throughout the country.
Portugal Portugal enacted Law 20/2000 decriminalizing the personal possession of all illicit drugs, including psychedelics. Adult use of psychedelics is now an administrative offense rather than a criminal act in Portugal. At worst, offenders may have to surrender their stash and engage in community service.
Samoa Psilocybin mushrooms are legal in Samoa for personal use, possession, cultivation, and transport because they do not appear in the nation’s drug laws. Psilocybin mushrooms grow in natural settings and are called “Pulouaitu.”
Spain Law enforcement in Spain typically does not criminally prosecute adults for possessing or using psychedelics like psilocybin. However, localities retain the authority to establish their own regulations.
Where is Psychedelic Therapy Legal Around the World?
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is a brand-new modality in the West. Australia is the only country to codify this medical protocol into law.
MDMA and Psilocybin for PTSD and Depression in Australia
On February 3rd, 2023, Australia became the first country to legalize psychedelic therapy. The nation’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) declared that psychiatrists could prescribe MDMA or psilocybin to manage PTSD and treatment-resistant depression. In September 2024, the first psychedelic therapy center, Clarion Clinics, opened its doors, charging patients $24,000 for a nine-month protocol.
Ketamine Therapy in the U.S. and Around the World
Ketamine therapy is legal throughout the United States due to its FDA-approval status. Canada, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Germany, and several other nations allow ketamine for “off-label” medical and therapeutic use as well.
Ketamine is not a classic psychedelic compound. However, it does elicit dissociative psychedelic effects and a reported rapid mood boost through its NMDA receptor action. Most clinicians prescribe or administer ketamine as an off-label drug in IV, tablet, or nasal spray form for various mental health concerns, including treatment-resistent depression, chronic pain management, PTSD, severe anxiety disorder, suicidality, OCD, and substance abuse issues.
Treatment does not require that patients seek professional mental health support. However, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy can help people experience more enduring benefits compared to receiving the medicine alone.
MDMA Therapy in the U.S.: A Look Ahead
In December 2023, the nonprofit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) submitted a new drug application for MDMA-assisted therapy. The application currently sits with the FDA for review, with potential approval as soon as August 2024. If approved, the DEA must reschedule the compound from Schedule I within 90 days. About half of the states are expected to follow federal recommendations. The other half must take legislative action to change their drug laws before patients can access the treatment.
Regardless of the red tape ahead, the U.S. could soon become the second nation to legalize psychedelic therapy, providing life-saving medicine to the most vulnerable populations.
Feeling like you’ve only begun to scratch the surface? Learn more about legal psychedelic considerations and how they may impact your practice in our course, Navigating Psychedelics for Clinicians and Wellness Practitioners. Classes begin May 8. Seats are limited, so don’t delay.
In this episode, Joe interviews Devon Phillips: Community & Partnerships officer for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).
Phillips works on strategies to tackle the questions: How do we responsibly mainstream psychedelics? And how do we get culture engaged? He’s focusing on being the bridge to psychedelics outside of research, facilitating workshops and psychedelic coming-out stories at music festivals and conferences. He talks about harm reduction and drug checking at festivals, the concept of training big names to become trustworthy resources, the differences found in a hop hop crowd compared to EDM, and the power in using psychedelics for pleasure and celebration – not just healing and growth.
He also discusses:
MAPS’ involvement with the NFL for their ‘My Cause, My Cleats’ campaign, and how the San Francisco 49ers’ Jon Feliciano is bringing awareness to psychedelic healing
Details about MAPS’ first responders training, fiscal sponsorship program, international therapist education program, and upcoming membership program (launching in June)
The success of MAPS’ Psychedelic Science and his hopes for the 2025 edition, taking place June 16 – 20 at the Denver Convention Center
Dr. Carl Hart, drug exceptionalism, and the importance of creating safe containers and inclusive drug policy
Join us for our upcoming course, Navigating Psychedelics, designed specifically for clinicians and wellness practitioners. This live course will provide you with the knowledge and tools necessary to safely and effectively integrate psychedelics into your practice. With a focus on current research and best practices, our expert instructors will guide you through the complex landscape of psychedelic medicine, covering topics such as dosing, safety protocols, history and science, therapeutic applications, and more.
Class meets over Zoom for 1.5 hour sessions every week for nine weeks, educating and guiding healthcare professionals on psychedelic medicine. A final project will conclude the course in Week 9.
Dates and times:
Cohort 1: Wednesdays from 12:00 – 1:30 pm EST
Class meets: May: 8, 15, 22, 29 June: 5, 12, 19, 26 July: 10 (*no class on July 3)
Cohort 2: Thursdays, 8:00 – 9:30 pm EST
Class meets: May: 9, 16, 23, 30 June: 6, 13, 20, 27 July: 11 (*no class on July 4)
To learn about the curriculum, lead facilitators, and guest presenters, head to the newly-redesigned Psychedelic Education Center.
Much like the psychedelic experience itself, the idea of ‘spaceholding’ or ‘holding space’ can strike some as a nebulous concept.
The term is largely synonymous with psychedelic facilitation or ceremony leading. When executed poorly, or not considered at all, the consequences can be severe for the recipient.
Why Holding Space Matters
When the psychedelic kicks in – whether it be psilocybin, ayahuasca, or 5-MeO-DMT – the individual may arrive at a fork in the road where the ego is invited to dissolve. How they navigate this juncture is key to the quality of the experience and managing their passage towards bliss is one of the key areas where a space holder can earn their salt.
With a safe container created for exploration and tools at hand, including mantras, breathing techniques, and attentive coaching, the journeyer is empowered to surrender gracefully through the depths of consciousness (and, possibly, dimensions). In that moment of ego death – should it occur during the trip – the body can experience long overdue relief from near perpetual fight or flight through a state of rest and digestion which promotes healing.
But in a chaotic setting, left unaided without guidance, travelers may find themselves engulfed in waves of fear and discomfort, veering into distress and confusion and finding elusive the state of simply being, without worries.
The Crucial Role of the Space Holder
The best space holders are beacons of guidance and support in the ethereal, mind-manifesting kaleidoscopic landscapes of a psychedelic journey. Their influence can determine the trip’s trajectory, and the best space holders remain discrete until they are called upon, possessing an intuitive sense of when greater direct presence is necessary.
In the uncharted territory of the psychedelic ’20s, as every man and his dog decides to serve toad venom and ayahuasca, the psychedelic community is increasingly emphasizing the need for well-trained facilitators. Initiatives and training programs like Navigating Psychedelics: For Clinicians and Wellness Practitioners aim to help equip those holding space with the skills to compassionately and adeptly facilitate psychedelic experiences for individuals and groups.
“Psychedelic therapy can bring about intense psychological, emotional, and physical experiences,” writes Michelle Anne Hobart, a spiritual emergence coach. It is thus crucial for space holders to be well-versed in trauma-informed practices to mitigate any issues that may arise, remaining calm, supportive and empathetic for their clients.
Creating Internal Space Through Set and Setting
In a sense, the phrase ‘space holder’ is metaphoric and refers to the creation of an internal sanctuary for the journeyer, through the adept management of their immediate external reality. Common pitfalls of flawed space holders can include a propensity for touch that may lead to intrusive physical contact, or encouraging excessively high doses. These missteps can all take the participant deeper into the experience than they are comfortable with, and risk energetic transference between the space holder and the participant.
Space holders must exhibit sensitivity and awareness, not only in setting the space optimally with appropriate music, smells, and vibes, but also in witnessing, guiding, and comforting individuals throughout their journey.
Otherwise, ceremonies intended to bring about transmutation and recalibration can become potentially dangerous and risk re-wounding participants who turned up to heal. “The ones who are in the role of holding vigil must be as attuned as the survivors of trauma and spiritual emergency themselves have had to be,” adds Hobart.
Maintaining Personal Integrity
The participant has effectively given the space holder permission to witness them in a highly suggestible, hyperplastic and defenseless state. “You’re really putting yourself in someone else’s hands in a very, very vulnerable way, even if you’re an experienced psychonaut,” says Dr. Ido Cohen, a psychedelic facilitator and the founder of the Integration Circle.
The space holder may wish to remain as invisible as possible until they are called upon. It can be tricky to know when greater presence is required, and when to simply allow the profound journey of self-discovery and transformation to happen.
An often-overlooked element of space holding is the ability to be completely present with a participant in their process without judgment or having a desire to give advice, according to Victoria Wueschner, president of F.I.V.E. (5-MeO-DMT Information & Vital Education). Deep in the throes of a visionary psychedelic journey, emotions and words shared may inadvertently relate to the space holder, but it is imperative they do not take it personally and instead remain in a state of compassionate detachment.
“When facilitators step into the role of being a space holder, they commit to giving their full attention and presence to the participant by actively listening with compassion, free of personal ego or motive,” says Wueschner.
‘Let the Unfolding Experience Be the Guide’
If somebody feels unsafe, rushed, or judged, it is more likely that negative thoughts and unresolved memories can arise in an overwhelming fashion. The space holder ideally lifts the weight from the participant’s shoulders, and when the path is clear, a protective bubble is created to block distractions and allow greater space for them to dive deep into their psyches and transform their inner worlds. The space holder is their unobtrusive cheerleader.
The key principles of the Zendo Project, which provides harm reduction education and psychedelic peer support services, are trusting, letting go, being open, breathing and surrendering. The organization advises space holders to be calm, meditative presences of acceptance, care, and compassion.
“Promote feelings of trust and security,” they say on their website. “Let the person’s unfolding experience be the guide. Don’t try to get ahead of the process. Explore distressing issues as they emerge, but simply being with the person can provide support.”
Space Holding Begins Before the Space Opens (and Continues After It Closes)
Another aspect of space holding that can be neglected is the process of screening individuals to ascertain whether a particular psychedelic experience is suited for their needs, and then helping people prepare. If a space holder does not, at a minimum, offer to conduct a call before the journey day and provide some preparation exercises – such as intention-setting, journalling or meditation – then that should ring alarm bells.
Space holding doesn’t end when the effect of the psychedelic wears off. A key component of the healing process is the integration – a period which can consist of check-in calls, talk therapy, and the provision of a personalized schedule of activities such as spending time in nature and avoiding certain foods.
But, ultimately, everything is rooted in a trusting bond between the space holder and the patient or client, says Dr. David Rabin, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist who co-founded Apollo Neuroscience.
“Holding space always begins with a safe setting, rooted in trust, that helps to create the fertile ground for the seed of healing to grow. Without the trust and safety of the therapeutic alliance, the healing process can be completely shut down.”
In this episode, Joe interviews Keeper Trout: archivist, author, photographer, co-founder of the Cactus Conservation Institute, and creator of Trout’s Notes, a website compiling personal research and collected data to help ethnobotanical researchers.
From an interest in cactus taxonomy, Sasha Shulgin urged Trout to go through his files, resulting in a friendship, and eventually, an 8-year project of digitizing all of these files into the ever-evolving Shulgin Archive.
Trout discusses:
His relationship with Sasha and The Shulgin Farm project, which aims to make the farm a community resource for therapy, research, events, and more
The messiness of cactus taxonomy, and how he believes we’re nearing the end of being able to properly identify cacti
The perception of LSD as unnatural and why the natural vs. synthetic argument is largely political
Why repealing the Controlled Substances Act is the path we should take over decriminalization or legalization
In this episode, Alexa interviews April Pride: creative entrepreneur, veteran of the cannabis space, and now, founder of SetSet, an educational platform and podcast (picking up where The High Guide left off) for women curious about psychedelics.
With Alexa about to embark on the journey of motherhood, she asks many of the questions parents working with psychedelics have to consider: How do you overcome the stigmas of being a psychedelic parent? How do you talk to your children about drugs? How do you know if a substance is ok to use during pregnancy?
Pride discusses:
Being dubbed “the weed mom” and why she embraced the nickname
Parenting children around drug use and how parents lose credibility when they lie (the kids are going to know)
The need for more research into how substances interact with women’s cycles and changing hormones
Knowing when to trust your doctor and how more conversations lead to more knowledgeable doctors
Microdosing psilocybin and the developing SetSet protocol
While psychoactive substances like psilocybin and MDMA have taken the spotlight as frontrunners in psychedelic-assisted therapy, the growing impact of cannabis in combating treatment-resistant trauma is becoming undeniable.
Despite Western science largely overlooking the psychedelic potential of cannabis, recent insights from a literature review in the Journal of Psychopharmacology suggest that high doses of THC may indeed induce psychedelic effects.
However, the ongoing industry discourse begs the question: Is cannabis truly a psychedelic?
Cannabis in Cracking Open Dissociation
Have you ever embarked on a psychedelic experience, anxiously anticipating the arrival of breathing objects and fractal patterns, only to find your visual reality unchanged? Cannabis could be key to unlocking the desired psychedelic effect.
According to psychotherapist and MAPS phase 2 clinical investigator, Saj Razvi, this phenomenon of lackluster psychedelic experiences could be directly attributed to “dissociation.”
“Generally, mental health is not very good at realizing dissociation — tracking it, working with it,” said Razvi, founder and director of education at the Psychedelic Somatic Institute. “A major component of what we call ‘treatment resistance’ is dissociation.”
In the case of those who don’t feel the anticipated effects of a psychedelic, it’s likely the substance is butting up against dissociation within an individual’s system, thereby suppressing the psychedelic experience.
“This means that we’re secreting endogenous opioids to physically, emotionally, and psychologically numb us out,” he told Psychedelics Today.
Enter cannabis. The plant, Razvi says, seems to work with dissociation faster than any other medicine he has encountered.
Razvi’s clinical work conducted in Amsterdam sheds further light on the role of cannabis in addressing non-responsiveness to classical psychedelics like psilocybin. A percentage of individuals showed no significant response to psilocybin, reporting only subtle perceptual shifts (if anything at all). During their rest period, before their next psilocybin session, Razvi offered participants the opportunity to explore cannabis.
“What we observed was that individuals who were non-responders to psilocybin exhibited a response to cannabis, and what the cannabis targeted was their dissociation.”
Remarkably, after three sessions of cannabis work, participants experienced such a reduction in dissociation that their subsequent psilocybin experiences were drastically different.
“Cannabis is one of the most grossly underestimated and misunderstood medicines in the psychedelic medicine cabinet,’” Micah Stover, a somatic psychedelic therapist trained under Razvi’s PSIP model, told Psychedelics Today.
“When we talk about psychedelic therapy, we emphasize the importance of set and setting. If we’re not in an optimal set and setting, we often fail to consider it as such. However, when we use (cannabis) within that context, our experience can be wildly impactful,” Stover said.
Is Cannabis Truly Psychedelic? Definitions Matter
But the question remains: despite the potential for cannabis to assist in sparking psychedelic experiences with classic entheogens, is it truly a psychedelic itself?
The recent Journal of Psychopharmacology review concluded that the dosage, set, and settings used within cannabis trials conducted so far may not have been conducive to eliciting psychedelic-like experiences, indicating a need for further research.
On the other hand, evidence has indicated that high doses of THC can lead to mystical-type experiences, one of the key clinical features of classical psychedelics.
According to Razvi, the answer to the question all depends on how you define “psychedelic.”
“In my definition of it, yes. It’s taking us to primary consciousness, it’s giving us a different experience of primary consciousness than classic psychedelics, but it is a psychedelic in that it really shifts where we’re operating from.”
So, what sets cannabis apart from other psychoactive substances and how do its effects on the mind and body differ?
With classic tryptamines, transpersonal experiences are typically felt, like “unity consciousness, and existential reconciliation,” Razvi said. Unlike tryptamines, MDMA and cannabis typically do not induce the same level of transpersonal consciousness.
“Both of those medicines (MDMA and cannabis) are so useful for working with trauma because they’re not transpersonal in nature. They’re very personal, they don’t challenge the fundamental you,” he said.
Another trait that MDMA and cannabis share with psychedelics is their ability to heighten body awareness and pre-sensate experiences.
“With that sensate reality of our bodies, people notice things at very detailed levels that they don’t normally notice at all,” Razvi told Psychedelics Today.
Another notable ability of cannabis, he says, is how it disrupts executive function.
“Your capacity to tell a story, your mind’s ability to work in any kind of normal way gets thoroughly disrupted by cannabis. I think it’s one of the reasons why cannabis is so distrusted in mental health — we can’t do traditional talk therapy on it.”
Not only is it helpful to incorporate somatic modalities in cannabis work, it’s necessary, Razvi says. The gift of cannabis is, “it places us in the arena where somatic therapies work.”
Opening Doors to Transpersonal States
Could cannabis then be a valuable entry point to non-ordinary, psychedelic states? Razvi suggests it’s a good idea to reclaim the foundation of your physical being first.
“If your nervous system exists in a state of compromise, meaning there’s a lot of dissociation in your system, you can do transpersonal work, but you’re doing it from a position of a compromised foundation.”
He suggests that individuals dealing with pre-personal biological levels of trauma and compromise in their system may find resolution for those layers working with less transpersonal medicines, such as cannabis and MDMA.
“Ideally, resolve that layer, then move on to more transpersonal experiences,” he says.
“Something I have observed in clients is how they assimilate new ideas and upgrade their belief systems following a psilocybin experience, which can be beneficial as their old beliefs might have become ineffective,” Stover added.
“However, there’s often a disconnect between their newfound ideas and their physical bodies. So, body and spirit are in different places and this is why somatic work is so hugely important. Cannabis can be a powerful ally — when facilitated in the right process — to sync body and mind.”
The Ritual Use of Cannabis
Turning toward the wisdom of communities who have integrated cannabis within their cultural frameworks: for a rural community in Catalonia called Wonderland (or País de las Maravillas), cannabis has long been woven into ritual contexts.
Research on the ritualistic use of cannabis concluded that the rituals “can even generate beneficial effects for the individual as well as the community by strengthening bonds between community members,” and, “are seen as spiritual or religious practices, as well as forms of self-care and community-care, rather than involving drug dependence or addiction.”
Ultimately, whether within communal or scientific settings, context matters and, much like a classical psychedelic, the outcome of cannabis experiences is highly dependent on the nature in which they are consumed.
Healing Experiences Within a Relational Context
“People should not walk away thinking that if they smoke cannabis, they are going to have deeply restorative psychedelic experiences for their nervous system and trauma,” Stover cautions.
If individuals plan to consume cannabis as part of a ritual or ceremony – just like psychedelics – the relationship matters.
“Arguably, I think that’s true to some degree with all (substances), but certainly, if we’re going to try to leverage cannabis as a healing agent in this way,” she said.
“I think this is where the gold is, right?” Razvi added. “I think we’re missing out on major therapeutic opportunities when we’re doing more non-relational, sitter models. Human relational wounding requires human relational work.”
Continuing the debate, is cannabis a psychedelic? It appears it would depend on who you ask.
However, whether the psychedelic community chooses to label cannabis a psychedelic, its significance as a valuable therapeutic medicine is undeniable.
One thing remains certain: the true healing power of mind-altering substances comes down to who, what, where, and why we are taking them. In that respect, cannabis has definitely earned a seat at the table.
He is now the co-founder, Chief Science Officer, and Director of Analytical Science at the Alexander Shulgin Research Institute (ASRI), focusing on the discovery and development of novel psychedelic compounds. While Sasha was passionate about self-experimentation, the Institute is aiming for the next step for these drugs: FDA approval.
He discusses:
Meeting Sasha at the 2nd international conference on hallucinogenic mushrooms in Washington D.C.
Bonding with Sasha while reviewing the autopsy of researcher Robert van den Bosch for possible foul play
The two compounds ASRI is closest to being able to test in clinical trials
The 5-HT2B receptor, risk of valvular disease, and why we will likely be hearing more about this going forward
How AI and new technology can lead to better safety science
In this episode, David interviews Osiris González Romero: philosopher and Postdoctoral researcher on cognitive freedom and psychedelic humanities at the University of Saskatchewan.
Romero believes that our weakest point of research is our knowledge of Indigenous languages, and is focused on highlighting different cultural uses of psychedelics to better inform future drug policy. He’s currently studying more than 100 documents (including one over 400 years old) to establish an honest understanding of why peyote was ever banned.
He discusses:
Mesoamerican psychedelics and their relevance to cognitive liberty and decolonization
How the War on Drugs is our main colonial legacy
The concepts of an ontological turn and ontological pluralism
The neocolonial, biomedical, and spiritual paradoxes found inside the ‘psychedelic renaissance’
How imagination is often viewed through a lens of illusion rather than problem solving or creativity
Psychedelics on their own can’t save people from chronic depression. Therapists alone can’t do it either. However, entheogens can spark the journey toward wholeness, and skilled psychedelic integration therapy can illuminate the path forward.
How is this made possible? The key is to align modern clinical interventions with the transformative experiences psychedelic substances elicit. And to view psychedelic integration therapy through a holistic lens that addresses the interconnectedness of existence.
What is Psychedelic Integration Therapy?
Indigenous communities worldwide have been integrating psychedelic experiences through diets, prayer, song, and communal gatherings for hundreds – and maybe even thousands – of years. However, structured psychedelic integration therapy is a novel practice that Western clinicians are experimenting with in real time. Loosely defined, psychedelic integration therapy is the diverse process where practitioners support patients in their pursuit to transform non-ordinary experiences into positive, lasting change.
Patients need this support because psychedelics themselves do not cure depression, contrary to conspicuous headlines. More often than not, high-dose psilocybin, ayahuasca, and LSD journeys shine a light on the areas where people are stuck, and shift the brain’s normal functioning in such a way that they can see a road out.
Psychedelic consumption then opens a brief window of neuroplasticity where patients can reframe past traumas and develop new, healthy habits. This period of heightened cognitive flexibility allows therapists to assist clients in harnessing their experiences for enduring transformations, whether simple or challenging.
Integration therapy’s primary goal is to maximize the benefits of uplifting journeys and minimize harm in distressing journeys.
Maximize Benefits: Patients who intentionally consume psychedelics with an open mindset in a safe environment (set and setting) typically have awe-inspiring experiences that radically shift their perspectives. Many people experience an “afterglow” in the days, weeks, and months following. But psychedelic experiences can still become a distant memory, and depression symptoms can reoccur. So, psychedelic integration therapy seeks to engrain the lessons in the patient’s psyche for a lifetime ahead.
Minimize Harm: Psychedelics are non-specific amplifiers, which means they intensify thoughts, feelings, and perceptions in unpredictable ways that are highly individual. For some people, the experience is uncomfortable and even re-traumatizing, causing adverse psychological symptoms afterward. In these scenarios, integration therapy’s first goal is to relieve the patient’s distress and prevent long-term damage. Subsequently, therapists can try to help patients reframe their negative perceptions and find nuggets of insight that guide productive exploration.
Key Aspects of Integration
Psychedelic integration encompasses several steps that can vary from one practitioner to the next. However, research indicates the process universally falls into two core subdomains: reflection and application.
The reflection subdomaininvolves the internal process of contemplating and making sense of the psychedelic experience. It is a period of introspection where clients examine the symbolic, emotional, psychological, and spiritual content. Through reflection, clients connect aspects of their experience with their lives, deriving meaning and understanding from what they have encountered.
The application subdomain pertains to external actions that incorporate psychedelic insights and lessons into daily life. Application involves changing behavior, lifestyle, and relationships based on newfound understanding and awareness. This can include adopting healthier habits, altering one’s approach to interpersonal relationships, or making career or personal life changes that align more closely with one’s values and aspirations.
Psychedelic integration does not necessarily require therapeutic intervention. However, clinical psychedelic therapy trials employ models like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and the Accept, Connect, Embody Model (ACE). Many also incorporate mindfulness practices and Internal Family Systems (IFS) to support effective integration. All modalities focus on flexibility, awareness, internal harmony, and channeling unconscious processes into conscious understanding.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
A 2020 psilocybin-assisted therapy paper proposed Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for integration due to its efficacy in treating depression and for its alignment with psychedelic experiences.
ACT synergizes with psilocybin therapy because both emphasize psychological flexibility and living a conscious life rather than symptom reduction. ACT utilizes six central tenets of psychological flexibility: present-moment focus, acceptance, self-as-context, cognitive defusion, valued direction, and committed action. Psilocybin therapy enhances these processes by facilitating present-moment awareness, surrendering to experiences, fostering ego dissolution, exploring values, and providing a window of opportunity for behavior change during the afterglow period.
As the integration process begins, the ACT frame suggests that therapists patiently listen to clients share their experiences without immediately applying therapeutic techniques. Gradually, therapists identify and draw parallels between the client’s experiences and ACT principles.
Through tools like the Valued Living Questionnaire, clients clarify their values and consider how their lives align with or diverge from them. Using the ACT Matrix, participants plan specific actions to live more by their values, guided by insights from their psychedelic experiences. Follow-up sessions assess changes in psychological flexibility and reinforce ACT concepts, ensuring participants can apply their insights and maintain behavioral changes.
Accept, Connect, Embody Model
The Accept, Connect, Embody Model (ACE) follows a similar structure to ACT but with an intuitive shift.
Dr. Rosalind Watts and Dr. Jason Luoma introduced ACE for integrating psychedelic experiences into therapeutic practice. It is based on clinical experience and data from psilocybin trials, which highlight acceptance and connection as critical components of positive therapeutic outcomes.
The ACE model utilizes ACT’s six processes of psychological flexibility but reorganizes them into an acceptance triad (defusion, present moment focus, willingness) and a connection triad (self as context, values, committed action). It emphasizes the importance of accepting challenging experiences, connecting to positive aspects, and deeply embodying these experiences through somatic engagement.
ACE helps prepare clients for psychedelics and integrates their experiences afterward in three stages.
Stage One: Pulling Together the Narrative Patients share their psychedelic experiences freely while therapists facilitate understanding and validation, fostering trust for a deeper exploration.
Stage Two: Distilling Key Insights Therapists help patients identify vital lessons from their experiences, linking these insights to personal values and life goals in a structured reflection process.
Stage Three: Supporting Behavior Change In this proactive phase, therapists guide patients in applying their psychedelic insights to concrete actions, supporting them in navigating challenges and changes.
Mindfulness-Based Interventions
Mindfulness-based interventions are less established than ACE and ACT in psychedelic trials. However, they play a role in nearly all integration frameworks, offering synergies that scientists suggest can inform clinical practice.
“… the Compass of psychedelics may serve to initiate, motivate, and steer the course of mindfulness practice; conversely, the Vehicle of mindfulness may serve to integrate, deepen, generalize, and maintain the novel perspectives and motivation instigated by psychedelics.”
Internal Family Systems
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is another therapeutic model gaining traction in psychedelic therapy. The approach offers a non-pathologizing, systems-oriented lens for integrating psychedelic experiences.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) operates on the premise that the mind is naturally multiple and that each person has a core self surrounded by various parts with distinct roles, feelings, and perspectives. According to Nancy L. Morgan, MS, PhD., IFS is particularly effective for psychedelic integration because it acknowledges the complexity and multiplicity of the psyche, mirroring the often multifaceted nature of psychedelic journeys.
For integration therapy, IFS facilitates a process where clients learn to recognize and understand their parts, especially those activated or revealed during a psychedelic experience. The core self is seen as inherently possessing compassion, curiosity, calm, clarity, courage, connectedness, confidence, and creativity. Therapists guide clients to embody these qualities, enabling them to engage with their parts in a healing and constructive manner.
By applying the IFS model to psychedelic integration, therapists provide a structured yet flexible framework that honors the client’s internal diversity.
Psychotherapeutic Limitations
Clinical data and academic inquiry provide useful psychedelic integration theories. However, research doesn’t empirically endorse any single protocol. Additionally, centuries of Indigenous psychedelic use indicate integration is not merely a psychoanalytical, behavioral, or even somatic approach to fixing a specific problem.
A more inclusive view of psychedelic integration reveals that the process can be a way of life. Integration doesn’t occur in distinct phases in Indigenous cultures. It happens through ongoing community rituals to foster harmony and alignment.
Integration, then, is about more than processing the psychedelic experience or overcoming specific difficulties, even if the experience might catalyze healing. It is about bringing peace to one’s whole existence, including physiological, spiritual, and social.
In certain cultures, integration practices encompass shamanic rituals, hypnosis, drumming, and chanting. In the West, they might look like walks in nature, dream journaling, volunteering, asking for help, and gratitude work.
Regardless of the cultural context, one aspect is clear: integration requires a comprehensive approach that goes beyond the therapeutic alliance.
The Synthesized Integration Model
To address the need for a comprehensive psychedelic integration framework, researchers developed the Synthesized Model of Integration. The model draws from holistic, Indigenous, and psychotherapeutic approaches to create a more balanced definition.
This model incorporates six interconnected domains of existence: mind/cognitive/emotional, bodily/somatic, spiritual/existential, natural world, relational/communal, and lifestyle/action. It suggests a balanced approach to integration, where an individual actively engages in practices across these domains to incorporate insights from their psychedelic experiences.
Holistic practices include engaging with nature, joining supportive communities, working with seasoned psychedelic guides, personal contemplation, and physical and spiritual practices — all of which extend beyond the boundaries of integration therapy sessions.
6 Psychedelic Integration Truths Every Practitioner Must Know
Western practitioners who seek to dive into the vast waters of psychedelic integration therapy must absorb an enormous swath of knowledge distilled into six simple truths.
1.Therapists need psychedelic knowledge and meta-skills: Practical integration guidelines indicate that psychedelic therapists must understand psychedelic effects, practice empathy, foster self-awareness, uphold ethics and master complementary techniques. Courses like Navigating Psychedelics for Clinicians and Wellness Practitioners are great places to start, providing psychedelic history, harm reduction, clinical applications, and space-holding skills for healers of all experience levels.
2. Integration is a patient-led experience: The American Psychedelic Practitioner’s Association highlights integration as a process primarily directed by the patient. This approach respects the patient’s autonomy and unique process of making sense of their psychedelic experiences. Therapists facilitate this approach by offering support, resources, and guidance rather than directing it.
3. Patients may not have concrete goals: Practitioners must be comfortable navigating the therapeutic process without concrete goals, acknowledging that the nature of psychedelic experiences and their integration can be fluid and evolving. This flexibility allows for a more organic and meaningful therapeutic journey.
4. Integration is a lifelong practice: Clinical trials may be finite, but psychedelic integration does not have a tangible limit. Therapists must acknowledge that integration is not a one-time event but a continuous process of incorporating insights and changes into one’s life.
5. Success is undefined, but tools exist to help gauge it: Psychedelic integration success is not strictly defined. However, emerging tools, like the Integration Engagement Scale (IES) and the Experienced Integration Scale (EIS), can help therapists evaluate patient progress. Clinicians and clients can use these scales to measure psychological well-being, life satisfaction changes, and specific symptomatology reductions to assess the impact of integration efforts and make changes as necessary.
6. Meaning-making is not confined to therapy settings: The process of constructing meaning from psychedelic experiences extends beyond the therapy room. It involves engaging in activities that reinforce and deepen the insights gained, such as journaling, meditation, and artistic expression. Therapists must encourage clients to engage in these diverse practices.
The Bottom Line
Successful integration is a patient-led, lifelong practice harnessing therapeutic techniques while extending beyond clinical sessions. With intelligent, compassionate integration therapy, psychedelic explorers can resolve mental health concerns while moving toward greater balance in every aspect of life.
In this episode, Joe interviews Maria Mangini, Ph.D., FNP: researcher, educator, and midwife who has worked closely with many psychedelic innovators and was part of the original social network at Shulgin Farm – where this episode was recorded. She traces her journey from the influence of pioneers like the Wassons, Shulgins, and Grofs, and historic places like Esalen and Millbrook.
She discusses:
Her early experiences with the Grofs at Esalen and how she met the Shulgins
Gregory Bateson guiding her to become a midwife
The similarities between midwifery and psychedelic facilitation
The unsung work of Denis Berry in saving the Timothy Leary archives
How the working relationship of the Shulgins is a perfect example of the coequality society should strive for
and more!
Notable Quotes
“There is a specific skill set that midwives, for the most part, actually have to possess because it’s the matter of what they do, that is identical or very, very similar to the skills that are needed for somebody who wants to be the ground control for somebody in an unusual state of consciousness [or] for somebody who wants to sit at the bedside of someone who’s actively dying. Those skills are the most difficult part of what we try to teach in those programs. You can’t really transmit that stuff very well in the classroom, but the midwives bring it. They already come with it.”
“Medicine really, at least the way it’s practiced in this country, is mostly about curing, whereas nursing is about caring. And there’s a bigger deficit for caring than there is for curing. We need nurses.”
“I think that the personal elements of the quality of the relationship that people who work side by side in that kind of co-equality can attain is inspiring for people, and it holds out a kind of hope for the ability to move in that direction. I think it’s very important and useful for us to think of the Shulgins as a couple.”
In this episode, released on Ann Shulgin’s birthday, Joe interviews Wendy Tucker: daughter of Ann and stepdaughter to Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin.
Recorded in Sasha’s old office, she recounts her formative years, giving an insider’s look into her Mother’s openness about psychedelics, working with Sasha in the lab, how the Shulgins made a perfect team, and watching a close-knit circle of self-experimenters start to form at Shulgin Farm – and keep coming back over the years.
She talks about the energy infused into the property from the decades of research and gatherings, and how she is trying to preserve it – not just to capture its history and the pioneering research that happened there, but as a beacon for future generations. She imagines weddings, conferences, other communal gatherings, and more. Imagine taking a chemistry course in Sasha Shulgin’s lab?
To learn more about the project and to donate, head to Shulginfarm.org.
Notable Quotes
“When I met Sasha, at first, he seemed a little– I didn’t get his sense of humor. He had such a dry sense of humor, I was like, ‘Who is this guy?’ And I felt a little protective of my Mom, honestly, at first. But soon, I really started to see who he was shining through. He was so good for her.”
“He’d say, ‘You never learn anything by things going right. You only learn when things go wrong.’ And so, that really stuck with me. What a great way to live life.”
“He always left room for the mysterious, the unknown. It’s an interesting blend to be a scientist and yet have this deep knowledge that there’s something else going on. And we can’t really name it, but we feel it. We know it’s there. And that was Mom’s territory. It was really the spiritual, the psychological. That’s why they made such a great team.”
In this episode, Joe interviews Juan Pablo Cappello: co-founder and former CEO of Nue Life Health, whose assets were subsequently acquired by Beckley Waves.
Cappello digs into his recent article which has been making waves across the psychedelic community: “Profit Over Patients? A Critical Look at At-Home Ketamine Therapy.” He created Nue Life with the goal of helping a million people address the root cause of their anxiety, and while the company was successful, he began to see a problematic trend: that using ketamine while providing services of a mental health company is very expensive and resource-consuming, and as companies saw a large percentage of clients requiring maintenance doses, the most profitable business model became essentially slinging ketamine to patients without providing any real integration or aftercare. Are these companies promising healing but really only guaranteeing recurring revenue?
He talks about:
How this emerging model makes it harder for ethical practitioners to be able to provide their services
The tools they built at Nue Life for long-term benefit, and why these should be the main focus – not repeated ketamine
Matthew Perry’s death and how the media was quick to place the blame on ketamine
The need for companies and communities to come to gather and create ethical industry standards for the at-home ketamine model
How cannabis was almost decriminalized under the Carter administration
and more!
Notable Quotes
“There’s all sorts of ethical companies and practitioners who are doing the good work every day on the front lines, and we have to recognize that. We also have to be honest that it’s harder and harder for those ethical practitioners to make a living because of what unethical practitioners are doing every day in the trenches, which is slinging ketamine.”
“Do I think that it’s probably a good trade to take ketamine six times a year as opposed to taking an antidepressant every day? Yeah, that’s probably a good trade. But there’s a better trade. which is: Let’s address the root cause of your depression, anxiety, or trauma once and for all. Let’s do the hard work. Let’s use ketamine as a beautiful tool to help you reset and reboot, and let’s get you well. And let’s support you in your wellness journey going forward, rather than putting you on the cycle of feeling better, feeling worse, feeling better, feeling worse.”
“I absolutely believe the pharmaceutical companies are way too close to the regulators, absolutely. But what do we expect when getting a drug approved by the FDA is a billion dollar proposition? I mean, look at what MAPS has gone through. They’re still raising money, notwithstanding the amazing clinical results that they’ve had with MDMA. …[They’re] continuing to raise money for clinical trials of a drug that wasn’t made illegal until 1982. So it’s not as if, in terms of the safety profile of MDMA, we don’t have oodles and oodles of real life data prior to 1982. Nothing’s a better sign of how broken the system is than what MAPS has gone through.”
The microdosing movement is flourishing, fueled by global citizen scientists reporting transformative wellness benefits. Yet, the practice is still an experiment. Most people have no idea what a microdosing protocol entails, what the experience feels like, or how long a microdose lasts. They are simply curious to know if low-dose psychedelics could be a game-changer for their mental and physical health.
This article provides a beginner’s guide to microdosing psilocybin and LSD, exploring research, protocols, and effects, and answering the question: How long does a microdose last?
What is Microdosing?
Microdosing is the art of ingesting low, sub-threshold doses of psychedelics, typically LSD or psilocybin, for mental and physical optimization. Most people turn to the practice to paint their lives with broader strokes of creativity and focus. Others seek to soften the grip of depression, alcohol dependence, and chronic pain.
Words like sub-perceptual, sub-sensorium, and sub-hallucinogenic also describe the microdosing experience. At about one-tenth of the recreational psychedelic dose, microdosing does not significantly alter consciousness. Rather, it delivers subtle or unnoticeable effects. Microdosers who do notice changes report feeling more energized, uplifted, focused, and in tune throughout the day. Others note slight perceptual changes, like sensitivity to light.
Mushroom and LSD microdoses usually kick in within a couple of hours of ingestion and linger throughout the day. One tiny dose can produce ‘afterglow’ effects lasting at least 48 hours. A regular microdosing practice, combined with rest periods, can elicit even longer-term benefits lasting weeks, months, or years.
LSD is far more potent than psilocybin mushrooms, so microdosing amounts differ significantly.
LSD microdoses typically fall between10 and 30 mcg
Psilocybin microdoses often range from 80 to 250 mg of dried mushrooms
Microdosing may seem like a brand new phenomenon, but the modern microdosing era began shortly after 1943 when Swiss chemist and Sandoz Laboratories employee Albert Hofmann accidentally discovered LSD’s psychedelic effects.
A few years later, the first human LSD trial defined microdosing and answered the question, how long does a microdose last? Swiss psychiatrist Werner A. Stoll, MD, in collaboration with Hofmann and Sandoz, tested LSD doses ranging from 20 mcg to 130 mcg.
The team determined that 25 mcg could elicit mild psychoactive symptoms without any overwhelm.
Sandoz subsequently synthesized 25 mcg LSD tablets, determining the onset of effects occurred between 30 and 90 minutes, with a duration of 5 to 12 hours.
A few LSD trials occurred in the years following, but political and societal pressures curtailed psychedelic research until the next century.
Finally, the 2010s witnessed a microdosing resurgence, largely due to Dr. James Fadiman and renowned mycologist, Paul Stamets. Their efforts, anecdotal reports, and growing media attention fueled a global movement and reignited scientific interest.
Dr. Fadiman’s website, Microdosingpsychedelics.com, quickly became the the first massive citizen scientists’ database, compiling transformational accounts from microdosers worldwide.
Microdosing Research
In 2019, the Quantified Citizen app engaged more than 12,000 participants in the world’s most extensive mobile microdosing study. The initiative revealed that “adults who microdose psychedelics report health-related motivations and lower levels of anxiety and depression compared to non‑microdosers.”
In April 2021, one of the first randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled microdosing studies found that LSD could increase overall pain tolerance by 20% at 20 mcg doses. It also showed how long a microdose might last, determining that 20 mcg was equally impactful at 1.5 and 5 hours after dosing. The finding suggests small LSD doses provide lasting pain relief beyond the peak onset.
However, this study did not address mental health outcomes.
Double-blind, placebo-controlled studies confirming that microdosing improves anxiety and depression are scarce. The few that exist suggest benefits might arise from the placebo effect, where the person feels better because they believe they’ve taken something that should help – even if it doesn’t have active pharmaceutical properties.
However, microdosing advocates argue that double-blind studies are inherently flawed, partly because they occur in sterile medical environments that do not accurately reflect the real world. Imperfect clinical data cannot diminish people’s concrete experiences.
Microdosing Experience and Duration
Microdosers report a wide range of experiences based on their psychedelic tolerance, the substance they consume, the dosage, and their unique mental state. Emotional and cognitive shifts typically arise in 60 minutes, with noticeable impacts lasting up to 10 hours. Some people report an afterglow effect up to 48 hours after microdosing.
How long does an LSD microdose last?
One pharmacology study found that 20 to 60 mcg of LSD administered intraspinally delivers effects in less than an hour, peaking within the hour and lasting nine to ten hours. However, these results could be skewed because most people do not take LSD intraspinally. Oral and sublingual ingestion are the most common routes.
Fortunately, citizen science reports from sources like Erowid shed more light on the question of how long an LSD microdose lasts.
One Erowid contributor, Tetrisdroid, reported taking approximately 30 mcg of LSD daily for a week for his depression and anxiety.
On day one, Tetrisdroid noticed “barely perceptible” effects about an hour after consuming the dose. He felt slightly lightheaded and noticed the office lights seemed brighter than usual. About six hours later, the light sensitivity subsided.
On day two of microdosing, Tetrisdroid headed into the office for a weekly staff meeting. Such meetings normally stir up anxiety, but he reported feeling much more relaxed. He had trouble organizing thoughts but felt at ease nonetheless. Again, he reported seeing the lights much brighter than usual throughout the day.
Day three left Tetrisdroid noticeably less stressed for the entire workday, suggesting that the LSD microdose lasted at least six hours.
By the end of the week, Tetrisdroid acknowledged that microdosing LSD might have provided a placebo effect. But either way, he felt better and learned he could go a week without turning to other drugs as a way of self-medicating.
How long does a psilocybin microdose last?
Research suggests psilocybin microdoses should be noticeable within 1.5 hours of ingestion. Studies do not indicate how long the effects persist. However, personal stories reveal a psilocybin microdose can last at least seven hours.
Erowid contributor “Katalyst” experimented with microdosing psilocybin mushrooms for seasonal depression. She started with doses ranging from .2g every four days.
At .2g doses, Katalyst experienced mild euphoria, sweaty palms, and increased introspection throughout the first two hours. Lower doses of .1g, resulted in a more neutral mood without noticeable side effects.
Microdosing effects, including increased focus and mild euphoria, typically lasted up to seven hours after consumption.
After experimenting with different amounts and schedules, Katalyst found that .15g of psilocybin every two weeks was most effective in alleviating her seasonal depression. She found that .2g was too high, inducing uncomfortable hypomania.
Ultimately, Katalyst decided to continue microdosing on the bi-weekly schedule in future winters.
How Long Do Microdosing Benefits Last?
Clinical data cannot confirm microdosing benefits or their duration. However, participants of a self-blinding microdosing trial indicated that the benefits lasted up to five weeks.
During this timeframe, the microdosers experienced significant improvements in psychological measures such as well-being, mindfulness, life satisfaction, and paranoia compared to baseline. The changes might have occurred due to the placebo effect, but the outcomes were positive nevertheless.
Countless microdosers, including the Silicon Valley elite, have been utilizing intermittent low-dose protocols for years. So, microdosing benefits seem to extend much further than five weeks.
How Often Should You Microdose?
Microdosing protocols are as unique as the people who take them. Frequency and dosages will shift depending on the person and their goals. The only consistent answer to “How often should you microdose?” is not every day.
Daily psychedelic ingestion will cause the body to develop a rapid tolerance. As tolerance rises, microdosers will experience diminishing returns, requiring higher quantities to achieve the same effects.
Most microdosing protocols suggest intermittent consumption throughout the week, along with rest periods, to avoid these issues.
The Fadiman Protocol
The Fadiman Protocol, or the Beginner’s Protocol, follows a three-day cycle established by Dr. James Fadiman. It distinguishes between microdosing and non-microdosing days so people can take advantage of the two-day afterglow.
Day 1: Take the microdose.
Day 2: No microdose, allowing the body to integrate the effects.
Day 3: No microdose, continuing the break.
Repeat the cycle for four to eight weeks with a two to four-week break.
The Stamets Protocol
The Stamets Protocol, proposed by Paul Stamets, involves more frequent dosing options. These schedules aim to maintain consistent benefits while minimizing tolerance buildup.
One option includes a five-day on, two-day off regimen.
Another option suggests four days on and three days off.
Repeat the cycle for four weeks with a two to four-week rest.
The Microdosing Institute Protocol
The Microdosing Institute protocol suggests microdosing every other day for eight weeks. This method aims to enhance the effectiveness of microdosing for medical or psychological purposes such as depression, social anxiety, ADHD/ADD, migraine, or cluster headaches.
Day 1: Microdose.
Day 2: Transition day, no microdose.
Day 3: Microdose again.
Repeat the cycle for four to eight weeks, followed by a two to four-week rest period.
The Bottom Line
Microdosing offers a nuanced approach to whole-body health through the strategic consumption of low-dose psychedelics. The experience is incredibly mild, allowing people to function like normal. But, the effects are still noticeable, easing anxiety, improving emotional functioning, and minimizing pain for several hours. People who feel called to the practice should continue exploring the research and learning from citizen scientists across the globe.
Learn more about the most microdosing protocols and create your own personalized dosage plan with our Microdosing Masterclass.
She discusses her personal metamorphosis and name change inspired by a powerful ayahuasca experience, and how that moved her into a life more inspired by authenticity and self-love. She gives the details of her retreats, explains her PRISM sessions, and talks in depth about the magic of resiliency: How can we not just return to baseline, but experience post-traumatic growth?
She talks about:
The power of tuning into creativity in times of depression
The efficacy of narrative therapy and writing in general
The universal themes of ‘The Hero’s Journey’ and how much agency matters
The importance of embracing nonfiction, and her upcoming book series, The Dreamweaver’s Legacy
The potential of microdosing psilocybin for menopause
“On the fourth cup, I saw these visions and I heard a voice. And you know how it is. Yes, ayahuasca is a hallucinogen, but this voice was so powerful. And it basically was giving me an opportunity to make a shift. And the first time I heard it, I said no. The next night, I was in the same turmoil again, [and] by the time I got to my fourth cup, the voice came back and I said yes. And as soon as I said yes to this horrible question for me, I had to grab my bucket and I started to purge. And with that purge, I could see from me as a baby to that point, it was as if I was purging that timeline. What I realized is who I had become (because I grew up with so much trauma), I felt stuck. I felt like I couldn’t get out of the loop, even with this powerful medicine. And what she gave me was the opportunity to purge that. And by the third time I’m heaving over the bucket, I knew: I’m being reborn.”
“As a physician, I just recognize that without self-love – without true, unconditional self-acceptance, it’s really hard to be healthy.”
“I think everyone could benefit from just imagining: What would life be like if I had more magic, and I wasn’t so blocked and limited by my usual way of being or seeing things?”
“Many of us have wounding based on our family, or attachment wounds, so we need to heal and we need to recover in community. A lot of the people who do find success with 12-steps: they find that we recover together. I think there’s a certain magic that happens. A lot of my colleagues in this space say the group is the medicine. Yes, we take these magical molecules, but the group brings its own sort of medicine.”
In this episode, David interviews Itzhak Beery: author, shamanic teacher, speaker, trip leader, and founder of ShamanPortal.org, an online community and resource for people who want to learn, practice, and teach shamanic traditions.
Beery shares his transformational journey, starting from his upbringing on a kibbutz in Israel, to his disillusioned advertising days in Manhattan, to the life-altering sweat lodge experience in Hawaii that eventually led him to write the book, Shamanic Transformations: True Stories of the Moment of Awakening, and realize his true purpose. He discusses the two major sides of trust: how to know when a healing path has truly become your life purpose, and how to know who to trust as a good healer in a world of self-initiated shamans.
He and David dig into:
How we all have the innate ability to be a shaman
How Westerners are often seeking healing too young, before they have the capacity to truly understand lessons they may receive
His upcoming book which attempts to teach practitioners how to create narratives out of symbols, The Language of Spirit
The importance in not denying the experiencer’s truth
His insights on palm reading and the concept of predetermined paths
and more!
Notable Quotes
“We are all shamans. Every human being is built– Their DNA is built in to be able to see, to vision, to dream, to dance, to sing, to hug, to drink, to hug, to make people feel comfortable. The ability to do the shamanic work is built in with every one of us, to take care of other people, for the well-being of the community.”
“The main problem that I see is that people from the West come to ayahuasca like a magic drink, but they don’t speak the language of spirit. They don’t speak the language of plants of the Amazon. Now, when you start drinking it from the age of six or eight, you are already understanding the intricate visions that [are] connected to your body and are connected to the whole world of spirit. So they have a context where they can hold what your body physically experienced and what they visually experienced. When we come from [a] digital world [with] zero connection to nature, and we just dumped ourselves into a world that is steeped in magic, we don’t know how to accept it. We don’t speak that language.”
“In our culture, we go to the Himalayas, we go to the Amazon, we go to the mountains, we go to who knows where, to the rivers, to wait for the moment that God will just hit us over the head and we’ll be enlightened. And the truth is that every moment of our life is a moment of awe, of enlightenment, and we have to really sit with it for a minute. We are always looking from the enlightenment outside of [ourselves], that somebody will give it to us. …How many people are going to all kinds of places around the world? But that moment that you are already looking for; it’s already happened. You just have to recognize it. …Every moment that we are alive is a moment of miracle. It’s a moment of enlightenment. And we have to live like that, in that awe, in that place; that every moment is a moment that you can transform your life. You don’t have to wait to take ayahuasca, yagé, nátem, all the other stuff, to experience the transformation.”
As the psychedelic movement grows, more and more people are asking themselves: How can I get involved? What opportunities exist to work in psychedelics?
There’s also a growing number of people who work in psychedelics already and are asking themselves: How can I reach more people with my services? What are the risks of expanding what I offer? And how do I make sure I’m living my values and supporting the psychedelic movement as a whole?
Whether you want to work in psychedelics or already are, DoubleBlind’s virtual Working in Psychedelics Summit is for you. DoubleBlind is bringing together pioneers and thought leaders across the industry to help you understand this moment in psychedelic history—and the role you want to play in it.
As interest in psychedelic therapy continues to grow, many therapists and wellness practitioners are looking to incorporate these powerful substances into their work.
However, working with psychedelics in a practice is a unique and complex field that requires specific knowledge, skills, and experience. Approaching psychedelic work without careful preparation could result in unfavorable and even dangerous outcomes for the client seeking psychedelic therapy. If you’re considering adding psychedelic-informed services to your practice, here are some key things you need to know:
Understanding the History and Cultural Significance
Despite the recent resurgence of psychedelics in popular culture, people have been using psychedelics for a variety of reasons for thousands of years. While modern research and science have been informing much of our perspectives on psychedelic therapy, we do need to pay respect to the peoples who used these substances first. Do some historical research to familiarize yourself with how different cultures discovered and used psychedelics. Their techniques and cosmologies can be vastly different from the Western world, but these are important perspectives that can help you understand how these medicines and substances can work.
This understanding will provide you with crucial context of how to deal with certain themes of the psychedelic experience in therapeutic settings as well. For example, how do you navigate a conversation with a client about the spirit of ayahuasca showing up in their dreams before or after a ceremony?
Harm Reduction Techniques
Many people are turning towards psychedelics for healing and self-exploration. While there are many more resources out there nowadays, clients may still be coming to you with questions about their therapeutic potential. It’s important to learn and gain skills in basic harm reduction techniques, and to meet your clients where they’re at. It’s also important to analyze our own beliefs and biases around psychedelics and understand that these powerful substances are not for everyone.
Psychedelic therapy can bring about intense psychological, emotional, and physical experiences. Even if the practitioner or therapist has the best intentions, clients can experience harm in sessions. It’s crucial to be well-versed in this area to help mitigate any contraindications, adverse effects, or challenging experiences that may arise, so you’re able to stay calm, hold space, and know how to handle the situation.
Ongoing Education and Supervision
Despite mounting evidence that psychedelics can be effective for treating depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other mental health disorders, this is still typically not taught in universities. If you’re interested in getting more involved in this field and incorporating psychedelic-informed practices into your work, it’s important to seek out continuing education to receive comprehensive knowledge on how to work with psychedelics. Navigating Psychedelics For Clinicians and Wellness Practitioners is a place where thousands of people new to the field have started their psychedelic education. This nine-week online course is specifically designed for health and wellness practitioners who want to learn more about psychedelic medicine or wish to integrate psychedelic harm reduction and integration into their existing practice, and those beginning a new career in the emerging field of psychedelics.
Legal and Ethical Considerations
Depending on where you may be planning to practice, psychedelics may or may not be legal. The legal psychedelic landscape varies from region to region, from the substances themselves, to who can administer them, to who can receive them. Make sure to familiarize yourself with the legal status of psychedelic substances in your area, and – while we don’t condone breaking the law – ask yourself what degree of risk you’re willing to assume if the law prohibits the type of work you hope to do. It’s also essential to consider your license and scope of practice. You may be putting your license at risk by openly offering services that are illegal or not supported by your professional boards.
Networking with Experienced Professionals
Finding an established, experienced network of professionals who have worked with psychedelics can provide valuable mentorship and support. Consider joining established online communities, reaching out to other professionals, and engaging in conversations to start making connections. We can’t do this work alone, and having a solid network of peers and colleagues is important in this ever-evolving and quickly growing field. Courses like Navigating Psychedelics are a great way to meet others and begin establishing your network of like-minded individuals.
Develop Space-Holding Skills
If you’ve begun to research psychedelic therapy, you’ve likely already encountered the term ‘set and setting.’ While ‘set’ typically refers to the journeyer’s mindset, ‘setting’ refers to the physical and emotional environment in which the client will receive care (before, during, and after the trip). As a practitioner, it’s crucial to gain skills in trauma-informed practices, and to create a safe, supportive, and empathetic environment for your clients. Ensuring you do your part to hold a positive space can have a drastic impact on client success.
Empathy, Openness, and Non-Judgment
Getting rid of any judgment, and cultivating a strong sense of openness and empathy is crucial before working with clients. And once you’re certain you’re ready to work with clients in this way, ensure you make it clear to them that they can rely on you to be a non-judgmental support. You may become the only person like this in their life, and they will likely find great relief and comfort in knowing that you will accept them as they are. Creating and communicating this mindset helps foster a therapeutic space where your clients can feel safe to show up authentically, do the work, and heal.
Doing Inner Work
Personal experience with psychedelics or other non-ordinary states is highly valuable to inform a practitioner’s understanding of how to navigate these profound states of consciousness. Find a safe, structured, and supportive environment to have your own experiences, to gain valuable insight into what your clients may go through. If taking a powerful substance right away seems daunting to you, transpersonal breathwork is an easily accessible practice you can use to begin experimenting with non-ordinary states of consciousness. Cannabis, too, while not considered psychedelic in the classical sense, can be substituted and used in ceremony or with a therapist to recreate a typical psychedelic therapy session. Many practitioners are also gaining experience with ketamine through ketamine-assisted psychotherapy services. And if you’re interested in making meaningful personal changes as you explore a psychedelic career, consider joining an upcoming cohort of the Vital 12-month program. It was designed specifically for people ready to transform – not just professionally, but personally, too.
Taking the Next Step
If you’re ready to begin building an ethical and responsible psychedelic-assisted practice, decide what your next steps will be. Whether simply by starting slowly with further reading, listening to psychedelic podcasts, or taking a course on your own time, there’s no shortage of resources for you to begin your journey today.
In this episode, Johanna interviews Laura Reeves: Glastonbury-based facilitator and medicine woman trained in craniosacral therapy, somatic experiencing, breathwork, and more, who holds retreats at sacred sites in the U.K. and Peruvian Amazon.
She tells of her journey from serendipitously booking a trip to Ecuador just as she first heard about ayahuasca, to the early ayahuasca experiences that showed her our true interconnectedness, to a heroic dose of psilocybin and a trip to the hospital, to being accepted into training with an Indigenous shaman in the Amazon. With a lifelong love of nature, paganism, and ancient traditions, she stresses the importance of connecting to the natural rhythms of the Earth and harnessing its energy.
She talks about:
Self-initiated shamans and the dangers that can come from bad actors operating out of integrity and respect for the lineage
Ayahuasca as a purgative and the power of energetic clearings
Her experience with shamans using Icaros to channel the sounds of plants
Shadow work and its role in personal growth and healing
The energy of Glastonbury, feeling deep connections to sacred places, and how ley lines inspire places of pilgrimage
and more!
Notable Quotes
“I just walked off on my own, and I remember just standing there. And I started hearing the entire symphony of the rainforest and it was like no sound was a mistake. It was like I could see and feel the interconnectedness of every single sound and every feeling of every sound, and I just was there in this orchestra of nature. I guess that was [my first]] experience of this interconnectedness, the energy that kind of weaves between everything.”
“It’s great that these plants are awakening to awaken us now. But what’s unfortunate is a lot of people are then using it as an opportunity to make money, to be the shaman at the front of the ceremony, and they’re not prepared to do the work to actually be in integrity with these sacred lineages.”
“The way in which this other tradition works with the medicine is to drink ayahuasca without the DMT active substance (you still have visions, but it’s different), and then you drink warm water, and you’re literally just purging for about two hours. …And the way that I felt after this: It was like the medicine went down into the deepest parts of my body, into my cells, and just pulled out any toxins, any negative thoughts even, anything at all. And I felt completely clear and energized. My nervous system felt really reset at this point. …I was like: How can we create experiences just with the body where we can feel this depth of liberation and openness?”
Psychedelics Today is excited to team up with Holistic TherapeutiX to present our Psychedelic Cannabis + Transpersonal Breathwork Retreats happening from Oct. 20 to 25, 2024, at the Holistic TherapeutiX Center in Agoura Hills, CA. This retreat is all about exploring deep into the self, connecting with plant medicine, and bonding with like-minded individuals.
What to expect:
Connect: With the help of experienced guides, you’ll get to be part of a welcoming community where new friendships form and deep connections are nurtured.
Breathe + Journey: The retreat offers sessions that mix breathwork with psychedelic cannabis, aiming to expand your awareness and boost mindfulness.
Move + Learn: Take part in various activities like yoga, chanting, and fitness classes each day to boost your overall well-being.
Your Retreat Package Covers:
A 6-day, 5-night stay at the Holistic TherapeutiX Center
Two sessions each of Transpersonal Breathwork and Psychedelic Cannabis and Rebirthing Breathwork
Daily organic meals
Group transportation from the assigned pickup hotel to the retreat
Access to daily wellness activities
Keep in Mind: Your package doesn’t cover flights to LAX, hotel stays, transport outside the group’s schedule, cannabis, or travel insurance.
Where You’ll be: Immerse yourself in the serenity of the Santa Monica Mountains at the Holistic TherapeutiX Center. It’s a peaceful spot surrounded by nature, perfect for relaxation and personal growth.
Where to stay: Consider booking a room at the Courtyard Thousand Oaks Agoura Hills or the Good Nite Inn Malibu. Participants will need to organize their own accommodation.
Nourishment: Enjoy three daily meals crafted to nourish your body and soul. They cater to various dietary needs, enhancing your transformative journey.
Ready to dive into this special experience of self-discovery, connection with nature, and others? Secure your spot by clicking on this link.
Psychedelics Today is excited to team up with Holistic TherapeutiX to present our Psychedelic Cannabis + Transpersonal Breathwork Retreat, happening from April 28 to May 3, 2024 at the Holistic TherapeutiX Center in Agoura Hills, CA. This retreat is all about exploring deep into the self, connecting with plant medicine, and bonding with like-minded individuals.
What to expect:
Connect: With the help of experienced guides, you’ll get to be part of a welcoming community where new friendships form and deep connections are nurtured.
Breathe + Journey: The retreat offers sessions that mix breathwork with psychedelic cannabis, aiming to expand your awareness and boost mindfulness.
Move + Learn: Take part in various activities like yoga, chanting, and fitness classes each day to boost your overall well-being.
Your Retreat Package Covers:
A 6-day, 5-night stay at the Holistic TherapeutiX Center
Two sessions each of Transpersonal Breathwork and Psychedelic Cannabis and Rebirthing Breathwork
Daily organic meals
Group transportation from the assigned pickup hotel to the retreat
Access to daily wellness activities
Keep in Mind: Your package doesn’t cover flights to LAX, hotel stays, transport outside the group’s schedule, cannabis, or travel insurance.
Where You’ll be: Immerse yourself in the serenity of the Santa Monica Mountains at the Holistic TherapeutiX Center. It’s a peaceful spot surrounded by nature, perfect for relaxation and personal growth.
Where to stay: Consider booking a room at the Courtyard Thousand Oaks Agoura Hills or the Good Nite Inn Malibu. Participants will need to organize their own accommodation.
Nourishment: Enjoy three daily meals crafted to nourish your body and soul. They cater to various dietary needs, enhancing your transformative journey.
Ready to dive into this special experience of self-discovery, connection with nature, and others? Secure your spot by clicking on this link.
Psychedelics Today is excited to share with you the details of the Transpersonal Breathwork Retreat happening from July 9-14, 2024, at the River Mountain Retreat Center in Everett, PA.
This retreat is an opportunity for self-discovery, transformation, and forming deep connections with like-minded individuals.
Here’s what you can expect:
Connect: Engage in a supportive group process, forge new friendships, and build deep connections with others in a safe environment, all guided by experienced facilitators.
Breathe + Journey: Experience four sessions of Transpersonal Breathwork, which involve exploring consciousness expansion through integrated breathing techniques. This can lead to profound experiences and insights.
Move + Learn: Participate in daily classes and activities as part of our Wholebeing Framework. This includes yoga, meditation, chanting, and more – allowing you to move and learn in a variety of ways.
Nourish: Enjoy delicious, farm-to-table meals, a bee hive tour, honey tasting, and other culinary surprises throughout your stay.
Your retreat package includes:
6 days/5 nights at River Mountain Retreat Center
4 Breathwork sessions
Daily meals, honey class, and tasting
Guided hike, yoga, SoulCollage®, and more
Access to natural amenities like cedar soaking tubs
Group airport transfer from BWI
Taxes and gratuities
Please note that airfare, airport transfers outside the group schedule, and travel insurance are not included in the package.
The retreat setting is the serene River Mountain Retreat Center, surrounded by 150 acres of meadows, wetlands, and wooded hideaways. You can choose from private sleeping pods in shared cabins, fully accessorized glamping yurts, or off-grid platform tents for your stay – all designed to blend comfort with nature.
She talks about her early abduction experiences, the time when she and her father realized they were both being abducted at the same time (from different locations), and the horrifying experience of six beings entering her apartment and realizing she knew one of them. These experiences led her to Budd Hopkins, and eventually John Mack (who did regression work with her) and the John E. Mack Institute, where she became a peer mentor for abductees. She talks about the validity of alien abductions, the concept of spiritual ecology, and the importance of listening to people: There’s so much we don’t know, so is it fair to label experiencers as schizophrenic just because we can’t replicate the experience?
She discusses:
The commonality of people from the same family being abducted and why some people are lifetime abductees while others are only taken once
The differences in abductions and how some seem to only be mental while others are physical and extremely painful
The story of Linda Napolitano and the famous Brooklyn Bridge abduction
Regressive hypnotherapy work: Are the memories you’re recovering accurate?
Quantum biology, the Penrose-Hameroff quantum theory of consciousness, parallel realities, time travel, and quantum jumping
and so much more! As the X-Files made famous: The truth is out there. And this episode is definitely pretty out there!
Notable Quotes
“I’m so sad about how our religions say that there’s only one being that can help you, because there are lots of beings that will help you. I’m not mad with the one being that our Western worldview says– I’m not mad with him at all, but, you know, there are lots of beings. You just have to not be afraid.”
“When you go through alien abduction stuff, especially when you first do it, the stuff that you remember is nothing that you could come up with from a movie or from your life or from what you know about life, and the physical stuff that happens is so painful that it’s nothing that you would want to come up with. It’s not like ‘I wanted to have this glorious experience.’ …How in the world could a movie make you come up with that stuff when there are no movies about it because there are no words for it and there’s no ontology for it? And it’s so incredibly painful, why would you do that?”
“We don’t understand our own minds, we don’t understand consciousness, [and] we have a religiosity around understanding what ego is. I grew up thinking that ego is this terrible thing, and now I’m like, no, it’s here to keep you in your body. …It’s all about being safe in your body. And when you work with your consciousness, it’s kind of not a thing because it doesn’t matter where your body is or if you even have one. At all these different levels of consciousness, you’re going to find bodies all over the place, and eventually, this one is just really a temporary meat sack. So, you know: Get over it, ego.”
In this episode, Christopher Koddermann interviews Dr. Sam Banister: co-founder and chief scientific officer of Psylo, an Australian biotech company developing next-generation psychedelics.
Banister discusses how he got involved in drug development, how Psylo came about, and the hallucinogenic and non-hallucinogenic 5-HT2A agonists Psylo is working on. He talks about the compromise between immediate need and ambition, and the ethical considerations and possibilities behind developing non-hallucinogenic compounds: What can we take from the psychedelic experience for people who aren’t ideal candidates for one? Is the psychedelic experience truly necessary? And for what indications will these new Gen 3 compounds be most useful?
He discusses:
What we can infer about the volatility of biotech and the state of the psychedelic industry based on recent mergers and acquisitions
The long-term challenges of drug development and the scalability of treatment options
How the initial success of Spravato has played a role in allaying fears around new compounds
Head twitch response and concerns it’s not as accurate of a metric as we’ve believed
Australia’s decision to down-schedule psilocybin and MDMA, and the speed of implementation and licensing: How long will it be before people have easy access?
What he sees for the future and why we need to be careful with language around expectations
and more!
Notable Quotes
“I think the reality is, beyond any ethical consideration, there are just people who won’t want to have a psychedelic experience or are contraindicated because of other comorbidities, family history of psychoses, or other things. These are pretty challenging experiences for a lot of people, if you speak to participants in some of these trials. They’re not without risk. There are adverse events reported from these trials as well. So if we can see good efficacy for any given indication for some of these non-hallucinogenic agents, I absolutely think they will have value beyond whatever else is happening with psychedelic-assisted therapy.”
“Given the waiting times we have in the U.S., in parts of Europe, in Australia, and New Zealand as well, for psychiatrists, for psychotherapists; generally, I don’t see this as being something that will be resolved along the timelines that are needed for this to be a broadly accessible treatment for the numbers of patients who are going to need it. So I think that is probably the largest barrier, in my mind, to the broad deployment of these therapeutics.”
“I think this sort of unbridled enthusiasm needs a bit of a sense check, and I think people should be cautious in the language they use. …I think the communication to patients in this space needs to be done very carefully. These are not substances that are without risk. There are plenty of patients who can have very serious adverse events from psychedelics, and some of these can be persistent and quite problematic – more problematic than whatever disease they’re seeking to treat.”
So, you’ve had a psychedelic experience. And somewhere within the sensory avalanche, the perplexing interior narrative, and avoiding looking at your own face in the bathroom mirror, you (gasp!) may have actually learned something. But what comes next? How can you ensure to take the insights you gathered and apply them to your life? Enter psychedelic integration.
What is Psychedelic Integration?
The word ‘integration’ comes from the Latin word ‘integrare,’ which means to make whole or begin again. It also has French roots, from the word ‘intégration,’ which speaks to ‘bringing together parts of a whole.’
While the psychedelic community has yet to uniformly align on a single definition for integration, we can begin to understand it by acknowledging that psychedelics can help disrupt and loosen our rigid personality structures and long-held beliefs. Integration is about finding a middle ground, fixing the tears in our narratives, and becoming whole again.
Sounds simple, right? Simple, yes. Easy, maybe not. Psychedelic integration is both passive and active. It takes time, willingness, and effort to work through and re-live a psychedelic experience within the natural mind. It can involve taking a thorough inventory of the mind, body, and spirit, and challenging oneself to dig deep, get uncomfortable, and sometimes, make big changes.
But don’t panic. Integration is an extremely personal process and doesn’t look the same for everyone. Before getting started, get grounded, give yourself permission to take your time, and treat yourself with love, compassion, and patience.
Document Everything
Someone I used to work with is fond of saying “it doesn’t exist if it isn’t written down.” And while, for our purposes, he uses it in terms of project management, the same is true for psychedelic integration.
As soon as you’ve had a little breathing room from the most intense part of the trip – either before the psychedelic substance has worn off, or a few days after – begin journaling. Writing or recording the parts of the experience that stood out to you is a great place to start while the memory is fresh in your mind.
Whether in a blank notebook, or an intentionally designed psychedelic Integration Workbook, capturing those fleeting thoughts and feelings is often considered a foundational step in psychedelic integration. If a blank page feels a little daunting, check out our comprehensive guide to integrating psychedelic experiences, including meditation prompts, structured journaling exercises, and goal planning.
Find Someone to Listen
After a profound psychedelic experience, it’s often helpful to share your story with someone. Whether a therapist experienced in psychedelic integration, a trusted friend, or a member of a psychedelic community, finding a non-judgmental person to hold space for you is important.
The act of verbalizing your experience can help in processing and understanding it on a deeper level. Your experience may have included some anxiety, depression, and discomfort. It’s crucial to find a person who is open-minded (and did we mention, non-judgmental?), allowing you the space to explore your thoughts and feelings without steering them in any particular direction.
If your resources are limited, or there just isn’t anyone in your circle who fits the bill, consider contacting Fireside Project, a free helpline for peer support before, during, and after a psychedelic experience.
“(The volunteers) come to the experiences having had their own experiences, and desiring to hold space for others as they navigate their experiences and navigate their processing afterwards. They’re not doing therapy. They’re not diagnosing. They’re really with the person (the caller, the texter) as somebody who gets it,” Fireside Project founder Hanifa Washington told Psychedelics Today.
Depending on the intensity of your experience and the state of your well-being in the aftermath, finding a trained professional or a doctor may be necessary – especially if you’re in distress.
Do Your Homework
Psychedelic integration also involves educating yourself about the psychedelic experience. Dive into books, scientific research, and personal accounts that discuss psychedelics and their effects on the mind and body. Understanding the psychological, neurological, and spiritual aspects of psychedelics can provide a richer context to your experience.
To really dig into your integration, consider taking an online course. Navigating Psychedelics: Lessons on Self-Care and Integration was designed so you can learn at your own pace, with lessons on how to get the most out of your experience and integrate psychedelic experiences into your daily life.
These days, there is more psychedelic information available to curious people than ever before. While there can be a lot to wade through, it’s best to find a format that’s easy and compelling to digest. This knowledge can help in recognizing common themes and lessons that emerge in psychedelic experiences. Knowledge is power, and there’s a lot of it out there for you to discover.
Take Care of Yourself
Physical health plays a significant role in psychological and spiritual well-being, especially after a psychedelic experience. And if you’ve just had one, your body might have gone through the ringer.
Ensure you’re taking care of your body through proper nutrition, adequate sleep, and regular exercise. Activities you enjoy, like yoga, art, meditation, and nature walks can also be beneficial, helping to ground your experiences in the physical world. Remember, a healthy body is crucial for a healthy mind. Though you may often hear about mental and physical health discussed separately, they are one in the same.
Find the Others
Outside of a therapist or coach, connecting with others who have had similar experiences can be incredibly beneficial for psychedelic integration. Look for community groups, workshops, or online forums where people discuss their psychedelic experiences and integration processes. Sharing with and learning from others can provide different perspectives and insights, and also remind you that you are not alone in this journey.
And even if, for example, you’ve taken psilocybin, don’t discount the experiences of those who have used other substances, from 5-MeO-DMT to ketamine (and all substances in between). While the substances and effects on the body and mind may differ, many of the feelings that can arise and the outcomes can be eerily similar. Finding commonality with many others who use psychedelics for healing and betterment can offer support, understanding, and camaraderie as you navigate your own integration journey.
Don’t Overthink It
The morning after my first ayahuasca experience, I woke up to a text from a friend that read:
Try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now.
I didn’t fully embrace the sentiment of this quote, originally written by Austrian author Rainer Maria Rilke, until much later. My friend was gently urging me to avoid trying to decode the ayahuasca experience too quickly. I didn’t take this advice, and by the time I landed back in Canada, I decided the medicine was, without question, urging me to live with more gratitude. Maybe so, but maybe that wasn’t quite everything I could have learned, or even the most profound. Because I stopped asking questions, I closed the door to new insights.
“How beautiful that we have this access to deep knowledge of the universe through us, but we have to be quiet. We have to be quiet to hear the whispers of the heart. And when you become quiet, the whispers of the heart become louder and they start filling you in. Then you have to start believing it,” Dr. Michael Sapiro told Psychedelics Today.
Sometimes, psychedelic experiences can be colossal, endless, and enlightening.
And sometimes, they can also be underwhelming, unremarkable, and even boring. Resist the urge to define the ‘why’ too quickly after the substance has worn off. Take a beat, unpack it, and let it marinate in your mind for a bit before concluding its significance – there may be more (or less) there than you think.
One Step at a Time
Choosing to take psychedelics can be transformative, opening doors to new perspectives and deeper understanding of oneself. But remember, the true journey begins with integration — weaving these profound experiences into the tapestry of your daily life.
As you navigate this path, cherish the insights, embrace the challenges, and remember that psychedelic integration is meant to be a journey, not a destination.
In this episode, Joe interviews Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris: founder and head of the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London, founding director of the Neuroscape Psychedelics Division at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and founder of the Carhart-Harris Lab.
A legendary researcher, he talks about his psychedelic origins: studying Freud, Jung, and eventually Stan Grof and depth psychology to try and better understand the unconscious. He discusses the growth of psychedelics and the cultural shifts he’s noticed (especially in the U.S.), as well as what he’s working on today: researching the influence of psychedelics on set and setting by studying experiences in both enriched and unenriched environments.
He also talks about:
Plasticity: how he defines it, how it relates to critical reopening periods, and how it’s a fundamental thing that transcends the metrics we use to measure it
Early LSD studies, the nervousness surrounding he and David Nutt dosing Ben Sessa, and the youthful energy that kept them going
How plasticity could be exploited to help relieve chronic pain
The potential of psychedelics to help with fibromyalgia and anorexia
How psychedelic-assisted therapy brought care back to health care
and more!
UCSF is seeking survey volunteers, so if you’ve had more than three experiences with ketamine, MDMA, and psilocybin (must have experiences with all three) and want to contribute, do so here.
Notable Quotes
“In my school of thought, that’s not the problem, that’s the opportunity. When something makes sense but it’s abstract, I’m more led by the fact that it makes sense. The abstraction is an opportunity. It’s a richness, a fertility, and we can really dig into that.”
“You notice when people really put mindfulness to the aesthetic, and they lower the lights and with the music: it doesn’t take long and that much effort, really, before it starts to feel like really caring – like actively caring. And it is an intriguing thing to think that that’s absent in the default, you know? That’s a thing that a colleague said to me once; that she loved the fact that psychedelic therapy brought back care. As someone who went into the mental health care profession, she felt like she could care again, for the first time in a long time. And that was not just ok, that was really promoted and made easier in a sense by the paradigm.”
“There’s different hierarchical levels to these assumptions, but the assumptions are often the problem. They guide our experience of the world, but they can entrench us in certain ways, and that entrenchment can be really at the heart of a lot of psychopathology, a lot of mental illness.”
“I guess one thing I’ve discovered, which is fantastic, is just seeing how broad the community is here around psychedelics, and generationally as well. In London, it was really just a young generation, but here, it really transcends generations, and I really appreciate that. There’s something very normalized about psychedelics here that I started noticing very early on; that it was a topic of polite conversation. …That felt like a glimpse of how it will be, not just here, but elsewhere in the future.”
In this episode, Joe interviews Alyssa Gursky, LPC: artist, research associate and study therapist at the Social Neuroscience and Psychotherapy (SNaP) lab, and founder of Psychedelic Art Therapy LLC, which pioneers ketamine-assisted art therapy.
She talks about her first mushroom experience and how her art and creative process instantly felt different – how the judgment and concern about where the art was going disappeared and was replaced by a freedom; a return to a more childlike way of being, where all that mattered was the fun of the creative process, and expressing her inner world in art. They realized how much the creative process related to true embodiment and the ability to be fully present, and how healing it can be to simply be with other people and create art.
She talks about:
The power of being seen in a group, and how the bravery of one person can completely shift the group dynamic
The need for mentorship in the psychedelic space
The comfort and freedom found in affinity groups
The inspiring lives of Genesis P-Orridge and avant-garde filmmaker, Alejandro Jodorowsky
Rick Rubin’s ability to treat creativity as a spiritual act
and how attending a live wrestling event aligns with non-ordinary states.
Gursky is launching a virtual education and support group this March for anyone who wants to integrate art into client work or their own process. Visit her instagram for details.
Notable Quotes
“I used pastels pretty much the entirety of that whole first experience, and I was just so stunned at how much more freedom [I felt]. Like, there were concepts that I was learning, that your creative process is a reflection of your mind. And I felt like there was an observer really present, to where I remember drawing and there wasn’t this judgment of: ‘Well, what is this going to become?’ and ‘What am I doing with this?’ and ‘Should I have used that color?’ – this deep, neurotic, judgemental inner voice. But instead, it was just sensation.”
“When we’re not taking the time to process through what is in our bodies, we start to lose the ability to be present.”
“Psychedelics really help with this: helping people break through the veil of: just trust your impulses – that that artistic sublimation, the process of taking whatever is happening inside and allowing art to be a vehicle to have it on the outside: that is nervous system regulation. That is psychic healing, just to be like, ‘I kind of want to do that,’ and just trusting that. It seems like such a small act, but it’s such a big deal.”
“Art is helping us create the map of our psyche, and psychedelics are giving us wider access to that landscape. It feels like a match made in Heaven for me.”
In this episode, Joe interviews Matthew ‘Whiz’ Buckley: former decorated US Navy F/A-18 Hornet fighter pilot and now, founder and CEO of No Fallen Heroes Foundation, a non-profit focused on healing veterans and first responders with psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Buckley met Joe in D.C. while they were both campaigning for psychedelic therapy to any lawmaker they could speak with. He talks about how the government is spending a fortune on the military, but not paying the total cost, since so much of that is externalized onto the soldiers themselves. He points out how many of them care more about making money than saving lives, and how we need “We the people” moments to wake them up or remove them from office.
He discusses:
His time in the Navy and his transition back to civilian life, coming to terms with trauma and realizing how much was physical (including tinnitus)
His life-changing experiences under ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT with the Mission Within
How we should be teaching veterans about various mental health options (including psychedelic-assisted therapy) as part of their transition process
The signing of the National Defense Authorization Act and the disappointing amount of money reserved for psychedelic research: Was it all just lip service?
The complications that arise when trying to get benefits from the VA while also trying to move on: When honesty about mental health isn’t incentivized, when do you tell the truth?
His experience operating legally in Colorado and how he plans to stay on top of Governor Desantis to bring psychedelics to Florida
and more!
Notable Quotes
“The military does an incredibly good job of turning us into human beings that are capable of doing some pretty horrific things to another fellow human being. And then when they’re done with us, they do a pretty shitty job of transitioning us back to being a human. They pay lip service to it, but there’s no return in it: ‘Hey man, you’re getting out. You’re not our problem anymore. We’ve got to focus on the next generation of killers.’”
“If we can get our first responders healed along with our military, I think this world would be a better place. …These medicines have the potential to turn warriors into peacemakers. And maybe that’s also why they’re illegal; they need little uniform killing machines that don’t do critical thinking.”
“Veterans: it’s interesting because it’s a tough community. We don’t listen to advertising or bullshit or anything; it needs to come from another vet for anything to have credibility. So you know, a Marcus Luttrell or a me or a JT looking a bro or a sister in the eye and going: ‘Hey man, this is what happened to me.’ Even in the back of their mind, if they’re like, ‘What the? That’s insane,’ there’s still a lot more of: ‘I trust this person. They would not steer me wrong.’”
A collection of interviews, peer-reviewed research, and personal story; the book dives deep into the mind-body connection, how to become more embodied, and our need for social connection – which factors into mental and physical health far more than most of us realize. The nod to Michael Pollan’s book is also a challenge: Have we been focusing too much on our minds and now it’s time to pay more attention to our bodies? How much of the benefit of psychedelic experiences is related to truly experiencing our bodies?
She discusses:
How neuroscience is starting to look more at brain-body interactions, and the psychedelic space’s growing interest in somatics
The minimal and narrative selves: Do psychedelics make the minimal self traverse over the narrative self?
Flexible switching and applying interoception to a social context
Her concept of a ‘possibility space’ and new ways of perceiving
The benefit of adding embodiment practices to psychedelic assisted therapy – especially during preparation and integration
and more!
Notable Quotes
“I think people are familiar with the ways in which different compounds can influence the bodily self, so to speak. And it’s a really interesting idea that that, in and of itself (the modulation of your body or your experience of your body or how the body is represented by the brain): if that maps onto therapeutic outcomes, if that’s part of what’s so beneficial about these compounds – not just changing neural pathways in the brain, but actually giving you a different experience of yourself as an embodied organism in the world – I think this is a really interesting area to look into.”
“The minimal self is kind of just your basic feeling of being in a body, not necessarily tied to your identity. And the narrative self is like the story you tell yourself: who you are when you wake up in the morning, all of your memories, and kind of your life story. And it seems that there’s something going on with psychedelics where the minimal self: its influence sort of traverses over the narrative self, and we get an opportunity to be re-embodied in a way.”
“I don’t see a separation between a place of calmness within my body and the peace of the natural world. It’s the same quality to me. So if I’m standing, looking up at the stars at night in some beautiful remote place, that resonates inside me because it’s the same quality, if that makes sense. I feel it in my body so profoundly because it’s a reminder that my body is part of this greater profound stillness.”
With ayahuasca being cast into the spotlight, curious minds from all over the world are heading to Central and South America to experience it for themselves.
And while tales of profound healing are common, there exists a shadowy underbelly within the realm of such experiences – from the onset of psychotic episodes to acts of sexual exploitation.
So it begs the question: is ayahuasca the real deal? Can it profoundly change your life as the evangelists say, or is it just another fad that will fade if psychedelics fall out of the Western spotlight?
Over the last several years, my interest in exploring shamanic traditions led me to work closely with ayahuasca in Peru, Mexico, and Ecuador. I’ve sat in 20 ceremonies, and during a six-month period at a shamanic retreat center, I supported hundreds of individuals through their processes, witnessing various kinds of transformations.
Our left brain driven approach to understanding this medicine tends to fall short, as research and studies struggle to capture the subtleties and complexities of this undoubtedly strange but powerful teacher plant. Rather, we turn to tradition, ceremony, and wisdom passed down over countless generations to explore the consciousness-expanding properties of this plant medicine.
While ayahuasca shows promise in many cases, I want to emphasize that it’s not a miracle cure for anything. Not everyone benefits from it, and there are many instances where people are harmed by it. As with any psychedelic substance, many factors, most notably an individual’s physiology, intentions, circumstances, and location, influence the result.
So before we dive into some of the ways ayahuasca can change individuals, it’s important to preface: though I’ve witnessed and experienced positive change from ayahuasca, I’ve encountered individuals who suffered after consuming it.
For example, one woman reported frequent panic attacks following a ceremony. In another instance, I met a man struggling with bipolar disorder, who developed psychosis and required constant support post-experience. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to hear stories of sexual exploitation by shady shamans and cases of retraumatization.
Fortunately, I’ve mostly witnessed the positive side of this medicine, observing deeply transformational experiences that individuals have had on all levels of well-being.
Drawing from collective experiences and those of many people I worked with, here are some of the ways in which ayahuasca may bring about positive changes in individuals’ lives.
How Ayahuasca Affects the Physical Body
Ayahuasca has profound effects on consciousness, but it may also serve as a potent remedy for physical health. Whether it’s cleansing the body or restoring the brain to optimal function, there are many lesser-known physical health benefits this medicine carries.
Look at it this way: the body is a vessel, and the spirit prefers to live in a beautiful temple rather than a dilapidated mansion. This medicine cleanses this vessel to create space for the full expression of your soul.
Potential for Physical Cleansing
Ayahuasca is believed to remove impurities from the body, such as harmful toxins ingested from particular substances and products. While clinical research that validates this idea is lacking, some people have reported that ayahuasca detoxed their bodies from harmful medications and substances. The cleansing process involves purging, which can include vomiting, crying, sweating, and spontaneous rushes to the bathroom.
One man, who had previously worked with harmful chemicals, believed that ayahuasca flushed them out. Having suffered the long-standing consequences of radiation poisoning, he reported smelling those chemicals in his bucket after purging.
Purging serves as cleansing on a physical level, and it doubles up as an energetic release. After purging, many people report feeling much lighter on both a physical and emotional level.
Potential for Resetting Brain Chemistry
According to some individuals I worked with, ayahuasca helped restore their brain function to a more neutral state. This phenomenon was particularly evident in people with a history of substance abuse, where frequent use of specific substances resulted in physical and psychological imbalances.
These imbalances could manifest as hyperactivity, a lack of focus, mood swings, and depression. Some individuals displaying such behaviors reported feeling healthier following a ceremony, discovering a newfound sense of calmness and composure.
In the Be Conscious Podcast: Drug Addiction and the Power of Ayahuasca, Curandero Michael Thornhill, trained in the Noya Rao lineage, suggests that addiction often stems from deep-rooted trauma. Ayahuasca can aid in healing this trauma, eliminating the urge to escape reality via substance abuse. By considering substance abuse as a coping mechanism, ayahuasca has the potential to help individuals address the root cause, rendering the coping mechanism obsolete. However, an individual I encountered relapsed in the months following an ayahuasca retreat. This illuminates the necessity of ongoing support post-ceremony to solidify new habits and prevent reverting to old ones.
While ayahuasca holds promise, it’s a powerful medicine that can impact individuals differently, yielding unexpected results. Responsible exploration and informed decision-making are crucial when considering its use for addiction recovery, with a strong support network following the experience being necessary.
Potential for Clearing Bodily Dysfunctions
Ayahuasca’s physical effects may go beyond potentially cleansing the body; it may assist individuals dealing with persistent bodily dysfunctions. These issues can span the digestive system, sexual organs, respiratory system, and even nervous system dysregulation.
Several women I spoke to reported experiencing regulation of their menstrual cycle following a ceremony. This suggests that ayahuasca may contribute to restoring our bodies to a more optimal function.
It’s noteworthy that many individuals who believed these dysfunctions to be lifelong conditions have experienced a contrary outcome with ayahuasca. While an ayahuasca ceremony isn’t a substitute for seeking medical advice or treatment, I have witnessed instances where ayahuasca has contributed to the healing of stubborn dysfunctions that individuals have accepted as a part of themselves.
How Ayahuasca Affects the Mental Body
The mental body encompasses the realm of the mind, a powerful tool for organizing your reality. However, the mind is susceptible to wear and tear.
Thoughts, mentalities, and beliefs about the world and oneself originate from the mind. Limiting belief systems can hinder reaching your full potential, as the quality of your thoughts lays the foundation for your life experience.
Needless to say, the mind has a huge influence on well-being. When it’s not functioning optimally, it can contaminate your reality. Ayahuasca, in this context, accesses the roots of perception, resulting in a healthier outlook on life.
Deconstructing Outdated Programming
A potential benefit of ayahuasca lies in its potential to deprogram harmful beliefs and perceptions. During youth, we often absorb information without discernment, forming the foundations of our reality. This can result in a warped or disadvantageous perception of reality, and of ourselves.
For instance, an individual might have developed an aversion to strangers due to parental advice. They may have formed the belief that money is a scarce resource or that humanity is a lost cause, ultimately leading to a reduced quality of life. While these beliefs may have served a purpose at some point, they often become burdensome if not discarded.
Ayahuasca has the potential to bring awareness to our deeply held beliefs, providing an opportunity to replace them with healthier perspectives that enhance one’s life. This may include embracing the belief that change is exciting or recognizing everyone’s potential to experience abundance regardless of their circumstances.
Following a transformative ceremony, an individual chose to reconnect with his estranged father after a decade of avoiding contact. He revealed that during the ceremony, he gained a fresh perspective on the situation, leading to the dissolution of long-standing resentment.
Illuminating Limiting Belief Systems
One’s belief systems play a crucial role in navigating life experiences. Those with spiritual beliefs will likely have a different perspective than those who identify as atheists. These differing belief systems contribute to distinct understandings of mortality, morality, and principles for leading a happy life.
Some people who experienced ayahuasca reported a shift in specific belief systems, most notably the fear of change. They expressed being more at peace with life changes and that they no longer felt the associated anxiety.
Additionally, a common experience reported among individuals was a deepening of curiosity about life after death. Many described significant realizations and insights into their personal lives. It became evident to me through hearing these stories, that ayahuasca can help many individuals connect the dots and perceive certain events in their lives from a different perspective.
Changes to Your Self-Perception
During challenging times, it’s common to criticize oneself. Small mistakes can be magnified into perceived failures, leading to a diminished sense of self worth. This negative self-view can set life on a downward spiral, as our life experiences often mirror our internal landscape.
Feelings of self-worthlessness were common issues faced by individuals I supported during ceremonies. Many of them reported that ayahuasca illuminated the origins of this distorted self-perception. This awareness allowed them to begin empowering themselves and working on their self image.
The Emotional Body
Emotions serve as a powerful medium through which we experience life. The ups and downs, joy and despair, love and heartache are essential to prevent life from becoming mundane. However, life can also be brutal.
The emotional body represents your connection with feelings. A healthy emotional body means being in touch with feelings, allowing you to be in harmony with your emotions and experience the world in its full colors.
Many people have turned to ayahuasca when grappling with emotional issues like repressed anger and resentment. In many of these cases, ayahuasca illuminates healthier ways for people to experience and express their emotions.
Some individuals may realize the repercussions of bottling up their anger, prompting them to seek healthier outlets for expression. Others might correlate their lack of assertion with childhood experiences of walking on eggshells, leading to an understanding of the importance of speaking up and asserting oneself.
Ayahuasca, as a sacred medicine, is renowned for healing the emotional body, enabling individuals to feel the amazing spectrum of life. With that said, here are a few ways ayahuasca works on the emotional body.
Removing Emotional Baggage
In my experience, a common reason why people seek out ayahuasca is to release painful emotions linked to past experiences. I’ve seen individuals struggle to move on from past circumstances, then continue to suffer as a result.
Significant unaddressed past trauma can potentially lead to adverse physical and emotional effects. If the trauma remains unhealed, its manifestations often accumulate as emotional baggage, described by many as a weight or burden.
As highlighted in a HealthCentral article by Lisa M. Basile and Jessica Rodriguez, trauma can have lasting effects on both physical and mental health, leading to conditions like chronic autoimmune illness, heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer.
Within conventional medicine, symptoms are often addressed, but the root cause is not, prompting individuals to seek out traditional alternatives for a holistic approach to healing. Ayahuasca is renowned for helping people identify the root cause of their issues rather than alleviating symptoms, which can lead to genuine healing and growth.
Notably, I’ve worked with individuals who harbored long-standing resentment from childhood abuse, shame from childhood abandonment, and grief from past relationships. Some expressed feeling lighter after addressing the root cause of their pain during ayahuasca journeys, such as the fear of being alone. I witnessed significant transformations in individuals who claimed to have let go of the past by addressing the trauma associated with specific memories.
Clearing Deep-Rooted Trauma
The notion that one sitting with ayahuasca is equivalent to years of therapy attracts many seeking healing from trauma. In my time working with ayahuasca, I supported people who endured extremely traumatic events such as rape, physical abuse, and the loss of children. Some also grappled with war-related PTSD. Despite years of therapy and medication, many became disillusioned by these approaches, prompting them to explore every healing modality under the sun. For some, ayahuasca became a last resort.
Several individuals who suffered severe trauma reported turning a new leaf in their lives after engaging with the medicine. While ayahuasca cannot rid the pain associated with losing a loved one, those experiencing grief expressed feeling more at peace following a ceremony. A few even believed they had connected with their loved ones in spirit, providing closure.
If ayahuasca has a reputation for anything, it’s helping find light amid life’s tragedies. Needless to say, this isn’t always the case, and a single session may not be enough to facilitate deep healing on this scale. I have also witnessed cases where people became more disillusioned after taking ayahuasca, underscoring the importance of integration and support.
Removing Emotional Blockages
Many issues we face are manifestations of emotional blockages, which come in various forms and result in different emotional challenges. Essentially, a blockage prevents you from fully experiencing life.
Common blockages include struggles with love arising from issues with the heart, avoidance of intimacy and sexual expression due to sexual blockages, challenges in holding authority, and difficulties with self-expression, often leading to an inability to open up.
Past experiences can cause people to build an “emotional dam” as a protective mechanism. For instance, if you had an abusive partner, you might lose the spark for romance. If your parents scolded you for expressing certain needs or desires, you might find it challenging to express yourself later on in life.
In this sense, ayahuasca can act like a drain cleaner, restoring the flow. During ceremonies, individuals often experience the opening up of different parts of themselves and the resurrection of specific feelings that were long buried.
The Spiritual Body
Reality is like an onion, where what we perceive is but a tiny figment of an incomprehensibly grand system. Energetically, we’re always tethered to other dimensions of experience, and our consciousness is thoroughly rooted in them.
Like a tree growing from its roots, your life experience manifests from your soul nature. This is what your spiritual body signifies – your consciousness in its entirety. Your entire reality is a manifestation of your consciousness.
Ayahuasca affects the deepest layers of who you are because, in shamanic traditions, it’s not a drug, it’s not even a psychedelic. “Mother ayahuasca” is a spirit – a conscious, highly intelligent entity that exists within these higher dimensions.
With that said, we’re going to look into the spiritual component of ayahuasca and explore how this medicine can help people tap into their core nature to recreate their reality.
Seeding New Philosophies and Ways of Being
Ayahuasca can be a humbling experience that can allow an individual to step outside their body, mind, and emotions, exploring the deepest layers of self. This opens the door to a whole new world of possibilities, unseen through the clutter. While you will return to reality, what you experienced can never be forgotten.
Ayahuasca can plant new seeds, which if tended to, can flourish in many ways. It can guide individuals to cultivate new ways of understanding our place on this planet, fostering a deeper sense of meaning. Whether it imparts lessons on not taking life so seriously, unveils death as another chapter, or empowers us to become the creator of our life experiences, the insights gained have the potential to drastically improve the quality of our lives.
Cultivating a Deeper Connection with Spirit
Many turn to ayahuasca to help them find meaning in life, seeking answers to questions about who they truly are and why they’re here. The majority of people I’ve encountered sought spiritual exploration through ayahuasca, while others were drawn to it by a deep interest in the afterlife.
For many people who drink this medicine, it steers them toward a journey of discovery. They seek to understand the mysteries of their experiences, to comprehend why they’re here, and to distinguish truth from illusion.
This quest for understanding propels people further down the rabbit hole of self-discovery, nurturing a deeper connection with spirit. As a result, people who take ayahuasca typically open up to different modalities, bodies of information, and practices that they may not have been interested in before.
Although some believe that ayahuasca is solely a drug-induced experience, I found the majority of people who sit with the medicine are convinced that it’s a bridge to hidden realms of consciousness. Many people reported that ayahuasca reinforced their spiritual beliefs, while others stated the experience created spiritual beliefs.
This newfound path often creates a sense of peace in individuals’ lives, allowing them to ultimately recognize their true nature, as souls having a human experience – conjuring feelings of relief and inspiration.
Raising Your Vibration
Ayahuasca’s beauty lies in its capacity to help evolve us into our best selves while showing us the abundance of happiness accessible to all. After all, that’s what the journey is about – discovering the master within, who has an unlimited plethora of wisdom that can be tapped into.
With wisdom, one realizes that happiness is synonymous with love and that destructive behavior grows from suffering. Ayahuasca has the potential to help in recognizing these fundamental truths, significantly impacting well-being and happiness by steering individuals away from attitudes, beliefs, and feelings associated with suffering.
People commonly report increased gratitude after participating in an ayahuasca ceremony. In my own experience, ayahuasca helped shape a “glass half full” perspective, and many others reported feeling more optimistic afterwards. The medicine is often mentioned for its ability to alleviate the fear of death and the unknown, a common motivation for seeking it out.
However, ayahuasca can also cause unwanted effects, including retraumatization. One individual I supported felt existential dread following a retreat, and another reported frequent panic attacks in the months that followed. Feelings of disorientation or confusion after a ceremony underline the necessity of integration work.
These newfound outlooks must be actively maintained or the potential of reverting to old patterns is likely. Without the right support or motivation to follow through with newly developed attitudes, many individuals regress.
This illuminates the importance of seeking out proper support following an ayahuasca experience, especially during the delicate stages post-ceremony, before new outlooks and behaviors have settled.
Remember: Your Mileage May Vary
Ayahuasca is a powerful plant medicine, but it’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. While it can be blissful, it can also be vivid, intrusive, erratic, and extremely weird. I have had experiences where I felt deeply disconnected from my mind and body, thrust into an incomprehensibly complex and bizarre alien world. Without a thorough understanding of your mental ecosystem, it’s easy to see how the experience can overwhelm people, potentially causing more harm than good.
Given the multitude of factors involved, it’s important not to view ayahuasca as a miracle cure. I’ve met many who believed ayahuasca would do the work for them, only to be disappointed. Ayahuasca serves as an aid; the individual does the work. It may reveal what needs attention, but the effort to address those aspects is up to the individual. It might illuminate a better path, but you must then walk it.
The experience is not a walk in the park or an observation of pretty patterns. The healing process can be extremely difficult requiring a certain level of mental preparedness. It often involves vomiting, reliving trauma, and confronting one’s demons that some may be ill-prepared for.
Given the vulnerability during these experiences, finding a safe and reputable location to take the medicine is paramount. Sitting with shamans who don’t have your best intentions in mind is a potentially dangerous recipe that should be avoided at all costs.
Furthermore, it’s important to acknowledge that the experience is unique to every individual. Approach the medicine with an open mind, understanding that the experience is different from typical portrayals, and each experience is unique. While it may cause significant shifts in healing, it can also leave you confused or underwhelmed.
While there is a degree of consistency with many psychedelics, ayahuasca is a powerful medicine of its own, with results varying drastically. My best advice: don’t expect the medicine to automatically heal you. However, if you approach it with the best intentions, well-prepared to enter the darker chasms of your subconscious, it may change your life in ways you might never predict.
In this episode, Joe interviews Steve Rio: psychedelic guide, performance and transformation coach, musician, and co-founder of Enfold, a retreat center in BC, Canada.
While Enfold caters each experience to each client, they largely work with 5-MeO-DMT (which is unregulated in Canada); partly because of its power, and partly because Rio realized how much was missing in terms of safety and process when using the substance. They are trying to fill in the gaps, working with the University Health Network Centre for Mental Health to analyze measurements of mindfulness, DAS tests, the Brief Inventory of Thriving survey, and language used when describing experiences to collect as much qualitative data as possible. He discusses their screening process, why they work with synthetic 5-MeO-DMT, why they encourage everyone to go to a group session, and how 5-MeO seems to bypass psychological processes and largely be related to somatic release.
He talks about:
The power of 5-MeO and being humble and honest with yourself: Are you stable enough to handle the dysregulation?
5-MeO bad actors and ‘Drive-by 5’ people who show up, do the drug, and leave
The plight of Sonoran Dessert toads and the need for more data around their declining populations
How 5-MeO seems to connect people with a higher power, and the need for the experiencer to find their own context for it
The importance of creating a clean and open container for spirituality and meeting the client where they are
and more!
Notable Quotes
“I think inserting any type of dogma is not really helpful in taking people through a psychedelic experience. I think there are some core basic principles around love, around compassion, around forgiveness, that I think everyone can agree with, but I think beyond that, it’s important for everybody to be able to contextualize their experience in the framing that feels right to them. …We try and create the clearest and simplest container for spirituality that allows for the depth of spirituality, but doesn’t necessarily try and say spirituality is one thing or another, because frankly, that’s a very personal choice.”
“These toads have quickly become close to extinct. And the whole region is in turmoil because of people coming to harvest toads. There’s cartel activities. I think there’s human safety risks, I think there’s animal safety risks. And once you work with synthetic, you realize that there’s so little difference between Bufo Alvarius and synthetic that it makes no sense to be working on healing, transformation, and consciousness expansion at the expense of this beautiful animal.”
“The more people can open up in a group setting, I think that’s an incredibly healing practice – to be able to be vulnerable, to be able to be heard, to hear other people’s stories and realize you’re not alone. To hear yourself in others is really powerful. I think, ultimately, the deepest healing does happen in community.”
In this episode, Joe interviews Ayize Jama-Everett: author, educator, filmmaker, and therapist with a long history of work in substance use and mental health services.
When Jama-Everett was last on the show, “A Table of Our Own” – a film focusing on healing, psychedelics, and bonds within the Black community – was still in its infancy. It’s now complete, and he and others behind the film are touring with it, with showings coming up in Detroit, LA, and Boston. A free follow-up discussion hosted by CIIS’ Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research is happening Feb. 15, and, from February 15-16 only, the film is available to rent online.
He gives his full origin story: growing up around substance use, how he got into therapy and healing people through journeys, how “A Table of Our Own” came about, and how it was influenced by mushrooms. Then he discusses a lot more, with a much-needed critical eye:
His experiences with some notorious bad actors in the facilitation space
Decriminalization and how we celebrate small wins while ignoring steps back
Drug exceptionalism, the Drug War, and the demonization of crack
Power dynamics and the dangerous concept of letting go
Why the Black community is so skeptical of psychedelics
And he talks about why it’s so important to meet people where they are – that what works for one person or one community won’t necessarily work for another, and the above-ground, corporatized, overly medicalized model will never work for everyone.
Notable Quotes
“I’m about to crawl back underground after this, I think. …This above ground shit is, by and large, for the birds. …There’s so many people now doing psychedelics and stuff, right? I would assume, given the promises, that there’d be more ethical people out there. There’d be more people with less ego. There’d be more women in charge, there’d be more queer people in charge, there’d be more people of color in charge. But it just seems like the same white corporate dudes. It’s like they’re talking about an app. …I want to just be of service to the people that need it and not deal with the rest of this bullshit.”
“The whole decrim thing in general: I feel like when decrim isn’t married with all substance use, then I don’t know what the hell we’re talking about.”
“When we talk about access, we’re talking about insurance. Dude, I barely have insurance. Insurance reimbursement? You want a revolution and you start with insurance reimbursement? What? How does that make any [sense]? Was Martin Luther King marching across that bridge in Selma, being like, ‘We are going to have insurance reimbursement for [everyone]?’ No. That is not where you meet people. That is the last fucking thing. That is the blip at the end. People are dying. People are killing themselves. …People who are seriously struggling don’t give a fuck about insurance.”
“You’re sitting here, taking all of this stuff and you’re putting it in the context of pathology: Something has to be wrong in order for you to take this, so that it can be corrected. Actually, maybe things are alright, and this is the way of joining.”
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Hosted by Fungi Academy, the Sacred Mycology Summit aims to inspire and educate fungi lovers all over the world. Together with 20+ thought leaders and citizen scientists, including Dennis McKenna and William Padilla-Brown, they will explore the realms of mycology, psychedelics, and permaculture.
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He tells his story of growing up in a house where academics like John Mack and Carl Sagan regularly smoked cannabis, and being inspired by the groundbreaking books of his father, Lester Grinspoon. An outspoken advocate for drug policy reform and embracing different, non-AA paths to recovery, he talks about how he got there: his opiate addiction, fall from medicine, subsequent return, and learning just how deep the stigma against drugs goes, and how much the medical establishment is another arm of the Drug War. Seeing Through the Smoke aims to tell the truth about cannabis, especially on benefits and real and debunked harms. How can we get more physicians and lawmakers on our side if all they know is propaganda?
He discusses:
-The challenge in speaking honestly with physicians about drug use
-Why physicians are in support of researching psychedelics but not cannabis
-Stigmatized language and Drug War vibes in medical software
-The truth about cannabis, schizophrenia, and the risk of drug-induced psychosis
-Portugal and the ‘Rat Park’ model
-The importance of listening to what patients are saying – especially when we don’t have enough good data
and more!
Notable Quotes
“My dad got John Mack and Carl Sagan together so that Carl can convince John that UFOs aren’t actually real. And apparently, it got very heated, and John Mack yelled at Carl Sagan: ‘You’re being too cartesian!’ So I had a very weird childhood. I mean, all these people were smoking pot frequently in my house when I was growing up, and I grew to associate cannabis with intellectual discussion and very motivated people. I had a very different experience with it than I think it’s fair to say most people did.”
“Back then, the psychiatrists were all completely against psychedelics and people were not at all in favor of medical cannabis. I did my senior presentation as a resident on medical cannabis in the year 2000 (23 years ago), and everybody thought I was so eccentric. And they thought that this was the latest fad, like beta carotene or Omega-3 whatever. And now it’s fun because the same doctors who thought I was eccentric are referring patients to me.”
“94% of Americans support legal access to medical cannabis at this point. …Who’s against medical marijuana? I mean, come on, someone’s dying of cancer; give them some medical marijuana. And again, the AMA still puts it in derogatory quotation marks. So does the American Psychiatric Association. They put ‘medical marijuana’ in these derogatory quotation marks, like, ‘This is just something that only an ignorant patient would believe.’ …I wish they’d just have a little bit more humility and a little bit of interest in rethinking their positions.”
In this episode, Joe interviews Dr. Kate Pate: Ph.D. neurophysiologist; Founder and CEO of Coruna Medical; founding board member of the Psychedelic Medicine Association; and Founder of The Way Back, a company that will provide education and coaching services related to military, veteran, and first responder health – often in wilderness settings.
She talks about her introduction to psychedelics through the Heroic Hearts Project, where she later served as an integration coach and director of research, looking at psilocybin for traumatic brain injury symptoms, and how the gut microbiome changes after ingesting ayahuasca. She points out that gut health hasn’t been a focus of research, but it’s now emerging as a key indicator of physical and mental health. So, how do psychedelics, particularly plant-based ones, come into play? Are the long term shifts after an experience related to a change in the bacteria inside of us?
She breaks down what a microbiome is and how it changes based on diet; how inflammation is created and the inflammatory cascade that happens after a head injury; how toxins create a stress response similar to an allergic reaction; the frustrations of vets and the limited resources of the VA; the commonality of substance and alcohol use disorders in people coming home from service; the many nonprofits she’s worked with; and how important it is to increase science funding from the government.
Notable Quotes
“There’s a very clear shift in the microbiome population in the individuals who consumed ayahuasca, and it seems to be correlated with the improvements seen afterwards. …I do think that, especially with the psychedelics that are ingested and that come from plants, really, there’s a direct impact on the gut, and I think that can be really beneficial. …There’s an experience that lasts a certain period of time, but there are these long-term changes that persist. And what’s mediating that? Is it just the psychological experience, the spiritual experience? Is it physiology? Are we talking about shifts in the gut or other things controlling inflammation? My suspicion is that it’s all of the above, but we can’t negate the physiological component.”
“Gut health and the GI system used to be sort of like this thing that nobody really cared about. It was not the sexy, fun topic. It was sort of an afterthought of like, ‘It digests your food, that’s all it does.’ And now, it’s the star of the show. I mean, there’s so much to understand and learn there that regulates everything about our physical and mental health, that I think it’s really the target of research in the future.”
“If you eat a Western diet and you drink a lot of alcohol, you’re likely going to have the type of bacteria that colonize the gut that thrive in those kind of conditions, which are more pro-inflammatory. So not only can the bacteria themselves signal the immune system directly, but the metabolites that they’re producing can be very inflammatory and toxic. And that can cause leaky gut, it can influence our nervous system, it can influence our immune system. And all of that can affect, ultimately, mental health, because mental health; all these anxiety and depression-like symptoms and disorders are very highly correlated with inflammatory conditions.”
It was a cold, late afternoon in early January of 2022. I left my apartment as I had done countless times before. My destination was a church’s analytical lab, where I was involved in an ongoing psilocybin experiment.
Upon arriving at the warehouse, I parked my car in the familiar spot and headed into the lab. However, on this particular day, a strange feeling of impending doom crept up my spine as I approached the large roll-up door. Dismissing my intuition as an inconvenient interruption, I continued into the lab to work alone.
Inside, the deafening roar of the chemical-resistant fan that powered the fume hoods made it difficult to hear anything. But amid the noise, a destructive crash from somewhere in the building caught my attention. The sight of charred and mangled cars outside the warehouse did little to ease my growing concerns.
As darkness descended on the warehouse, I ventured toward the commotion. Frantic flashlight beams pierced through gaps in the large wooden roll-up doors leading to the loading bay. Through a small hole in the paneling, I witnessed a scene that sent shivers down my spine: heavily armed officers in bulletproof vests, armored helmets, and automatic weapons.
Disbelief washed over me as the officers repeatedly commanded me to open the doors. Still in shock and peering through the small hole in the paneling, I asked to see a search warrant. The response was swift and brutal, with the barrage of a battering ram shaking me from my stupor. As I was knocked to the floor along with shards of the door, the reality of the situation began to sink in.
I allowed the police inside, and the warehouse doors gradually rose to reveal a team of heavily armed officers in the loading bay. I was searched, cuffed, and placed face down on the hood of a police cruiser, surrounded by a fleet of police vehicles in the cold winter night.
Down the Rabbit Hole: How it All Began
As the cold settled into my chest, I reflected on everything that had led to this moment.
From an early age, I witnessed the tragic effects of addiction, compulsion, and mental affliction in my loved ones. This led me down a path of fascination with medicinal chemistry, introspective psychonautics, and the healing journey. I spent years immersed in laboratories, pushing the boundaries of my own limitations. But beneath my ambitions lay unprocessed trauma, and I was ultimately neglecting my own needs.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, I found connection with a community rooted in Kabbalistic Judaism. This diverse group (editor’s note: name withheld) embraced holistic practices, including holotropic breathwork, yoga, artistic expression, nature retreats, and guided ceremonies with psychedelic mushrooms as its sacrament. This religious nonprofit prioritized safety, with a doctor available at all times and thorough participant screening.
Recognizing the inherent variability in mushroom potency, the group sought to standardize their psilocybin sacrament. They launched an extensive cultivation and breeding project, and in the spring of 2021, I moved to Denver to support their efforts.
Over months, we transformed an empty warehouse into a 2,000-square-foot laboratory equipped with advanced analytical instruments. With chest freezers filled with freshly frozen, vacuum-packed psychedelic mushrooms, our goal was to extract, purify, and analyze the sacrament to determine its potency and enable consistent dosages.
Contributing to the safety of the congregation while delving into a subject close to my heart felt like a dream come true. My journey, marked by my biological father’s overdose, the study of Alexander Shulgin’s work, 18 months of immunosuppressive chemotherapy, and my near-participation in a MAPS clinical trial, had brought me full circle. I was now actively involved in a movement of compassion, community, and cooperation—a movement that offered solace and respite from the cruelties of modern life.
The Legal Conundrum
Despite my willingness to support the church’s mission, I hadn’t blindly walked into it. My legal counsel and the synagogue’s had cited multiple case precedents and interpretations of the law supporting the church’s actions as a legal and legitimate form of religious expression.
However, this thin veil of safety was torn apart as officers tore through the church’s facility, uncovering chest freezers filled with large frozen mushrooms. I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing: my arrest for sacramental mushrooms that didn’t belong to me, at a publicly registered and openly advertised religious nonprofit, in an era where psilocybin mushrooms were gaining recognition for their potential medical benefits and safety compared to alcohol or cannabis.
Despite my disbelief, the fact remained: I was bent over the hood of a police cruiser in a lab coat, surrounded by bags of mushrooms in the dead of night.
In an act of desperation, I chose to cooperate with the police, explaining the mission of the church, the foundational practices of Kabbalistic Judaism, and the purpose of the church facility they had raided.
It took two hours to fully explain my circumstances on record, and I could sense that the investigating officers were shocked by my story. Even for seasoned narcotics detectives, arresting a professional chemist with kilograms of wet psychedelic mushrooms at an advanced laboratory operated by a nonprofit Jewish synagogue was far from ordinary.
After the interview, I was told that the officers would investigate my claims by verifying the existence of the church and its community of over 300 congregants. For now, I was placed on investigative hold and sent to the city jail. As I was transported, the officer driving the cruiser expressed interest in my religious beliefs and confessed a desire to try psychedelics. I couldn’t resist informing the officer that the synagogue welcomed all without prejudice, should they ever choose to attend a ceremony.
The Reality of Incarceration
Upon arrival at Denver City Jail, I was processed, screened for COVID-19, and kept in a temporary holding room until a prison cell was ready. My court hearing was scheduled for the following morning, with release expected later that day. I changed into the orange scrubs of an inmate under the watchful gaze of a corrections officer who snickered at my visible discomfort.
Not long after I climbed into the top bunk above a fellow inmate, a nurse arrived to administer Suboxone to the man below me. Unfortunately, the inmate hit his head on the metal bed frame, opening a bloody gash, which went unnoticed by the medical staff. After administering the dose, the nurse advised the inmate to stay in jail until the effects of the Suboxone had dissipated, and then promptly left him in a sleepy stupor. He was released from prison hours later, without his glasses or cellphone, potentially unaware of the overdose risk he faced if he decided to use opiates again.
Moments after the nurse’s departure, a small wad of discarded paper appeared from underneath the cell door. It was a note from an inmate in the adjacent cell who had overheard the nurse administering Suboxone. The inmate offered coffee, sugar, and other commissary treats in exchange for more Suboxone. Although I was given a mangled pen shaft to respond, I had to disappoint the inmate by explaining that the drugs weren’t mine to give in the first place, and they were already gone.
Despite what I’d been told, I was not released the following morning. Uncertain hours dragged into days as I languished in jail, unable to speak to anyone outside.
Despite the challenges of incarceration, I found an anchor in the flimsy pen shaft I’d been given my first night behind bars. Throughout sleepless nights, I covertly journaled my experiences in the margins of my intake paperwork, holding the makeshift pen and papers out of sight from the guards. I began to notice the details of my surroundings—the layers of stained paint on the cinder block walls, the rank, humid smell of suffering and shame in the air. Desperate for news, I asked for an update from a corrections officer delivering the evening meals, but received only laughter in response.
My dreams were haunted by vivid visions of a court trial, conviction, and sentencing. Yet, amid the nightmares, I experienced a spontaneous endogenous psychedelic dream state that offered a glimmer of hope and resilience.
Pretrial Observation
Finally, I was released. Over the days that followed, the fleeting relief I felt upon leaving prison quickly decayed into anxiety and agoraphobia. Loud noises, emergency vehicle sirens, and media depictions of police officers triggered episodes of post-traumatic stress. Despite years of applying various psychotherapeutic methods for my own healing, and weekly support from a therapist, I struggled to remain emotionally present and descended into a deeply dissociative depression.
As an accused felon under mandatory pretrial observation, I was unable to leave the state of Colorado without court approval and had to check in with the assigned pretrial officer after every court hearing. Any attempts to secure employment were thwarted by the glaring red flag of a level one drug felony on my background check. Career opportunities that had been secured months prior were abandoned in light of the investigation. Even driving for Lyft was no longer an option.
In this haze of rejection and persecution, I received the support of family and friends, notably my civil attorney, Robert Rush, who connected me with Sean McAllister, a well-known champion of psychedelic and social justice local to Denver. His confidence and thorough understanding of the law were critical to the ongoing court proceedings and gave solace to my shattered sense of security in the future.
Sean and I reviewed hundreds of pages of documents and photos from discovery over the next few months. Just weeks after the arrest, I was reading various reports from officers describing their firsthand experiences arresting, detaining, and interviewing me, along with my mugshot, fingerprints, and a full transcript of the phone calls I made from prison. Working through the crippling weight of anxiety and deeply triggering nature of reviewing evidence, I attempted to offer insights and interpretations that eventually became integral to our initial argument for full dismissal of the criminal charges.
Despite seemingly insurmountable support for a guilty verdict and the shame I had internalized through the trauma of these experiences, I held onto the conviction that this criminal accusation was merely a relic of vestigial legislation. The misinformation and outright lies seeded by prohibitionist narratives since the advent of the War on Drugs had blossomed into burgeoning tendrils of prejudice and ignorance that stemmed throughout the criminal justice system and ensnared countless victims in its thorny grip.
Following his involvement in the initial campaign for decriminalization, my attorney continued to fight for psychedelic access through his work with the Natural Medicine Health Act (NMHA). This new law sought to retroactively decriminalize personal possession, storage, use, processing, transport, obtainment, ingestion, cultivation, gifting, and ancillary support services for psilocybin mushrooms and other natural psychedelic medicines, and create a legal clinical system for patients to access therapies at licensed facilities, staffed by specialists trained to state specified standards.
In comparison to my legal conundrum, this new paradigm seemed like salvation. Despite my social anxiety and traumatic episodes of police-related paranoia, I attended several events in support of the NMHA and immersed myself in the local ecosystem of fellow psychedelic enthusiasts and professionals. Stark differences in opinion over decriminalization versus legalization and regulation divided the group into clear sides: those in support of the NMHA and those opposed.
With the prospect of my freedom hanging in the balance, I was deeply confused and saddened by this conflict. Completely unable to discuss the details of the ongoing investigation, I repressed impulses to share my struggle, instead opted to thoroughly review the language of the NMHA itself and network with the incredible individuals responsible for drafting and supporting it. The guidance and expertise offered by this group was invaluable during this vulnerable time. I was humbled to receive their presence in my life and gladly accepted an invitation to host an educational psychedelic mini-conference at my home. The event included numerous presentations, talks, demonstrations, and group exercises from expert members of the local community and conjured a feeling of much-needed camaraderie in light of the glaring uncertainty surrounding the approaching election.
Despite all my efforts and attempts to support the campaign, review case evidence, and secure a path through this upheaval, I ultimately had to surrender to a lack of control. I slowly allowed a fickle feeling of freedom within myself and began to engage in my own life with renewed interest.
On a serendipitous skate down the Cherry Creek Trail into Confluence Park, I ran into a representative of the NMHA collecting signatures for the law’s inclusion on the upcoming November ballot. As I happily offered my support, I reflected upon the potency of surrender and its demonstrated ability to align me with an opportunity to support progress for the future of psychedelics and my freedom.
The Road to Redemption
Notwithstanding the inspiring support offered by compassionate communities, gaining ground with the prosecution moved at a snail’s pace. Resistance to dismiss the case outright was inherent to their initial plea offer of a level three drug felony (DF3), requiring up to four years of imprisonment and fines up to $500,000. Besides litigating the case in court, the upcoming vote for the Natural Medicine Health Act appeared to be the only way towards resolution.
After submitting my ballot in support of the NMHA as early as possible, I hit the road to visit loved ones and explore the natural beauty of the country. Over the months leading up to the November 2022 elections, I surrendered to the sweeping landscapes of North America, crossing the distance between California and New York twice before the ballots were counted. No matter what the future held for me, I was determined to bring my fullest attention to the precious days I had left and enjoy the freedom and simplicity allowed by a life rich with companionship and catharsis.
By November, the NMHA passed, marking significant progress in the psychedelic movement. Still, the prosecution remained resistant to dismissal. I contemplated accepting a plea deal to avoid incarceration, but it felt like a conviction in itself.
My legal journey took an unexpected turn in mid-December 2022 when my attorney presented a compelling argument for dismissal based on the NMHA’s language. To my astonishment, all criminal charges against me were entirely dismissed.
Reflections on Freedom and Justice
The dismissal of my case highlighted a profound shift in societal values regarding psychedelics. However, I couldn’t help but think about the countless lives affected by the War on Drugs and the thin line between freedom and persecution. My own burdens included debt, missed career opportunities, and traumatic memories.
As Colorado prepared to draft guidelines for the psilocybin industry, I continued to struggle to recover seized property. While progress had been made, the burdens of prohibitionist policies continued – and continues – to threaten the lives and liberties of many Americans.
My journey from arrest to legal redemption was a rollercoaster ride through the complexities of drug laws, personal trauma, and the evolving landscape of psychedelics. While I found freedom in the dismissal of my case, the broader fight for justice and the responsible use of psychedelics is very far from over.
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