Curious about the possible therapeutic benefits of plant and psychedelic medicines? The Plant Medicine Podcast with Dr. Lynn Marie Morski has you covered with the latest in scientific research, medical practices, and legal developments involving these substances and their incredible therapeutic pote…
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Listeners of Plant Medicine Podcast with Dr. Lynn Marie Morski that love the show mention:The Plant Medicine Podcast with Dr. Lynn Marie Morski is an incredible resource for anyone interested in learning more about psychedelics and plant medicine. Dr. Morski's podcast is engaging, energizing, and enlightening, providing answers to a wide range of personal and scientific questions. Whether you are a healthcare professional or simply curious about the potential of these medicines, this series offers valuable insights and information.
One of the best aspects of this podcast is the diverse range of experts that Dr. Morski interviews. These professionals offer a wealth of knowledge on various medicines and their applications across different diagnoses. The interviews are well-balanced and professional, presenting a balanced perspective on the topic at hand. Additionally, Dr. Morski allows her guests to speak freely, creating a space for them to share their expertise without interruption.
Another great aspect of this podcast is its organization and aesthetic appeal. The information presented is important and handled in a thoughtful manner, making it easy to understand and engage with. The episodes cover a wide range of topics related to plant medicine, including trauma, insomnia, cancer, auto-immune disorders, and more. Listeners will find a wealth of information and education within each episode.
Furthermore, Dr. Morski's approach to hosting the podcast is commendable. She actively listens to her guests and asks thoughtful questions that resonate with listeners' interests as well. This not only adds value to the content but also enhances the overall listening experience.
In terms of drawbacks, it can be challenging to find any major criticisms of this podcast. Some listeners might prefer more focus on certain topics or additional episodes dedicated to specific medicines like Kambo or other emerging therapies.
Overall,
The Plant Medicine Podcast with Dr. Lynn Marie Morski is an exceptional resource for those seeking accurate information on plant medicine from real experts in the field. With its informative yet entertaining format, accessible language, and engaging discussions, this podcast is a must-listen for anyone interested in exploring the potential of these medicines. Dr. Morski's dedication to educating listeners about a topic that is often overlooked by traditional medical professionals is commendable, and she has created a valuable resource for both healthcare professionals and the general public.
In this episode, Dori Lewis, MA, MEd, LPC-S discusses the common myths and misconceptions surrounding psilocybin for healing. Dori is a psychotherapist, co-founder of Elemental Psychedelics, and owner of Reflective Healing in Fort Collins, CO, who specializes in psychedelic-assisted therapy, blending transpersonal psychology with spiritual practices. With experience facilitating ketamine sessions and training clinicians, she advocates for ethical standards in psychedelic medicine while championing a feminine-centered approach to facilitator training. The first myth that Dori addresses in this conversation is the idea that it is the psilocybin mushroom itself that does all the healing work. Contrary to this common misconception, Dori suggests that it is the client's own initiative working in tandem with the mushroom that really spurs healing. She also emphasizes that there are not any set protocols for how often psilocybin should be taken for healing, instead suggesting that clients should be guided to attune to their own internal intuition to determine when a psilocybin journey may be particularly helpful. Another misconception Dori addresses is that healing with psilocybin can occur without causing deep transformations in one's identity or shifts in one's worldview. She suggests facilitators must be very transparent about these possible impacts to best prepare clients for these kinds of major changes that psilocybin can catalyze. In closing, Dori reiterates that clients should be supported and prepared to encounter intense emotional experiences with psilocybin, as some of the most difficult psychedelic journeys can actually be the most healing. In this episode, you'll hear: The biggest myths and misconceptions Dori encounters working with clients in her practice The importance of a relational understanding of psychedelic healing The specific types of trauma where psilocybin may be a particularly effective healing modality The training for psilocybin facilitators in Colorado under the Natural Medicines Program and the importance of scope of practice Why some people's mental health gets worse before it gets better following a psilocybin experience What can cause lack of response to psilocybin therapy and how better preparation can often mitigate this Quotes: “Mushrooms are amazing and they can help us in our healing journey. But they are one tool in a mosaic of other tools that we can use to help ourselves heal and grow and change.” [6:54] “I don't really know where this message came from—that mushrooms cure PTSD—but that is a huge myth. They can help—with certain types of trauma within the context of a healthy therapeutic relationship with a skilled provider, yes, at times when it is right. But ultimately the best medicine for trauma is going to be MDMA—and ketamine.” [18:18] “It is the responsibility of providers and facilitators to inform clients of the realistic expectations they should have for their [psychedelic] journeys—and that is also an ethical need and something that facilitators need to consider through an ethical lens.” [25:20] “There's a lot to be said about the unique ways that mushrooms express through our bodies and through our minds and through our hearts that give us information about where we are at and where we need to work or continue to work in order to access the healing we so desire.” [37:34] Links: Dori on LinkedIn Elemental Psychedelics on LinkedIn Elemental Psychedelics website Previous episode: Integrating Challenging Psychedelic Experiences with Keith Kurlander, MA Previous episode: The Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project with Jules Evans Previous episode: The Dangers of "Ayahuasca Told Me…" with Jerónimo Mazarrasa Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode, Jodie NewDelman, PsyD joins to discuss the benefits and risks of leveraging psychedelics for professional growth. For over three decades, Dr. NewDelman has been an executive consultant, health system advisor, licensed psychologist, and clinical supervisor. She is also trained and certificated in psychedelic medicine and has been working with growth-oriented professionals developing greater alignment between their leadership roles at work and their personal lives. In this conversation, Dr. NewDelman discusses the typical struggles people experience in their professional lives and where psychedelic experiences may provide insight and empowerment to become more aligned with one's work. She unpacks the psychological experience of being “stuck,” something that psychedelics may specifically help overcome. Beyond individualistic approaches to professional growth, Dr. NewDelman also discusses the importance of humanizing the workforce and how conscious leadership is crucial to achieve this goal. In closing, Dr. NewDelman warns against the danger of trying to implement radical changes after a psychedelic experience without sufficient integration, emphasizing the importance of a holistic approach to this work. In this episode, you'll hear: Navigating feelings of imposter syndrome and experiences of marginalization The importance of work life balance and how to psychedelic experiences can empower reflection on this topic Why clear intention is crucial for leveraging psychedelic experiences for professional growth The danger of spiritual bypassing after profound psychedelic experiences Quotes: “No matter who you are, you're going to have your own set of intentions. The intentions will be bespoke. And maybe you don't know the first or second time what you want to work on when you go into it—an experiential medicine session. But eventually we can narrow those themes down to what it is that we really need insight on.” [22:01] “if you need to focus on some nitty gritty, annoying detail [at work], no matter how transcendent your perspective is in your psychedelic medicine session, you still have to do the thing at work. You still have to make the practical changes. So we need to kind of stay tethered to reality in that way.” [38:58] “Our tendency is to avoid pain, right? We want to go away from the obstacles. And if psychedelics teach us nothing else, it's that we need to go through the storm. We need to turn toward the issue.” [40:25] Links: Essensuate website Essensuate on Instagram Essensuate on LinkedIn Essensuate on Facebook What Are The Habits of Mind? - The Institute for the Habits of Mind Previous episode: Psilocybin for Addressing Burnout with Tracy Kim Townsend, MD Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui Email: jodie@essensuate.com
In this episode, Tracy Kim Townsend, MD, joins to discuss the potential efficacy of psilocybin therapy for addressing burnout, particularly in healthcare professionals. Dr. Townsend is a Harvard-trained medical doctor, licensed psilocybin facilitator, and the Co-Founder & CEO of Meadow Medicine, one of the only legal psilocybin service centers based in the U.S., founded and led by an MD. In this conversation, Dr. Townsend gives an overview of burnout and discusses its prevalence amongst healthcare professionals due to the intense nature of these professions. She mentions the relevance of the wounded healer archetype for many physicians and how this identity can intersect with experiences of burnout. Turning to psilocybin therapy, Dr. Townsend discusses how these psychedelic treatments can help address burnout through promoting neuroplasticity and facilitating effective emotional processing. Following these experiences, patients are often much better poised to make well-considered life changes to help stave off burnout. Dr. Townsend concludes by emphasizing the importance of integration following psychedelic journeys to ensure maximal benefit and effectiveness of these treatments. In this episode, you'll hear: How burnout develops How technology and culture have contributed to the rise of burnout The symptoms of burnout Supporting career longevity for physicians How psilocybin may support patients looking to address burnout Clinical research into psilocybin for burnout in healthcare professionals Why loosening the grip on one's identity and ego dissolution may be tied to the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics Quotes: “One core area that I see psilocybin playing a role [for addressing burnout] is just creating these spaces where we can process emotions and integrate them.” [21:41] “SSRIs, which are the gold standard intervention right now for depression, usually result in about a nine-point drop [in depression scores on the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale], which is really no better than placebo… Whereas psilocybin showed a three-fold drop—there's really no intervention for depression we see with that dramatic of results.” [25:17] “Another thing that I think is remarkable, too is… you continue to see the benefits—if you check scores immediately after the [psilocybin] journey and then at six months out, there continues to be improvement in mental health scores.” [29:06] Links: Dr. Townsend on Instagram Dr. Townsend on X Meadow Medicine website “Psilocybin Therapy for Clinicians With Symptoms of Depression From Frontline Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Clinical Trial” by Anthony L. Back, MD et al. Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode, Christina P. Kantzavelos, LCSW, MSW, MLIS joins to discuss the use of psychedelics to address chronic illness. Christina is an international psychotherapist, coach, writer and artist, who specializes in treating clients with chronic illness, and complex trauma utilizing various modalities, including psychedelic assisted therapy. In this conversation, Christina overviews the complex mental and physical health impacts of chronic pain conditions and shares her expertise on psychedelic and non-psychedelic treatments for these conditions. Christina mentions that chronic pain can put one's body in a state that encourages fight, flight, freeze, and fawn responses which can disempower the patient's efforts to address their condition. She also explores the intersection of identity and chronic pain conditions, discussing how that while receiving a particular diagnosis can be helpful and affirming, taking this as a core part of one's identity can also be a major roadblock to healing. In closing, Christina emphasizes that pain starts in the brain, so leveraging neuroplasticity through psychedelics and other means can be a particularly powerful way to address both physical and mental health aspects of chronic pain conditions. In this episode you'll hear: How Christina got involved in working with patients with chronic pain The common mental health presentations in those with chronic pain The importance of addressing physical health and mental health concurrently Why psychedelics may be helpful for addressing chronic pain conditions The immunomodulating effects of psychedelics The power of neuroplasticity for addressing chronic pain Utilizing neural retraining and microdosing in conjunction to prepare for more successful higher dose psychedelic experiences Quotes: “I use all kinds of modalities and I don't just treat someone's depression or anxiety or complex trauma—I see it as everything is interwoven and related to each other. And it's important that we look at the entirely mosaic piece rather than just focusing on one area.” [5:20] “There is a state of empowerment versus disempowerment in identifying with our chronic illness. I'm not saying that it is not real and it's not happening to you but it definitely is not you. It's something you are experiencing. Even if it's chronic and lifelong, it's still something you are experiencing—it's not you as a whole.” [17:48] “I've noticed that any of my clients who have gone through neural retraining have had little to no bad [psychedelic] trips which is amazing and I feel like that's partly because they worked so hard to resource themselves in advance.” [25:19] Links: Christina on Instagram Christina on LinkedIn Begin with Today website When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress by Gabor Maté PMA CME/CE accredited course: Managing Medical Risk in Patients Seeking Psilocybin Therapy Search for providers on the Psychology Today website Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode, Jerónimo Mazarrasa joins to discuss how to interpret visions and insights disclosed during ayahuasca journeys more effectively. Jerónimo is Program Director at ICEERS, founder of ICEERS Academy, and creator of AyaSafety, an online course for people interested in increasing the safety of ayahuasca ceremonies. To start, Jerónimo emphasizes that answering the question of whether ayahuasca visions originate in the plant medicine itself or if these are just disclosures of one's own subconscious is actually not what's most important. Instead, he suggests that in either case, what is crucial is spending time carefully considering how one should respond to these disclosures. Jerónimo shares insights from expert facilitators on how one can best go about interpreting and responding to such experiences, suggesting that an important aspect of this process is that participants feel comfortable taking personal responsibility for whatever decisions they eventually decide to make rather than thinking of these major life changes as necessary consequences of the psychedelic experience itself. In closing, Jerónimo discusses the tension between externalization and psychologization of psychedelic experiences and why both of these can lead to issues. In this episode, you'll hear: The common experience of feeling as though the ayahuasca has communicated something to you Examples of where taking an ayahuasca vision literally can lead to problematic outcomes The “three confirmations” one should look for before making a major decision based on a psychedelic experience The metaphor of ayahuasca as a microscope How skilled ayahuasca facilitators ensure proper psychological hygiene with participants Judging the validity of potential repressed memories that seem to surface during psychedelic experiences Quotes: “The way that ayahuasca becomes useful for people, I think, is that it shows you—it amplifies and shows you—what is already inside of yourself. Now, this is very useful for certain things but one has to understand the nature of the language.” [9:23] “Facilitators should instruct their participants that one rule is that you shouldn't make any decisions during an ayahuasca ceremony—unless they are decisions related to taking yourself out of danger.” [14:42] “Ayahuasca is not a shortcut for personal development—it's just a flashlight that can help you shed some light on some darker parts of [your] issues and problems, but it is not a shortcut.” [35:47] “The main contraindication of psychedelics is not wanting to take psychedelics. You should absolutely never ever ever ever ever take psychedelics if you don't want to because it is going to be horrible. It's like a kiss—when you want it, its beautiful, intimate, gorgeous; when you don't want it, it's the most intrusive, disgusting, blech thing ever.” [50:27] Links: Jerónimo on Instagram Jerónimo on Facebook ICEERS Academy website ICEERS Academy on Instagram AyaSafety course Previous episode: Guruism and Cult Dynamics in Psychedelic Practices with Joseph Holcomb Adams Previous episode: Can Psychedelics Lead to False Beliefs? with Hugh McGovern, PhD Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode, Hugh McGovern, PhD joins to discuss his research on the impact of psychedelics on beliefs. Dr. McGovern is a Research Fellow at the School of Medicine, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. To start, Dr. McGovern introduces the inference or predictive processing framework utilized in his paper “An Integrated theory of false insights and beliefs under psychedelics”. He explains the role of prediction in cognition, showing how insights occur when our existing perspectives are unable to make sense of our experience. In this vein, Dr. McGovern discusses how the psychedelic experience disrupts our normal modes of prediction and perception, leaving room for greater influence of environmental factors on insight production. In closing, Dr. McGovern shares ideas on further clinical directions for this research that could give guidance for helping patients more effectively integrate insight experiences. In this episode you'll hear: The research into how psychedelics can influence and change beliefs The role beliefs and insights can play in psychedelic journeys How false insights can be experimentally induced The connection between prediction errors in our cognition and insight experiences The hippocampus, memory, and psychedelics The association between insight moments and increased mental health following psychedelic experiences Quotes: “[In psychedelic experiences] your expectations are no longer helping you make sense of your current sensory experience. And so you're uniquely susceptible to environmental input under psychedelics—which would account for things like visual hallucinations [and] these novel insight moments.” [18:30] “When you have really really strong prediction errors or really really strong insight moments, they can have a disproportionately important influence on your worldview going forward.” [20:03] “Psychedelics, from a few different studies, show they can impair the formation of hippocampally dependent memories but they can perhaps even enhance the formation of cortically dependent memories. So what that means is you come out of the experience with this sense of knowing but it's in some sense lacking in details.” [29:04] Links: “An Integrated theory of false insights and beliefs under psychedelics” by Hugh McGovern et al. Dr. McGovern on Bluesky Previous episode: Guruism & Cult Dynamics in Psychedelic Practices with Joseph Holcomb Adams Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode, Heather A. Lee, LCSW joins to discuss the topic of psychedelic healing for grief and loss. Heather is a licensed psychotherapist, educator, speaker, and consultant. With over 30 years of practice in mental health, her focus is on supporting midlife and beyond women as they navigate life transitions. In this conversation, Heather explores the ways psychedelic healing may have transformative contributions to peoples' journeys navigating grief and loss. She explains that we live in a culture that doesn't have a good understanding of grief, how to navigate it, or how to support others who are grieving, so it can be a difficult issue to address. Heather discusses the neuroplasticity-promoting effects of psychedelics and elucidates the ways this can be helpful for processing grief, especially by allowing the person grieving the opportunity to hold their grief in new, productive ways alongside other healthy emotions. In closing, Heather emphasizes how psychedelics can also provide healing for existential distress brought on by the many planetary crises humanity is now facing through providing a broader, life-affirming viewpoint on these issues. In this episode you'll hear: Heather's journey from working in hospice settings to working with psychedelic therapy Navigating the grief of losing others and the grief of realizing the imminent end of one's own life Why Heather thinks psychedelics are particularly useful for grief and loss How grief can manifest both mentally and physically Client stories from Heather's practice where patients are able to process grief to achieve a better quality of life Neuroplasticity, psychological flexibility, and processing grief Psychedelics for end-of-life grief and anxiety Physiological impacts of spending quality time in nature Quotes: “Psychedelics are a really important and powerful option that are coming into the conversation about how people can take some control of how they navigate that psycho-spiritual-emotional component of coming to end of life.” [3:19] “There is no right or wrong way to grieve and there is no normal and abnormal. I think it's just about having markers so that we can know when and how to provide support to people.” [9:27] “On the [psychedelic] medicine, you experience that grief, that loss—whatever that is—you're experiencing it while you're in that [neuroplastic] state so that you have the opportunity to get a fresh perspective. And it's in that fresh perspective that you create the new patterns of thought around [your grief].” [20:12] Links: Heather's website Medicine Woman Retreats website Heather on Instagram Heather on LinkedIn Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode, Thomas Kim, MD joins to discuss ketamine-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety. Dr. Kim is the Chief Medical Officer of Noma Therapy, which is a ketamine-assisted psychotherapy program available via telehealth and in-person with licensed therapists. He has devoted 20 years of his professional life to realizing a value-based approach to healthcare through telehealth. In this conversation, Dr. Kim shares his journey of working in early telehealth contexts to now working with ketamine. He discusses the research on ketamine treatments for anxiety and explains the significant comorbidity of anxiety, depression, and PTSD, stressing that anxiety is best understood from a more holistic perspective that considers the social determinants of health. Dr. Kim also emphasizes the importance of psychotherapy alongside ketamine dosing sessions, explaining that therapists have a window of opportunity in the days following the ketamine dose to best take advantage of the state of ketamine-induced neuroplasticity the patient is experiencing. In closing, Dr. Kim shares his philosophy of prescribing the least amount of medicine which produces the largest impact for the patient to ensure that side effects are mitigated and financial burdens are reduced. In this episode you'll hear: Balancing maximal safety and maximal accessibility in medicine The research on ketamine treatments for anxiety How psychotherapy fits with ketamine treatments The neuroscience of why patients can have strong emotional reactions following ketamine sessions Stories of success from Dr. Kim's practice The importance of understanding how adverse childhood experiences and social determinants of health significantly contribute to mental health struggles Collaborative ketamine-assisted psychotherapy with a patient's existing therapist Quotes: “Over time, continued effort in the field [of telehealth] has led to cost-effective, scalable solutions that can reach more people. I'm really hopeful that we can find solutions in the psychedelic and ketamine landscape to do a similar thing.” [5:36] “A thing that I say routinely to patients is ‘there is no cure in the bottom of the pill bottle—ketamine included.' They are all incredibly useful and, when used effectively, can provide you meaningful relief from your psychological distress but make no mistake, there is not a cure—which is why I'm such a huge advocate of therapy and which is why ketamine-assisted psychotherapy also needs to be distinguished from ketamine therapy.” [14:21] “[We created] an intentionally time-limited plan which places the emphasis on the fact that, one day, you're going to drive your own bus and you're not going to need me. It's a terrible business model—in fact it's a wonderful business model because it gives us an opportunity to take care of more people because we set the intention of ‘Ketamine is not forever. You're not broken. You're struggling and we're going to get you to a place where you might not need us.'” [34:04] Links: Dr. Kim on LinkedIn Noma Therapy website Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode, Joseph Holcomb Adams joins to discuss the important topic of guruism and cult dynamics in psychedelic communities. Joseph is an ethicist who specializes in issues related to psychedelics, altered states, and transformative experiences. In this conversation, Joseph introduces the concepts of a guru, guruism, and cult dynamics. He describes the social-psychological mechanisms behind the devotee-guru relationship and the development of ideological conformity in cults, explaining how the heightened states induced by psychedelics can contribute to these dynamics if participants and facilitators are not aware of these dangers and vigilant in guarding against them. Joseph explains that psychedelic experiences can lead to “experiential verification,” where the participant's sense of the facilitator as a wise spiritual guide can seem to be confirmed through the intense mystical nature of the experience, which in turn can feed into a guru-disciple power dynamic where the participant feels reliant on the facilitator for their healing. In closing, Joseph focuses on the profound importance of education on these topics. He emphasizes that these potentially harmful dynamics will always be present, so raising awareness is crucial as psychedelic healing continues to become more mainstream. In this episode you'll hear: The spectrum of cult dynamics How guruism and cult dynamics can become amplified in psychedelic practices How psychedelics influence suggestibility, transference, and projection Why it can be easy for psychedelic facilitators to unintentionally fall into guruism Ego inflation following psychedelic experiences How ecstatic ritual experiences promote group cohesion What can be done to address the risks of guruism and cultic dynamics in psychedelic practices The importance of informed consent Quotes: “[During a psychedelic experience] it can be very easy for the participant to basically associate and identify this mind-opening experience, this earth-shattering spiritual experience, with this person who facilitated it for them, who is right there, who seems to know all about this space of consciousness that they're experiencing.” [13:22] “If the facilitator… already has a big, inflated sense of their spiritual knowledge and ability, then that's already right there, pushing them to step into that guru role and this can happen from their own psychedelic use.” [30:06] “When we're engaging in psychedelic-enhanced ecstatic group rituals, what we're doing here is we're basically using powerful neuropharmacological tools to help us really powerfully tap into these potentialities that are in our primordial nature as social, instinctively religious beings… That's what we're messing around with here.” [38:23] “The most important risk mitigation factors—really it's education and the awareness that comes from it.” [43:52] Links: Joseph's website Joseph on LinkedIn Joseph's chapter, “Guruism and Cultic Social Dynamics in Psychedelic Practices and Organisations” co-authored with Jules Evans in Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences “Oxytocin modulates charismatic influence in groups” by Ilanit Gordon and Yair Berson, 2018 Psychedelic Safety Flags: A Color System to Help Assess Practitioner Ethics and Safety Previous episode: The Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project with Jules Evans Previous episode: Avoiding the Traps of Psychedelic Self-Absorption with Adam Aronovich PhD(c) Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Adam Aronovich, PhD(c) returns to discuss issues of psychedelic self-absorption—and how to avoid these traps. According to Adam, he is a PhD candidate in medical anthropology, the creator and curator of Healing from Healing, a trophy husband and dad. In this conversation, Adam revisits his previous discussion of psychedelic narcissism and explains why he's now somewhat more critical of the term. However, Adam still sees issues around cultivating epistemic humility and acknowledging the political dimensions of healing in psychedelic contexts. He explains the issues he takes with forms of New Age, Neoliberal spiritual perspectives he sees as pervasive and typically unacknowledged amongst many engaging with psychedelics. He also discusses how some pop psychology terms have worked their way into the psychedelic realm and what impacts that has had. In this episode: The “spectacle” of filmed psychedelic experiences on social media The intersection of medical and spiritual cultures in psychedelics and how this can create issues of access The cheapening and overuse of the idea of “trauma” in popular discourse and the birth of “traumadelic” culture Why approaches focusing on excavating supposed repressed traumatic memories from childhood should be approached with a degree of skepticism Quotes: “One of the main things with plant medicine—particularly when people are sharing about it—is that people want to be really vulnerable and people want to be very authentic… But at the intersection with the spectacle, that vulnerability and authenticity become part of the spectacle in the sense that they become 100% performative.” [19:01] “The people who don't have that modicum of self awareness and epistemic humility to really understand, with intellectual honesty, the scope of their understanding and knowledge, then it is very easy to overdo it. And then we do a disservice, not only to the actual traditions that we purport to be portraying, but also to the people that we're working with.” [37:56] “If you don't understand that your healing is political, because individual health, and individual happiness, and individual everything is intrinsically related to collective health, and social health, and cultural health, and environmental health, then you need to go back to square one because you haven't understood anything. ” [40:02] “If we can't even fathom that perhaps my own wellbeing is in constant dialogue with the wellbeing of a society, and the wellbeing of a culture, and the wellbeing of an environment—that nobody can be healthy and happy unless everybody else is relatively healthy and happy—then we are in big trouble and we haven't really learned everything.” [40:20] Links: Healing from Healing website Healing from Healing on Instagram Healing from Healing on Facebook Adam on Instagram Society Of The Spectacle by Guy Debord Wikipedia entry on the Satanic panic Previous episode: Navigating Psychedelic Narcissism with Adam Aronovich Previous episode: How Western Medicine and Indigenous Traditions Differ in their Approach to Mental Health and Healing with Adam Aronovich Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode, Sorcha O'Connor, PhD(c) joins to discuss the research into the use of psilocybin to address obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Sorcha is completing her neuroscience PhD at Imperial College London, specialising in mental health research. She led PsilOCD, a pioneering study investigating low-dose psilocybin as a treatment for both the clinical symptoms and cognitive features of OCD. In this conversation, Sorcha introduces obsessive-compulsive disorder and discusses the ways medical professionals are currently thinking about this and other related conditions. She mentions that current therapies for OCD often only minimally improve symptoms, emphasizing the need for better treatment options. This led to studies exploring psilocybin as a treatment for OCD - and Sorcha emphasizes that the early trials have shown positive results, often with significant decreases in OCD symptoms. In conclusion, Sorcha discusses the protocol for the PsilOCD study at Imperial College London, with results from this study soon to be published. In this episode you'll hear: The features of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) The history and development of treatments for OCD The theory behind the hypothesis that psilocybin may be effective for OCD Trials exploring the efficacy of psychedelic treatments for OCD Why psilocybin has come to the fore more than LSD or ketamine for prospective OCD studies How patients are evaluated for OCD Quotes: “[OCD] is this complex behavioral pattern and certain medications moderately help and nothing seems to be highly effective yet and that definitely points to the need for novel pharmacotherapy.” [12:46] “[By utilizing lower doses of psilocybin], people who maybe fixate on their health and on their mental health and sensations and things can benefit from psilocybin without having to overcome that barrier.” [18:25] Links: Sorcha on LinkedIn PsilOCD Study details on the Imperial College London website Dr. Michael J. Greenberg's website Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode, Erica Zelfand, ND joins to discuss the important topic of pill shaming in psychedelic communities and how psychedelic medicine and traditional pharmaceuticals can both support healing. Dr. Erica Zelfand specializes in integrative mental health, bridging the gaps between conventional and alternative medicine. In addition to seeing patients in private practice, she also teaches facilitation internationally and leads retreats through Right to Heal. In this conversation, Dr. Zelfand tackles the issue of pill shaming in psychedelic communities, showing why this rhetoric falls short and ultimately harms patients. She discusses complementary roles for psychedelic and traditional pharmaceutical medicines, suggesting that a medicine like ketamine may be particularly effective in contexts of acute intervention, whereas an SSRI antidepressant may be most effective for maintenance. Dr. Zelfand notes, however, that drug-drug interactions can be a significant concern and stresses the need for medical expertise and supervision in the context of concomitant usage of pharmaceuticals and psychedelics. In closing, she emphasizes that what is ultimately important is that patients are able to progress in healing, and any tools that are able to safely and effectively support this goal have an important role to play and should not be denigrated. In this episode you'll hear: The pill shaming rhetoric in psychedelic and cannabis communities Pharmaceutical contraindications to psychedelic therapy and the necessity of medical supervision for tapering off such medications Why comparing traditional antidepressant pharmaceuticals to psychedelic medicines is often an apples to oranges comparison The issues with “no pain, no gain” rhetoric in healing Psychiatric support for processing repressed memories uncovered during psychedelic journeys Quotes: “When I went into medicine, I actually specifically went into integrative medicine, functional medicine, because I didn't like that patients were being in this position of having to choose: the conventional route or the alternative medicine route. Both routes have their merits and both routes have their shortcomings and I felt like we all deserve to be able to access both and have it be an integrated model.” [3:06] “The only form of ketamine that is FDA approved for depression—which is Spravato—is only approved in the context in which the person is also taking an oral antidepressant.” [20:48] “We have data showing that if you feel really really freaked out and anxious during your [psychedelic] trip, your outcomes aren't necessarily as good. And the biggest predictor of having a positive experience is actually feeling awe. You don't have to do the ego death thing, but if you can feel awe, if you can feel inspiration during a trip, your outcomes are better. And there's even data showing that individuals who are on an SSRI and then trip—they may actually have better outcomes than people who don't take medication.” [24:12] “I think part of this trepidation is we don't want to harm anybody through a dangerous, or potentially lethal, drug-drug interaction. That's one thing. It's another thing to be like ‘yeah but if you're using these [pharmaceutical] drugs you're doing it wrong and you're not healing right.' And I think the one often is used as a camouflage for the other—and they're two separate things.” [38:59] Links: Dr. Zelfan's website Dr. Zelfand on Instagram Dr. Zelfand on Twitter Dr. Zelfan on LinkedIn Right to Heal website Psychedelic pill-shaming article by Jules Evans and Shayam Suseelan Previous episode: Integrating Challenging Psychedelic Experiences with Keith Kurlander, MA Previous episode: Warning Signs When Selecting a Psychedelic Facilitator with Juliana Mulligan Previous episode: How to Choose a Psychedelic Facilitator or Retreat Center with Joël Brierre Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Keith Kurlander, MA, LPC, joins to discuss the important topic of integration practices for challenging psychedelic experiences. Keith is the Co-Founder of the Integrative Psychiatry Institute, the largest professional education company specializing in integrative mental health and psychedelic therapy. In this conversation, Keith begins by exploring the different types of challenging psychedelic experiences and various lingering effects one may experience following a difficult psychedelic journey. He discusses these from a trauma-informed perspective, explaining how a traumatized nervous system can lead to dissociation on the other side of an intense ego-disrupting experience. Keith also shares practices and insights from internal family systems (IFS) for integrating challenging psychedelic experiences. In closing, he emphasizes that psychedelics are not lazer-targeted therapies, so they do carry inherent risks, but through effective integration practices, patients can make healthy meaning out of even negative experiences. In this episode you'll hear: Lingering issues with ego fragmentation and connections to the dissociative disorder spectrum Persisting psychotic disorders following psychedelic experiences The difference between CPTSD and PTSD Uncovering repressed traumatic memories during psychedelic journeys Trauma stemming from difficult psychedelic experiences Challenging spiritual experiences Quotes: “The concept of pendulation [is] that we can be more flexible to ease our way into these overwhelming states. So once we are totally overwhelmed, we have to work our way back out gracefully, but as we are doing that, you get a gem as you are coming back… you learn something as you are coming out of that state.” [18:02] “If people have a psychotic disorder that emerged after their psychedelic use, you need a psychiatrist at that point… If it's really a psychotic emergence, whether a previous psychotic disorder got triggered or whatever, you need a psychiatrist to work with you on that.” [20:07] “I believe all these mental health conditions have a trauma process underneath them. I don't know how you isolate a trauma process from a mental health condition” [25:30] “It's about working with a person's meaning-making structure: is the meaning they're making creating more psychological flexibility or less psychological flexibility? That's a really important question to hold as a therapist because people will make all kinds of meaning up from these experiences but if they're creating meaning that's creating more rigid structures of how they see the world, then they get disappointed more often.” [34:21] Links: Psychiatry Institute website Keith's website Keith on Instagram Higher Practice podcast Previous episode: The Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project with Jules Evans Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, East Forest joins to discuss several aspects at the intersection of music and psychedelics, including how he created the music that so many have used when facilitating psychedelic journeys. East Forest's latest project, a feature length documentary film called Music For Mushrooms, follows him through the psychedelic renaissance on a mission to pair music with psychedelics to bring about transformative healing to a world in crisis. In this conversation, East Forest discusses how he first got started making music for psychedelic journeys and the considerations that go into curating the right sound to best support these types of deep inner experiences. He emphasizes the importance of avoiding music that sounds overly sentimental and lacks the depth and richness important for effective psychedelic exploration. He also discusses the importance of maintaining the container, whether in the context of psychedelic facilitation or purely music-focused ceremonies, and suggested that sternness and fortitude have an important function in this context. In closing, East Forest suggests that music is so powerful because of the way it is able to be a point of connection to integrate experiences and bring people together. In this episode you'll hear: Composing soundtracks for psychedelic journeys with different substances Integrating nature sounds into compositions Flow states and music Bringing live elements of music and sound into a psychedelic ceremony Singing as a regulating technique during a psychedelic journey The intersection of music, technology, and psychedelics Quotes: “If we look at psychedelic experiences and ceremonies from indigenous use, all of them that I know of were guided by music.” [3:16] “I think it's more the intention behind the music. I don't think there's a particular thing you have to do or not do, but I don't think you can just play any music. So I think it's the intention of the music and the intention of the room and the intention of the participants… There has to be an invitation on all of those fronts for that doorway to open.” [16:11] “I think we're looking for music and for space that is supportive of that through-line and gives us enough time to be in a process—and that's another advantage of having these longform, intentional, bespoke songs because they are probably going to give more of that time and space for these processes to occur.” [32:43] Links: East Forest's website East Forest on Instagram East Forest on Tik Tok Music for Mushrooms documentary website Music for Mushrooms Official Documentary Soundtrack Winter Solstice Retreat at Esalen Music for Psychedelic Therapy by Jon Hopkins Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Eric Sienknecht, PsyD joins to discuss the roles of music in psychedelic sessions. Dr. Sienknecht is a licensed clinical psychologist and co-founder and lead trainer at Polaris Insight Center, a ketamine-assisted psychotherapy clinic and training center. He has worked as sub-investigator and study therapist on the Lykos-sponsored MDMA-AT clinical trials for PTSD and currently is also a supervisor and educator in MDMA-AT for various clinical trial sites. Dr. Sienknecht has a deep interest in the role and use of music in ketamine and MDMA sessions and specializes in curating playlists for psychedelic experiences. In this conversation, Dr. Sienknecht discusses how he first realized the importance of music in psychedelic experiences. He shares insights on how different genres and moods of music may be better suited to certain phases of the psychedelic experience and how he works individually with clients to better tailor a session playlist to their personal taste. Dr. Sienknecht even discusses how to strategically include shadow elements in a playlist to facilitate a client going deeper in their journey. In closing, he emphasizes how the intersection of psychedelic experiences and music remains understudied with only a few book chapters and articles dealing directly with the topic, so there is much yet to learn and explore in this exciting niche. In this episode you'll hear: What is universal vs what is individual when it comes to music and psychedelics Why Dr. Sienknecht avoids music with lyrics in a participant's native language for psychedelic sessions The research on different genres of music for psychedelic journeys Balancing planning music in advance and adapting to the specific pace and mood of the client's experience Utilizing nature sounds alongside or within music during psychedelic sessions Binaural beats and brainwaves Quotes: “There's generally better tracks to use for the opening phase of a [psychedelic] journey, for the peak phase of a journey [etc], and there's been some research into that as well.” [6:05] “Taste is so subjective… Knowing your client and talking with them beforehand about their taste and letting that information really inform how you create the playlist is really important.” [27:02] “One of the benefits of doing psychedelic therapy is that you can surrender control over elements of set and setting—not that those aren't negotiable and ongoingly negotiable, as they should be—but there's something about [the fact that the therapist] has got the music taken care of, the room set up, everything is in its right place. All I have to do is fast from food for a few hours, have my intention, and step into the journey—and that can help someone to really just trust and surrender more into the experience.” [30:20] Links: Integral Psychedelic Therapy edited by Jason A. Butler, Genesee Herzberg, and Richard Louis Miller Dr. Sienknecht on LinkedIn Polaris Insight Center on LinkedIn Polaris Insight Center website Music for Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Sessions training with Dr. Sienknecht at Polaris Insight Center Previous episodes: Psychedelics and Nature: The Symbiotic Relationship with Dr. Sam Gandy Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Giorgia Caspani, PhD joins to discuss the intersection of psychedelics and the gut microbiome and ramifications for future personalized medicine. Dr. Caspani is a neuroscientist and computational biologist working at the intersection of gut microbiome, psychedelics and personalized medicine. In this conversation, Dr. Caspani discusses her research published in the article “Mind over matter: the microbial mindscapes of psychedelics and the gut-brain axis.” She shares what we know about how psychedelics impact the gut microbiome from initial studies and what questions remain unanswered. She draws connections between the way the gut microbiome metabolizes SSRI drugs and how serotonin impacts the gut microbiota to hypothesize the potential ways psychedelics interact with this complex living system. In closing, Dr. Caspani discusses the possibility of predicting responses to psychedelic treatments using data from the microbiota, and the research currently happening to make this possible. In this episode you'll hear: How human beings and our gut microbiome co-evolved and the benefits achieved through this symbiotic relationship The correlation between the gut microbiome and stress levels The effects of psychedelics on immune responses Why personalized medicine may be a more effective approach for treating depression How personalized medicine could help make psychedelic therapies more accessible and effective Quotes: “Without our gut microbes… We wouldn't be able to really perform a lot of the metabolic functions that we rely on as humans.” [4:26] “The gut microbiome is different in every person—it's very unique. And so every person carries this unique microbial signature that can potentially map out to all of the treatment options that we already have available; it's just a matter of understanding and identifying markers that can predict which patient will benefit from a specific drug.” [18:22] “[We hypothesize that] the gut microbiome shapes individual responses to psychedelic treatment. And so if that [hypothesis] is correct, if that is true, we could potentially target the microbiome, change the composition of the gut microbiome like we wanted to, to be able to maximize the effectiveness of these [psychedelic] drugs.” [25:14] Links: Dr. Caspani's article, “Mind over matter: the microbial mindscapes of psychedelics and the gut-brain axis” Dr. Caspani on LinkedIn Dr. Caspani on X Onaya Science website Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Star Rose Bond, LCSW joins to discuss the topic of using psychedelic-assisted therapy to address intergenerational trauma. As seen in Huffpost, Vice and Psychology Today, Star Rose is a Renegade Psychotherapist, Social Activist, Clinical Supervisor for PEARL Institute and Co-Founder of Life Camp. With a Bachelor's degree from NYU and a master's from Columbia, Star brings 15 years of clinical trauma therapeutic services and experience serving marginalized, under-resourced and at risk populations specializing in harm reduction and PTSD recovery. In this conversation, Star introduces the topic of intergenerational trauma and explores how psychedelic experiences may be leveraged to address this pernicious condition. She begins by explaining what intergenerational trauma means, how it gets passed down, and how it manifests. Star talks about the importance of psychedelic therapists and facilitators having awareness of trauma-informed modalities in order to better serve these populations. She also discusses the complexities of addressing generational trauma, and how it can often be difficult to process sensitive topics within the family unit. However, in conclusion, Star emphasizes that the capacity to heal is an intrinsic aspect of human existence, and that even in particularly dark moments, it is possible to get in touch with this possibility. In this episode you'll hear: How the conditions of Capitalism produce and exacerbate chronic stress The profound impact of neglect and abuse in early childhood The unique experience of intergenerational trauma for BIPOC peoples and the recent rekindling of a spirit of connection in these communities due to psychedelic medicines How processing intergenerational trauma can transform familial relationships Ethical and practical considerations for facilitators and therapists guiding clients through psychedelic experiences aimed at resolving deep-seated trauma What to look for in a psychedelic-assisted therapist or facilitator Quotes: “Just because you have several students or several clients who've experienced the same trauma, don't make the assumption that they're all experiencing it the same way. Or maybe you'll meet a client who has had trauma similar to yours—don't assume that they have undergone the same emotional impact or psychological impact as you. The truth of the matter is we are complex beings. We have so many different moving variables that go into our psychology and that essentially indicate or play a role in how we respond to things.” [8:43] “We can't always express or understand why things happen the way they do. But, we can start to make meaning through a spiritual understanding which in turn lends itself to a sense of ease and comfort.” [22:20] “When you are going into these experiences as a facilitator—whatever your background is—it is of the utmost importance that you are hyper cognizant and hyper aware of the harms that can be caused by not being aware of the ways in which you can navigate someone else's trauma as it shows up.” [25:02] Links: Star's website Star on Instagram Previous episode: Can Your Genes Predict Response to MDMA Therapy? with Dr. Dave Rabin MD, PhD Previous episode: Warning Signs When Selecting a Psychedelic Facilitator with Juliana Mulligan Previous episode: How to Choose a Psychedelic Facilitator or Retreat Center with Joël Brierre My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem SHINE Support website Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, L.J. Lumpkin III, MA LMFT joins to discuss the potential of psychedelic medicine in the context of sports psychology. L.J. is a therapist, adjunct professor at Pepperdine University, a coach, author, speaker, and the CEO of Nomad Healing Practices. In this conversation, L.J. shares his personal experience as an athlete and discusses the difficult transition to a new life once an athlete's career has concluded. He compares the need to reinvent oneself in this context to ego death and explains how psychedelic-assisted therapy may be helpful for navigating this transition. L.J. also discusses the intense pressure athletes are under to perform, mentioning that the drive to win can often overpower the more basic mode of play at the heart of athleticism. This is an area where he finds ketamine to be a particularly powerful medicine, as its dissociate quality can help athletes tune out the high pressure expectations. L.J. also discusses leveraging the critical learning period provided by psychedelic therapies to institute new healthy habits, something which could benefit athletes both on and off the field. In this episode you'll hear: How ketamine-assisted therapy may be able to help athletes with their unique psychological challenges Integrating mindfulness to prepare for psychedelic therapies Leveraging the somatic component of psychedelic therapies to address pain The importance of integration practices and support systems The differences between working with psilocybin versus ketamine Drowning out critics and sports commentary and getting back to basics with the help of psychedelic therapy Quotes: “If you've been paid millions of dollars to hit and be aggressive for so long and that's how you've dealt with your emotions—and it wasn't a problem because you were being rewarded for it—what do you do when you're not getting rewarded for that anymore? When you have to actually change how you process emotion—there's not a playbook for that.” [7:46] “Just talking about [mental health] and normalizing it—all of a sudden you're allowed to get help, you're allowed to heal, you're allowed to go to practices that have been practiced throughout human civilization. We're bringing [psychedelics] back and I think that athletes are the ones who are really going to be the ship of normalization.” [22:38] “Especially if you're off season, those other medicines [besides ketamine] I think they're going to be even more helpful because that might encourage the rest, it might encourage being able to connect with family systems. I think for some of the more acute stuff, the ketamine does serve a great purpose in that.” [28:16] Links: L.J. on Instagram L.J. on LinkedIn Nomad Healing Practices website Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, podcast host Dr. Lynn Marie Morski comes on the mic to provide a five-year update on the podcast and share the changes in the legal landscape of psychedelics in the past half-decade. Lynn Marie Morski, MD, JD is the president of the Psychedelic Medicine Association and host of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast. She sits on the advisory boards of Psychedelics Today, Cybin, VETS, Inc (Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions), the Oxenberg Foundation, and the Ketamine Task Force. Dr. Morski is a Mayo Clinic-trained physician in family medicine and sports medicine, as well as an attorney and former adjunct law professor. In this anniversary episode you'll hear about the legally-accessible forms of psychedelic therapy which have come to prominence as potential mainstream therapeutics in recent years. Dr. Mroski shares Information on the legal adult use framework for psilocybin in Oregon, including licensing, costs, and exclusion criteria. She also discusses programs in Australia and Canada that will allow certain patients to access psychedelic therapies such as psilocybin- and MDMA-assisted therapy. In addition to classic psychedelic medicines, Dr. Morski also shares information on the medicine which is currently most accessible: ketamine. She discusses the difference between S-ketamine and R-ketamine and on-label and off-label uses of this substance. In closing, Dr. Morski presents some of the finer details of the current landscape of insurance coverage for ketamine. In this episode you'll hear: The difference between decriminalization and legalization The FDA decision to deny the Lykos Therapeutics' new drug application for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD The upcoming Colorado psilocybin program Psychiatric licenses to administer MDMA and LSD to patients in Australia The Special Access Program for psychedelic therapies in Canada Legal ketamine access in the United States How the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast chooses guests Quotes: “I wanted to focus mostly on what is legal because we know that's the way things are going to be the most monitored and therefore safely accessible.” [20:45] “People are in this industry because they want other people to feel better and they want to help and they're so generous with their time” [25:31] Links: clinicaltrials.gov - the place to find information on upcoming clinical trials for psychedelic medicine for which you may qualify Insurance Coverage for Psychedelic Therapy by Vincent Joralemon SPRAVATO withMe Patient Support Program Enthea insurance Previous episode: How to Choose A Psychedelic Facilitator or Retreat Center with Joël Brierre Previous episode: Warning Signs When Selecting a Psychedelic Facilitator with Juliana Mulligan Previous episode: Ketamine Scientific Research with Dr. Jason Wallach Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Dr. David Rabin, MD, PhD joins to discuss whether genes can be predictive of one's response to MDMA Therapy. Dr. Rabin, a board-certified psychiatrist and neuroscientist, is the co-founder & chief medical officer at Apollo Neuroscience. In addition to his clinical psychiatry practice, Dr. Rabin is also the co-founder & executive director of The Board of Medicine, and a psychedelic clinical researcher currently evaluating the mechanism of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy in treatment-resistant mental illnesses. In this conversation, Dr. Rabin shares his research into epigenetic responses to MDMA-therapy, exploring topics of trauma, gene expression, and personalized, data-driven medicine. He discusses the seminal discovery that trauma can cause epigenetic changes in the structure and function of the cortical system and his own research findings that uncovered a reversal of these changes associated with MDMA-assisted therapy. Dr. Rabin hopes further research in this area may allow for leveraging epigenetic data to determine which psychedelic medicine a particular patient may be most likely to respond to and track how effective a given treatment has been. In closing, he expresses excitement about bringing objective biological precision to mental health treatment, drawing a parallel to the discovery of antibiotics which allowed for much more tailored treatments of infections which has saved countless lives. In this episode you'll hear: Response rates to psychedelic-assisted therapy for PTSD versus conventional therapies The consequences of ineffective treatment for PTSD MDMA-assisted therapy as preventative care and the societal cost savings involved Genetics, epigenetics, and gene expression Using epigenetic data from simple saliva swabs to better gauge response to MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD Quotes: “Most of the treatments we have available today for PTSD—that are the FDA-cleared, considered gold standard treatments—only actually induce remission from illness… in about 30% of people. So of the 100% of the millions of people every year that are getting treated for PTSD, with the best treatments that we have that are currently available, only 30%—at best—are getting better long term. Everyone else has a diagnosis of PTSD for life.” [3:55] “MDMA-assisted therapy for people with PTSD is having an effect that's similar to what we saw with the discovery of antibiotics for infection.” [8:07] “Folks with severe PTSD who went through this trial, when they received MDMA-assisted therapy, [the researchers] saw a statistically significant change—in terms of repair—of the cortisol receptor's epigenetic code which reflects improved structure and function of that receptor site. But not only that—we saw that the amount that people got better… was directly correlated with… the amount of remodeling and repair at the receptor site.” [18:36] “Epigenetic code is actually something that can be modified by experiences in our environment. And trauma—or PTSD diagnoses, a series of significant traumas over time—can in fact change epigenetic code of the cortisol receptor gene. And that changes how the cortisol receptor gene gets made, and it changes its function.” [29:52] “PTSD is a disorder of learned fear. How do we treat PTSD? In animals and humans, we provide the same stimulation that they were getting that they are now afraid of in the context of safety. That's how exposure therapy works, that's how MDMA therapy works to some extent—all of these tools and techniques work to treat PTSD effectively… in the same way. It's called safety conditioning.” [36:48] Links: Dr. Rabin's article: Pilot study suggests DNA methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) is associated with MDMA-assisted therapy treatment response for severe PTSD Dr. Rabin's website Dr. Rabin on LinkedIn Dr. Rabin on Instagram Dr. Rabin on Twitter Apollo Neuroscience website Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Mark Braunstein, DO joins to discuss the promise and the peril of ketamine. Dr. Braunstein graduated medical school in 1997 then completed a General Psychiatry Residency at the University of New Mexico and then a fellowship in Child and Adolescent psychiatry at Maine Medical Center in 2002. Upon graduation from his fellowship and becoming board certified in general psychiatry he established a private practice in Durango, Colorado where plant medicine became part of his everyday integrative psychiatric practice. In this conversation, Dr. Braunstein shares some of the developments in the world of ketamine in the past three years since his previous episode, drawing on his own experience providing ketamine-assisted therapies. He stresses issues of grandiosity that can arise both when working with ketamine and when taking the medicine—issues which in the worst case and fuel ketamine use disorders. Dr. Braunstein stresses the importance of clinicians providing ketamine treatments being realistic and upfront about the potential harms of ketamine when advising prospective patients. In closing, he warns against the dangers of being in an echo chamber which reinforces potentially pathological substance use, especially for clinicians in the ketamine space. In this episode you'll hear: Why ketamine has an addictive potential and how ketamine addiction presents Ways to treat ketamine use disorder The importance of informed consent What patients should look for when seeking a ketamine provider The importance of ketamine providers working with multiple modalities and having multiple tools in the toolbox besides ketamine Quotes: “Here's what's scary to me about ketamine: these people that I've seen having problems [with ketamine use] are largely lifetime recreational psychedelic/drug users without problems. And these are people who have made it to age fifty, smoking [cannabis], tripping a little bit, their whole life without having a problem—then at fifty years old, find themselves hooked on something for the first time.” [12:30] “[Ketamine] is not a microdosing medication… There is no such thing as ketamine microdosing. You think of microdosing as sub-perceptual. Everyone that I've met that's abusing ketamine, it was not a sub-perceptual effect—they were very much abusing it to have that perceived effect. Maybe not a psychedelic effect—usually an intoxicated wonky effect is what they're going for. And people refer to that as microdosing. It's not microdosing. It's abusing small doses.” [17:11] “What do I see that makes me concerned with someone I'm talking to—a clinician or a client? That grandiosity. So that gets me concerned right away when I hear about these ‘downloads' because that's where … other psychedelics can have dependency too. You see people … they go for aya ceremonies every week after week after week. So there can be an addiction to the download or to the release.” [34:35] “The people I know that have been successful in this line of work (from a patient standpoint), whether they're a clinician or not, have been the ones that have embraced the work. And just knowing that this is going to be a process and I'm in it to win it, for life. I'm working on myself.” [35:40] Links: Dr. Braunstein on LinkedIn Ketamine Research Foundation website NeuPath Mind Wellness website Ketamine Training Center website Previous episode: Ketamine for Alcohol Use Disorder with Steven Mandel, MD Previous episode: Avoiding the Traps of Psychedelic Self-Absorption with Adam Aronovich, PhD(c) Previous episode: Navigating Psychedelic Narcissism with Adam Aronovich Previous episode: Psychedelic Therapy: Slow Down to Heal Faster with Sunny Strasburg, LMFT Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Steve Rio joins to discuss 5-MeO-DMT for Trauma and PTSD. Steve is a psychedelic facilitator and Co-Founder of Enfold, which offers a groundbreaking psychospiritual model that combines psychedelic intensives, coaching, and community to help individuals heal trauma and reach their full potential. In this conversation, Steve shares his journey of how he got into facilitating 5-MeO-DMT experiences and insights on working safely and effectively with this medicine over the course of his practice. He discusses the screening procedure he uses before clearing clients for facilitated 5-MeO-DMT experiences to ensure safety as much as possible when working with this powerful psychedelic. Steve also talks about how he tailors his work with clients based on the state of their nervous system and their unique personality. In closing, Steve emphasizes the somatic quality of 5-MeO-DMT experiences, sharing different types of experiences people typically have on the medicine and how these can best be integrated. In this episode you'll hear: Preparation for safe and effective 5-MeO-DMT experiences Stories of transformation following 5-MeO-DMT healing for PTSD and focused integration practices How common 5-MeO-DMT reactivations are, and when they typically happen Issues of spiritual bypassing in underground psychedelic facilitation How to navigate informed consent in the context of facilitating psychedelic experiences Quotes: “At the peak of the 5-MeO experience, there is no mind… When people talk about the death and the rebirth experience with 5-MeO, what we're really talking about is relaxing and essentially dissolving the ego entirely so there is no experience of ‘you' in the experience—you become one with the experience. But… what's possible there is that we then access the nervous system and we see these very dramatic energetic releases and people often are physically reliving traumatic experiences and physically releasing the fight, flight, freeze response that may have happened or not happened.” [6:52] “Trauma is complex and for some people it's not that simple. For some people, they go through a six- to twelve-month process after 5-MeO-DMT that is really challenging.” [22:37] “So [we're] helping people… build sensitivity in their nervous system—reconnect with sensitivity and slowing things down and building more awareness and learning how to notice their emotions as sensations in the body before they become thought patterns.” [32:00] “I think one of the challenges in all of this is that people will lie to you to get to your experience because they're desperate for the healing. And you have to be really careful about the conversations you have and asking open-ended questions and really listening to your intuition—and really being grounded in that.” [40:28] “What we're doing here I would say there's obviously a psychological component to it, but often that happens in the weeks and months afterwards. What's happening here is a much more somatic experience and it can be very confusing and challenging for the mind of a person… you've paid all this money, you've prepared for weeks and months, you've been thinking about it, you come have this experience… Right after the ceremony for some people, the thought is ‘what just happened?' and ‘did anything happen?' and ‘did it work?' because there's very rarely like an immediate insight on ‘here's how you're going to make your life better'—that's not what comes out of this experience. What comes out of this experience is a dramatic shift in how your body feels and often people will report feeling emotionally lighter or that they lost ten pounds. It's hard to explain, but the way peoples' eyes light up the day after the ceremony is so different—like they often just look different coming in and leaving.” [42:56] Links: Enfold Website Enfold on Instagram Enfold on YouTube Still In It: 5-MeO-DMT Stories Previous episode: Psychedelic Therapy: Slow Down to Heal Faster with Sunny Strasburg, LMFT Previous episode: Psychedelic Adjunct Series: Somatic Therapy with Jenna Valentine, DACM, LAc Previous episode: Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy for Accelerated Growth with Nick Brüss, EdD, LMFT Previous episode: When *Not* to Proceed with a Planned Psychedelic Journey with Rick Barnett, PsyD Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Sunny Strasburg joins to open the conversation of leveraging lower doses of psychedelic substances for more effective healing. Sunny Strasburg, LMFT, a licensed psychotherapist, educator, and pioneering author, specializes in psychedelic therapies and training clinicians to be skilled and trauma-informed psychedelic therapists. As the founder and author of The Theradelic Approach, she equips clinicians with trauma-informed psychedelic-assisted therapy methods, blending IFS, EMDR, archetypal psychology, trauma-informed care, and her extensive experience. In this conversation, Sunny shares insights drawn from Internal Family Systems (IFS) and explores how these perspectives can help inspire more effective psychedelic work, especially with lower doses. She emphasizes the importance of adequate preparation and not over-valorizing intense psychedelic experiences, noting that these therapies themselves can be traumatic if not handled with care. Sunny also discusses how one's own internal protectors have adaptive rolls and display a lot of compassionate intelligence, so even though these parts may initially provide a barrier to deep trauma work, it is important for therapists to work collaboratively with these parts of a client's psyche. In closing she talks about how to better set reasonable expectations in group psychedelic therapy and retreat settings, where integration can easily turn into a competition of who had the most intense experience, with things like ego dissolution becoming the barometer for healing. In this episode you'll hear: How “protector systems” and “rubber band effects” manifest in high-dose psychedelic therapy sessions Uncovering previously unknown traumas during psychedelic therapies and how therapists can be better prepared for this situation How therapists can skillfully work with symbolic material that arises in psychedelic journeys The importance of slowing down and letting the client guide the pace when addressing serious traumas in particular Differences between ketamine, MDMA, and the classic psychedelics in terms of effects on the fear center of the brain Leveraging critical learning periods in therapy to reprocess traumatic memories Quotes: “Being a trauma therapist, you have to be skilled enough to know what is symbolic in a psychedelic journey, what's a literal memory… You don't want to do any kind of leading or prompting the client to fill in anything or directing them to anything—you're really tracking where they are and letting them uncover their own path. Again, at the speed in which their protector system is ready for that.” [22:43] “These parts want people to remember. They want to heal, they want to let their stories be told. And so our job as therapists is to clear the clutter so we can really hear the system and trust the system. The system knows.” [28:02] “Trauma is like a sliver that's buried in the arm—like in the deep skin of your arm and it's got an infection around it. And all of your coping mechanisms, all of your protectors (using IFS language), is like building a giant layer of scar tissue on top of that. And you could just go through life with that, and you could just put lotion on the top of that scar and just try to make it look pretty—and that's okay. But you could go in and surgically remove the sliver that's been offending your system the whole time. And once you remove that sliver, you will start to heal—your arm will heal, it won't have an infection anymore, right? But removing that sliver hurts. It's painful. It's a process. But you don't have to deal with that sliver anymore. And that's kind of how I imagine going through trauma work.” [31:08] “I've had clients that I've worked with using EMDR, IFS for years, we've made some progress, but then we get ketamine on board and it's totally helped them and amplified the benefit.” [35:13] “Trust your protector system. Slow down. I promise, if you slow down and really get curious about what your protectors need, you will go so much further with these medicines. It really is not a race. It's slow and steady, and you're going to be able to get more work done.” [40:23] Links: Sunny's website Sunny on LinkedIn Sunny on Instagram Previous episode: Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy for Accelerated Growth with Nick Brüss, EdD, LMFT Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
This episode of the Plant Medicine Podcast welcomes Dr. Angela Carter (they/them) to discuss the intersection of the LGBTQIA2S+ community and psychedelics. Dr. Carter is a queer, transgender, and genderqueer naturopathic primary care physician who also works as a midwife, sexual assault examiner, and health equity advocate in Portland, Oregon. They also serve as both the vice-chair and the equity in training subcommittees co-chair of the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board. In addition to these positions, Dr. Carter serves as the chair of the Transgender Health Program Community Advisory Board at Oregon Health & Science University. They also volunteer with many organizations including the Fireside Project, Black Rock City Emergency Services, and Queerdome. Dr. Carter begins this conversation by sharing exciting new research currently being conducted which involves LGBTQIA2S+ individuals and psychedelic therapies. While this particular area of research remains small, it is growing and the fruits of these studies will be an important step for better understanding how these new therapies can serve gender and sexuality minorities, and help facilitators understand the unique concerns of people in the LGBTQIA2S+ community. Dr. Carter illustrates these types of concerns by discussing the prevalence of gender binaries within psychedelic spaces. They describe how in a clinical setting it is prevalent to have both a male and a female facilitator, but this leaves no room for gender-nonconforming people to guide experiences—something which could be preferable if the patient themselves shares this identity. Dr. Carter also discusses this gender binary in traditional contexts. It is common for ayahuasca ceremonies to provide separate spaces for men and women, again leaving no space for gender-nonconforming people. This reification of the gender binary and the often patriarchal organization of the ayahuasca ceremony can have serious impacts on the set and setting, especially for people in the LGBTQIA2S+ community. Dr. Carter emphasizes the importance of making space for folks in the community so that they are able to receive therapy, attend ceremonies, and participate in integration with others who share similar identities. This shared identity, they emphasize, ensures that LGBTQIA2S+ people don't feel out of place in contexts that ought to be healing. Dr. Carter closes by discussing how members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community experience disproportionate rates of mental illness, further illustrating the crucial importance of equity in accessing psychedelic medicine. In this episode: Problems of representation and access for LGBTQIA2S+ individuals in the psychedelic space Current research being done on the intersection between psychedelic therapies and unique issues faced by gender and sexuality minorities Preparations to take before guiding a psychedelic experience for LGBTQIA2S+ people, particularly if you do not come from the community How plant medicines could have unique benefits for the LGBTQIA2S+ community Issues of poverty faced by marginalized peoples and how to support equity of access to emerging psychedelic therapies Quotes: “For some people that idea of melding, of becoming one and losing all of those unique pieces of themselves, doesn't fit their paradigm of a spiritual connecting experience.” [10:47] “It's precious, that centering of our community—to be able to sit with people who just understand.” [19:42] “Psychedelics offer the opportunity for connection of the self to something greater, something outside, a bigger community, spirituality, and really do a huge amount to heal peoples' relationships with substances.” [25:20] “Marginalized communities have been really impacted, largely, by the war on drugs, which has put millions of people in jail for drug offenses and stolen their ability to make income, stolen their ability to connect with community and we really need to heal that.” [33:34] Links: Chacruna Institute Queering Psychedelics 2019 Conference Queerdome on Facebook Portland Psychedelic Society Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Dr. Hans Eriksson joins to discuss the potential of non-dissociative ketamine. Dr. Eriksson, Chief Medical Officer at HMNC Brain Health, is a highly respected drug developer and clinical psychiatrist with over 20 years of pharmaceutical experience. Prior to HMNC Brain Health, Dr. Eriksson served as Chief Medical Officer at COMPASS Pathways and previously as Senior Director of Clinical Research at Lundbeck and Medical Science Director at AstraZeneca. In this conversation, Dr. Eriksson shares what inspired him to move from clinical practice to drug development, and why he sees so much potential in developing non-dissociative forms of ketamine. He discusses the ways the dissociative effects of ketamine decrease the accessibility of this treatment due to the fact that these changes in perception are undesirable for a significant portion of patients. Dr. Eriksson also shares results from preliminary studies of non-dissociative ketamine which showed efficacy in inducing anti-depressant effects. In closing, Dr. Eriksson discusses why he thinks the experiential element of the classical psychedelics play an important role in their efficacy as mental health treatments, but why this might not be the case when it comes to ketamine. In this episode you'll hear: The history of ketamine The pharmacology of ketamine's dissociative effect The relationship between ketamine dose and antidepressant effect The possibility of bladder issues and addiction with ketamine and whether non-dissociative forms of ketamine would also have these potentials How Dr. Eriksson thinks about combining psychotherapy with ketamine treatments Quotes: “We are aiming for a similar exposure to the drug as you achieve with, for instance, an intravenous administration, but we are achieving a much lower peak concentration, maximum concentration of the compound. So that is one of the characteristics of our formulation.” [10:58] “Our view is that it's probably better to try to use the metabolism in the body as a tool to achieve very low exposure to ketamine but high exposure to the downstream metabolites.” [23:19] Links: Dr. Eriksson on LinkedIn HMNC Brain Health on LinkedIn HMNC Brain Health website Previous episode: Potential Benefits of Non-Hallucinogenic Psychedelics with Kurt Rasmussen, PhD Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Chandra Khalifian, PhD joins to explore ketamine-assisted couples therapy. Dr. Chandra Khalifian is a clinical psychologist, researcher, educator and Co-CEO of Enamory, a clinic and community focused on providing expansive relationship education and therapy including psychedelic-assisted couple-therapy. In this conversation Dr. Khalifian explores the intricacies of ketamine-assisted couples therapy, sharing why she thinks psychedelics, and ketamine in particular, could be a good fit for couples therapy. She discusses the various contexts where ketamine-assisted therapy may be a good fit for couples pursuing therapy, the therapeutic modalities well-suited to this work, and the different dosing and administration routes of ketamine. In closing, Dr. Khalifian explores situations where couples may be better suited to pursuing this therapy individually and also contexts where ketamine-assisted couples therapy would not be an appropriate intervention. In this episode you'll hear: How Dr. Khalifian got involved in couples therapy The various models of ketamine-assisted couples therapy, and how to decide what is most appropriate The importance of preparation and integration How to navigate the two people in the couple having very different ketamine experiences When Dr. Khalifian uses intramuscular ketamine infusions versus ketamine lozenges Why Dr. Khalifian leans towards using third-wave cognitive behavioral therapy for ketamine-assisted therapy The tendency for people to make major relationship decisions following intense psychedelic experiences Quotes: “Ketamine is great because—in the same way with individuals—with couples it's going to pull us out of that pattern so that we can then see the pattern and talk about the pattern from this observer perspective rather than being stuck in the ‘it's me versus you' we can look at it together and the couple can say ‘ah, there's that thing that we do when we feel distressed, and now we can work together on that thing since we can see it from a little more distance.'” [4:43] “Similar to MDMA, people are less likely to express criticisms in a hurtful way and less likely to receive constructive criticism and be defensive [during ketamine therapy].” [9:05] “I had one couple [as patients for ketamine therapy] that the partner was like ‘I just felt this liquid compassion. I finally understood why she was engaging in these behaviors. And so everything made sense and I was able to talk about it in a different way.'” [17:49] Links: Enamory website Enamory on Instagram Previous episode: MDMA-Assisted Couples Therapy with Kayla Knopp, PhD Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Dr. Evan Cole Lewis joins to explore the topic of psychedelics and seizure disorders. Dr. Lewis is a Canadian Neurologist and holds an appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto. He has special interest in the treatment of neurologic disorders, including functional seizures, with psychedelic therapies. In this conversation, Dr. Lewis shares his expertise on a number of topics at the intersection of psychedelics and seizure disorders. He discusses the neurology behind psychedelics and functional neurological disorders more broadly, explaining why he thinks this is a very promising area of research. He explains that currently very little is known about the topic of psychedelics and seizure disorders, as almost all studies have had epilepsy as an absolute contraindication, leaving researchers with only case reports. However, there are some promising indications in the preclinical data which warrant further investigation. In closing, Dr. Lewis sheds light on potential seizure risks resulting from interactions between psychedelics and other medications. In this episode you'll hear: The different between epileptic seizures and functional seizures How Dr. Lewis started exploring the topic of psychedelics and functional seizures Why Dr. Lewis thinks psychedelic science has the potential to rebuild bridges between neurology and psychiatry Dr. Lewis' experiences treating epileptic patients with ketamine The potential for co-administered lithium and psychedelics to cause seizures Quotes: “I tell people psychedelics are brain network medicine—they kind of dissolve those networks. If the thinking is that FND [Functional Neurological Disorder] is due to dysfunctional connection or hyperconnectivity in certain networks, what we have to do is we have to repair those networks, but first we have to take them apart and build them back up.” [11:03] “Regardless, even if there isn't even a condition in which psychedelics are utilized in neurology, we need the neurologists to be able to indicate that these patients are safe—or at least do the work and be involved in the clinical team.” [21:05] “Things like drug interactions we pick up with psychedelics again are going to be a big piece of the puzzle that needs to be answered going forward.” [29:17] Links: Dr. Lewis on LinkedIn Dr. Lewis on YouTube Exploring psychedelic-assisted therapy in the treatment of functional seizures: A review of underlying mechanisms and associated brain networks by Dr. Lewis et al. Case report: Improvement in refractory functional seizures, depression, and quality of life with by Dr. Lewis et al. Psychedelics, epilepsy, and seizures: a review by Dr. Lewis et al. Drug-drug interactions between psychiatric medications and MDMA or psilocybin: a systematic review by Kelan Thomas, Benjamin Malcolm, et al. ketamine-assisted therapy Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Dr. Jenna Valentine joins to explore the intersection of psychedelics and somatic therapy. Dr. Valentine is a doctor of Chinese Medicine who incorporates both functional medicine and somatic experiencing within her practice to help achieve optimal wellness. In this conversation, Dr. Valentine introduces somatic therapy, drawing parallels to psychedelic work and exploring how this modality may support more healthy and holistic psychedelic experiences. She explains how somatic therapy proceeds by tuning into the body, with therapists helping to guide clients' awareness of the intelligence in their bodies. Dr. Valentine emphasizes the importance of not forcing things in somatic work - with gentler, slower practices often being best to align with health. In closing, she outlines how somatic therapy can be used for preparation and integration of a psychedelic experience, and also explores the possibilities of somatic modalities being used during psychedelic therapy. In this episode you'll hear: The different forms of somatic therapy The overemphasis on the mind in our culture Why there aren't contraindications for somatic therapy Somatic therapy as a modality for working with patients diagnosed with biploar disorder or schizophrenia The intersection of healing and re-learning to be playful The importance of “doing less” Why glorifying “heroic doses” of psychedelics can be counterproductive to healing Shadow work and somatic therapy Quotes: “There's many different definitions of [somatic therapy] but the one I love the most is: guiding yourself back to your body as your primary resource.” [4:02] “A lot of the work is making sure people learn that they don't have to feel afraid of themselves—no part of you is ‘coming to get you' … no part of you is trying to trick you or hurt you or surprise you. Sometimes I'll describe it as I'm helping people guide themselves back to themselves and find a safe home there again.” [13:05] “We have lost our relationship with discomfort, and a lot of this work is uncomfortable. And the work is being in the discomfort and building a larger capacity for being uncomfortable, and learning the difference between uncomfortable and unhelpful, because that's not something we're trained in.” [23:41] “There's learning that can happen in everything … The expectation is to have no expectation: we can have a loose intention, and then let the body lead.” [47:18] Links: Dr. Valentine on Instagram Dr. Valentine's website Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast Tommaso Barba joins to explore the topic of psychedelics for sexual functioning and intimacy. Tommaso is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London where his research is focused on understanding the potential role of psychedelic drugs for well-being. Tommaso authored the first paper on the effects of psychedelics on sexual functioning. In this conversation, Tommaso shares results from the multiple studies into psychedelics and sexual functions he has been involved in. He reports that in both a trial comparing psilocybin and escitalopram and a survey of naturalistic psychedelic use, respondents reported positive impacts on sexual functioning following psychedelic experiences. He also speculates about aspects of the psychedelic experience that are interpreted as “erotic” in the midst of the altered state and the reported shifts to experiencing sexual connection as more “spiritual” following psychedelic experiences. In closing, Tommaso discusses the promise of psychedelic journeys for healthy couples and the difficulties of researching this topic since there is no clear pathology being addressed. In this episode you'll hear: How Tommaso got interested in the intersection of psychedelics and sexual functioning Why SRRIs often have side effects of inhibiting sexual function How psychedelic neuropharmacology may help explain improved sexual functioning following psychedelic experiences The upcoming studies exploring the effects of psychedelic journeys on couples who undergo the experience together The possible differences between MDMA and classic psychedelics in terms of mechanism and impact when it comes to effects on sexual function Quotes: “When we looked at the positive affect symptoms—like wellbeing, connectedness, ability to feel emotions, and so on… Psilocybin outperformed escitalopram. And given so, we were really curious to investigate further the sex lives of these patients, because an active sex life is a key component of people's wellbeing, and a very overlooked one.” [7:34] “What we found was that people treated with psilocybin reported improvements in sexual pleasure, in capacity to communicate sexual desires with their partner, in sexual arousal, sexual satisfaction, and similar components of sexual functioning, while people treated with escitalopram did not report any of these changes and tended to report deterioration in this aspect of functioning.” [11:10] “[These psychedelic treatments may] work because it disentangles couples and its capable of individuating the two patients into the context of their relationship so that they start to develop a better identity in the context of the relationship instead of being completely fused into each other and not capable of really developing themselves and communicating their desires and what they want.” [31:15] Links: Tommaso on Twitter Tommaso on LinkedIn Imperial College Centre for Psychedelic Research online survey study: psychedelics and couples Previous episode: Microdosing and the Placebo Effect with Balázs Szigeti, PhD Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast Kayla Knopp joins to explore the topic of MDMA-Assisted Couples Therapy. Dr. Kayla Knopp is a clinical psychologist and researcher specializing in non-traditional couples and relationships. She specializes in making couple therapies more inclusive, accessible, and effective, including MDMA- and ketamine-assisted couple therapy. In this conversation, Dr. Knopp introduces MDMA-assisted couples therapy, discussing why this entactogen is a good fit for couples therapy. She discusses how MDMA helps couples explore issues by dissolving typical defensive boundaries and encouraging empathy. She emphasizes that not all couples may be a good fit for this therapy, however, and especially cautions against couples therapy in contexts of abuse where connecting with resources for safety and pursuing individual courses of therapy is more appropriate. In closing, Dr. Knopp discusses the importance of screening and the responsibility the psychedelic community has to ensure these substances are being used in safe and effective therapeutic contexts overseen by qualified and caring facilitators. In this episode you'll hear: The history of MDMA-assisted couples therapy When couple therapy is and is not appropriate Integrating MDMA-assisted therapy with cognitive-behavioral conjoint therapy for PTSD Therapeutic modalities which may be well-suited to MDMA-assisted couples therapy Quotes: “[MDMA] does so many things that are facilitative of the primary goals of couples therapy, which are to reduce defensiveness, to increase the flexibility that we have in taking our partner's perspective, increase the empathy and intimacy we feel with other people, increase the reward that we get from positive interpersonal interactions.” [4:33] “When we treat relationship dysfunction, we know mental health often improves as a result of that and conversely, we also know that sometimes when we do mental health treatments, if we ignore the relational context that somebody is living in, we only give them part of what they need in order to fully heal psychiatrically. So, couple-based interventions for mental health disorders, including PTSD, are up-and-coming as a really effective way to address mental health concerns.” [8:14] “MDMA tends to increase our window of tolerance for emotional experiences—it makes it safer and easier for us to remain in contact with feelings that might otherwise feel pretty overwhelming.” [23:48] “I think there's absolutely a lot of ego and a toxic guru model that can show up in psychedelic-assisted therapy that, as a community, as practitioners, as participants, we need to keep an eye out for and keep ourselves accountable as a community to make sure that we're not giving folks a pass.” [31:17] Links: Dr. Knopp on Instagram Enamory website Enamory on Instagram Previous episode: Avoiding the Traps of Psychedelic Self-Absorption with Adam Aronovich, PhD(c) Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Plant Medicine Podcast, Dr. Mark Braunstein returns to discuss potential concerns surrounding the use of ketamine, especially use which is not overseen by a knowledgeable medical professional. Dr. Braunstein is a whole-health psychiatrist with 22 years of clinical experience. He is the medical director for multiple mental health and psychedelic psychotherapy clinics in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah and he also runs in-patient and out-patient programs for addiction. Additionally, Dr. Braunstein is involved in multiple projects focused on expanding access, awareness, research, and safety in the field of psychedelics. To begin this conversation, Dr. Braunstein shares how his original exposure to ketamine wasn't in a medicinal context, but rather as a recreational drug of abuse. However, since then he has seen the transformative effects this substance can have on patients when used in a physician-directed context and for therapeutic purposes. Nonetheless, Dr. Braunstein stresses that this does not mean ketamine use does not come with certain risks. Ketamine can be addictive and even carries a risk of overdose, particularly when used recreationally in a context where the purity of the substance is unknown. Dr. Braunstein distinguishes recreational and therapeutic uses of ketamine, explaining that recreational doses are often lower and dosing is more frequent, whereas ketamine is used in high doses in a therapeutic context, with extended periods between sessions. Dr. Braunstein stresses both the responsibility of physicians and of patients to ensure ketamine is prescribed responsibly and used as directed. Despite the dangers posed by recreational ketamine use Dr. Braunstein describes in this conversation, it is still a medicine he believes can have significant positive impacts for patients. This requires, however, that it not be treated merely as yet another quick fix pill. Instead, Dr. Braunstein emphasizes that ketamine treatment ought to coincide with psychotherapeutic work. This combination, he says, will maximize the therapeutic potential of ketamine while also helping to ensure that the medicine is used responsibly, under the close direction of a medical professional. In this episode: The addiction and overdose potential with recreational ketamine use How dosage can dramatically change the effects of ketamine Responsible prescribing practices for physicians working with ketamine The psychological and physiological harms of ketamine abuse How Dr. Braunstein talks to his patients about responsible use before prescribing ketamine The importance of combining psychedelic medicines with psychotherapeutic work Quotes: “Part of why ketamine works is because it lights up your brain in all these different ways and when done occasionally, intentionally, it moves you. But if you're always doing that, it ends up having the reverse effect, causing damage.” [12:56] “This is a heavy-duty medication that, if you cross the line, can cause you to stop breathing and then die. So there is an actual, real danger to ketamine.” [16:25] “I think the organ that is most prone to damage from overuse of ketamine is the same organ we are touting it fixing: the mind.” [18:39] “When we think about these medications, we should think about combining them with therapy and not just taking these medications as medications… So that's why with ketamine I'm really recommending it with therapy.” [25:04] Links: Reconscious Medical Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast we discuss the topic of psychedelics and postpartum mood disorders. Melissa Whippo is a licensed psychotherapist who specializes in the intersection of women's health and psychedelics. She founded a non-profit, Deva Collective, which has fiscal sponsorship with MAPS, and is currently conducting research about perimenopause and microdosing San Pedro. In this conversation, Melissa shares the details of existing research into psychedelic treatments for postpartum populations. She discusses the findings from her study on “The Pharmacokinetics of Ketamine in the Breast Milk of Lactating Women,” reporting that ketamine was not detected at all in breast milk twelve hours after dosing. She also shares information on parents' intentional use of microdosing and what motivates them to take up this practice. In closing, Melissa discusses her upcoming research on microdosing San Pedro among perimenopausal populations and why she decided to focus on San Pedro for this study. In this episode you'll hear: The early research into ketamine for postpartum depression and whether ketamine remains in breast milk The prevalence of mood concerns in the postpartum population Issues of access with ketamine treatments for new mothers Improvements in postpartum mood patients following ketamine treatments that Melissa has seen in her practice Hormone changes after giving birth and how this might relate to mood concerns Ketamine for postpartum pain Quotes: “The reason why ketamine and other psychedelics appeal to me more [than other treatments for postpartum depression], is it's not a medicine you have to take every day and it's not a medicine that's going to cause a significant separation [with the newborn] like a hospital admission would.” [5:55] “More SSRI—which is still considered safe by the medical profession—passes through the breastmilk than ketamine. Probably nanograms. And ketamine has such a short half-life in the system, particularly with the intramuscular route of administration, that twelve hours after dosing, the breast milk was completely clear.” [14:22] “That's what ketamine does so well—it gives people a different view of some of the things they're really struggling with that they can't quite break through. Some of these more recursive ruminations that seem to befall mothers quite a bit—and they're usually pretty negative. But the medicine space gives them a different view.” [18:52] Links: Melissa's study: The Pharmacokinetics of Ketamine in the Breast Milk of Lactating Women: Quantification of Ketamine and Metabolites Melissa's article in the Washington Post: Some moms are microdosing mushrooms for anxiety and depression Melissa's website Deva Collective website Melissa on Instagram Plant Parenthood website Previous episode: Psychedelics and Women's Health with Allison Feduccia, PhD Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Hannah Raine-Smith and Jocelyn Rose join to discuss the psychedelic assisted EMDR therapy. Hannah is an integrative psychotherapist and independent researcher specializing in psychedelic integration using EMDR therapy. Jocelyn is a research therapist working on psychedelic clinical trials. She also works in private practice, and has a special interest in exploring the unfolding potential of EMDR as a scalable, trauma focused psychedelic assisted therapy. In this conversation, Hannah and Jocelyn introduce the basics of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy and its possible utility in adjunct to psychedelic assisted therapies. They discuss the overlapping mechanisms between EMDR and psychedelic therapies, with both engaging the serotonin 5-HT2 system and promoting neuroplasticity. Hannah and Jocelyn explain their excitement around integrating EMDR with psychedelic therapy, stressing that this may make these treatments more accessible for the patients who could benefit most from psychedelic therapy. In closing, the researchers call for additional investigation of the intersection of psychedelic therapy and EMDR and invite collaboration from anyone else exploring these promising treatments. You can contact Hannah and Jocelyn at info@bridgetothematrix.com In this episode you'll hear: How EMDR works to help people process traumatic memories Similar neurological effects of psychedelic therapies and EMDR Understanding the adaptive information processing (AIP) framework Hannah and Jocelyn's novel hypothesis for the basis of hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD) Using EMDR as an integration therapy for past psychedelic experiences Making psychedelic treatments more accessible and inclusive Quotes: “Like with indigenous shamanic practices, EMDR uses simple rhythms to alter consciousness. So EMDR is like an ancient healing mechanism that's been adapted to treat the modern soul.” [4:56] “When we reprocess these memories using bilateral stimulation of the brain, you start thinking and feeling differently about the same events. So trauma therapy isn't about changing the past, it's about how you think and feel about those experiences.” [5:26] “Some of the resistance that would normally be present in an EMDR session is diminished when someone has had a recent psychedelic experience.” [12:02] “Research has shown that EMDR taps into the same mechanisms as REM [sleep]. It's like adding the healing benefits of dreaming whilst on psychedelics but being more in control of what gets reprocessed.” [14:42] “The people who are most likely to have adverse drug reactions to psychedelics—whether that's HPPD or tolerance—tend to be the people who also have adverse childhood experiences or have traumatic complexity in their biographical content. And so we recognize that there's a need for trauma-focused psychedelic treatments if we're going to make these treatments available to the people who need them most and make them scalable—and we think EMDR is a good enough fit for that work to happen.” [25:46] Links: Hannah and Jocelyn's article: “Psychedelic-assisted EMDR therapy (PsyA-EMDR): A memory consolidation approach to psychedelic healing” Bridge to the Matrix: A Memory Consolidation Approach to Psychedelic Healing website Hannah on LinkedIn Jocelyn on LinkedIn Previous episode: Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy for Accelerated Growth with Nick Brüss, EdD, LMFT Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Steven Radowitz, MD joins to discuss the state of the research into ketamine treatments for PTSD. Dr. Steven Radowitz is the Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder, Nushama. He believes psychedelic medicine's framework of neuroscience, mystical experience, and integration therapy is the future of mental wellness, and current solutions often fall short, treating symptoms without addressing underlying issues. Dr. Radowitz and the Nushama team have administered thousands of ketamine journeys for mood disorders and are known to be best-in-class and among the most experienced globally. In this conversation, Dr. Radowitz shares the journey of his career in medicine and how he got involved in the treatment of mood disorders with ketamine. He discusses the way he works with patients to determine the best dosing of ketamine for their unique therapeutic needs and the way dosage intersects with the durability of the changes. Dr. Radowitz emphasizes how ketamine promotes neuroplasticity, which allows patients with PTSD to open a critical response window when confronted with triggers and re-code memories of trauma. In closing, Dr. Radowitz discusses the importance of integration and highlights the way psychedelic therapies empower patients to be their own healers. In this episode you'll hear: Using both psycholytic and psychedelic doses of ketamine and how therapeutic approach differs between the two Stories of transformation from Dr. Radowitz's ketamine practice The practices Dr. Radowitz recommends for patients following ketamine infusions How Dr. Radowitz uses music in his ketamine practice Quotes: “As much as we segregate all these mood disorders into separate disease entities… there's actually a common seed for them all—there's just different manifestations. But I say about 95% of the people who come in here [for ketamine treatments] have some type of trauma.” [4:56] “The dose doesn't always correlate with the experience—it usually doesn't. I can give people the same dose, with the same music, same everything, and they'll have completely different experiences each time.” [13:23] “What we do here is to create a medically safe and an emotionally safe environment for [patients]. But the medicine is them—they're the therapists in the end. … I want them to realize it's all coming from them. They have everything they need within themselves to heal.” [32:15] Links: Nushama website Nushama on LinkedIn Nushama on Instagram Nushama on Facebook Nushama on TikTok Dr. Radowitz on Linkedin The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael A. Singer Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender by David R. Hawkins Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Rick Strassman, MD joins to discuss the topic of endogenous DMT. Dr. Strassman is adjunct associate professor of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and author of DMT: The Spirit Molecule and The Psychedelic Handbook. His DMT and psilocybin studies in the early 1990s initiated the renewal of human research with psychedelics in the U.S. In this conversation, Dr. Strassman discusses the finer details of DMT, from endogenous production in humans and animals, to visionary experiences and theological implications. Dr. Strassman also covers the research that's been done regarding endogenous DMT, clarifying what we do and don't know about the role of the pineal gland and how this might relate to what is reported during near-death experiences. He also discusses the personal and relational quality of psychedelic experiences induced by DMT, mentioning that unitive mystical experiences were actually rare in the trials he conducted, with more experiences having a personal quality, drawing upon the life experiences and interests of the participants. In closing, Dr. Strassman shares his thoughts on the origins of the visions that many report during DMT use. In this episode you'll hear: The overlap between psychedelic experiences and meditation techniques The relationship between fear, self-awareness, and difficult DMT experiences The placebo effect and psychedelic research Dr. Strassman's thoughts on non-hallucinogenic psychedelics DMT as a possible treatment for strokes to prevent damage and speed recovery Effects of microdosing in animals and humans Quotes: “I think the best term for these compounds is psychedelic, which means mind manifesting or mind disclosing, because only one of our fifty-five or so normal volunteers had what one might call a mystical unitive state. … Everybody basically had an experience that was totally dependent on them. It was not inherent in the drug.” [9:45] “You could still speculate that to the extent that non-drug states resemble those brought on by giving DMT… that DMT plays a role in the production of those states. But the data aren't there yet. That's why we need more people doing this research.” [24:16] “If psychedelics are super placebos and if we have a psychedelic drug in our brain, it's attempting to speculate that normally the placebo effect could be mediated by endogenous DMT.” [27:42] “If you starve neurons of oxygen they start dying, but if you add DMT they survive much longer. So there seems to be some neuroprotective effect of DMT on ischemic damage to neurons, at least in the test tube.” [32:27] Links: Dr. Strassman's website The Psychedelic Handbook by Dr. Strassman DMT: The Spirit Molecule by Dr. Strassman DMT and the Soul of Prophecy: A New Science of Spiritual Revelation in the Hebrew Bible by Dr. Strassman Dr. Strassman on FacebookPrevious episode: Exploring DMT Entities with Matthew Johnson, PhD Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Stephanie Knatz Peck, PhD joins to discuss the research on psilocybin for anorexia nervosa. Dr. Stephanie Knatz Peck is a clinical psychologist and Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Diego with an expertise in eating disorders. She conducts clinical research on novel treatments for eating disorders and has been involved with clinical research evaluating psychedelics across a variety of mental health indications in the capacity of researcher and therapist. She also published the first ever report on a clinical study evaluating psilocybin for anorexia nervosa. In this conversation, Dr. Peck discusses the difficulties of treating eating disorders and the emerging evidence around the safety and efficacy of psychedelic-assisted therapies for these conditions. She discusses the results from a study she conducted on the safety and tolerability of psilocybin therapy for females with anorexia nervosa, finding that the treatment was safe and generally well tolerated amongst the trial group. The study additionally found positive treatment outcomes following the psilocybin therapy in a number of participants. In closing, Dr. Peck discusses how psychedelics are able to open a “behavior change window” following dosing sessions—something which may be crucial to their efficacy in treating eating disorders. In this episode: Dr. Peck's work treating patients with eating disorders The lesser known diagnostic categories orthorexia and eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) Genetic predisposition for eating disorders Why the participants in Dr. Peck's study thought they could benefit from additional psilocybin dosing sessions How transformative psychedelic experiences can help shift values and identities to promote eating disorder recovery Quotes: “We think that there are specific personality features that predispose someone to engage in dietary restrictive processes or behaviors or actions or modify their lifestyle around exercise and food—and then they fall into anorexia. And the thing that distinguishes those people is that sometimes they have these predisposing factors like a lot of anxiety or preoccupation, an ability to be highly self disciplined… There's a lot of processes in place that can cause a diet to go awry and turn into anorexia.” [12:29] “Something that distinguishes anorexia from other psychiatric illnesses is that it is an illness that really results in a lot of physiological vulnerability—across all body systems. And so while it might be fine to just assume that with some other psychiatric illnesses we can reliably assume safety, with this particular population there's cardiac issues, there's serotonergic things that affect cardiac issues that we really needed some safety data on.” [19:13] “We really need better treatments [for eating disorders] that treat from the inside out, meaning like what is happening on an underlying psychological level, neuropharmacological level, that's causing someone to want to engage in these behaviors and I think that is the value of these [psychedelic] treatments is that we are treating from a different direction.” [27:25] Links: Dr. Peck's study: Psilocybin therapy for females with anorexia nervosa: a phase 1, open-label feasibility study Current eating disorder studies at UCSD BrightMind Therapy website Dr. Peck on Twitter Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Ben Malcolm, PharmD, MPH joins to discuss why he prefers the term “psychosomatodelics” for psychedelics. Dr. Malcolm is a psychopharmacology consultant, psychedelic educator, founder of Spirit Pharmacist, LLC and a board member of the Psychedelic Medicine Association. In this conversation, Dr. Malcolm shares the meaning of the term psychosomatodelic as well as the history of the different terms used to refer to psychedelics. He emphasizes the ways that these substances manifest mind and body together, rather than only focusing on the mind-altering aspects of the experience. He also suggests that the line between side effects and therapeutic opportunities is blurry in psychedelic therapy, discussing the ways in which nausea and purging in the context of ayahuasca ceremonies can contribute to the sense of healing and psychosomatic catharsis. In closing, Dr. Malcolm suggests some directions for future research regarding serotonergic psychedelics' interaction with the gut-brain axis and the autonomic nervous system. In this episode: The meanings of more newer, more specified terminology such as psychoplastogen, entactogen, and more Trauma-resolving aspects of psychedelic experiences How psychedelics impact transmodal cortices of the brain The somatic side effects of psychedelics Quotes: “The psychedelic experience is inherently larger than either brain or mind, and it's more of a mind-body kind of experience. And it would be worth recognizing the mind-body contribution that is happening as far as the types of experiences persons are having, and maybe even the ways that psychedelics are working to provide a true, felt sense of relief for persons.” [3:51] “Why do we wear a blindfold for psychedelic therapy? Well, you're actually trying to limit the sensory input from certain unimodal sensory cortices like vision and you're trying to amplify sensory content—maybe from the body, maybe from the viscera, maybe from inside. It's to heighten the internal landscape. That's why you're actually shutting out these kinds of external sensory inputs.” [17:19] “Particularly if you're approaching psychedelics for healing of trauma, then thinking of them as energetic purgatives that have a psychosomatodelic, or full mind-body manifesting type of experience, might allow you to wrap your head around the psychedelic experience or what its doing a little bit easier.” [31:53] Links: Spirit Pharmacist website Spirit Pharmacist on Facebook Spirit Pharmacist on Instagram Spirit Pharmacist on YouTube Previous episode: Medical Literature Regarding Psychedelics, Pregnancy, and Breastfeeding with Ben Malcolm, PharmD Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Nick Brüss, EdD, LMFT joins to discuss the possibilities of leveraging ketamine-assisted psychotherapy for accelerated growth. Dr. Brüss is a psychedelic therapist licensed in CA, NY and TX. He was a MAPS clinician and supervisor on the historic phase 3 MDMA for PTSD study, and is the director of psychedelic medicine advocacy for the TREAT California ballot initiative. In this conversation, Dr. Brüss explains the intricacies of the internal family systems (IFS) model of therapy which he uses in conjunction with ketamine to help lead clients towards transformation and growth. Dr. Brüss explains how he helps clients work with their various “parts” both leading up to ketamine experiences and while they are under the influence of the dissociative, explaining how the ketamine experience helps to facilitate this work. He emphasizes the non-pathologizing, self-compassion focus of the IFS model and sees this as a natural fit for psychedelic-assisted work. In closing, Dr. Brüss shares details of the TREAT California ballot initiative, which has the potential to provide five billion USD in funding for research and affordable access to mental health treatments using psychedelic medicines. In this episode: Different forms of ketamine-assisted therapy The importance of preparation for both psycholytic and psychedelic forms of ketamine therapy Why Dr. Brüss finds the combination of IFS and ketamine therapy so powerful Working with “parts” using IFS Stories of client healing and transformation following ketamine-assisted therapy with IFS The meaning of “protector parts” and “exile parts” in IFS and how to work with these The mechanisms of ketamine “softening protector parts” and facilitating self-love Quotes: “[Internal family systems] is so synergistic with psychedelic-assisted work because it holds as part of one of its assumptions that we all naturally have this multiplicity of minds… And we also hold this capacity, this inner-knowing that we can open to and relate to and even bring a loving, compassionate embrace to all of our parts.” [4:59] “This work is a training for people to get to know themselves, so we work with the biggest pieces, the things that have been holding them down or blocking them in some way—blocking their full expression—and after that, they are now trained to work with any number of parts.” [26:52] “One of the things that I wish I could have told my earlier, younger self is to really focus on these areas where if there's a part of myself that I can't love or care for or deeply respect, then that really needs my attention.” [33:52] “Even with the most seemingly scary parts, as we get to know them, we can learn from them.” [36:00] Links: Dr. Brüss website, A Practice of Freedom TREAT California ballot initiative website Dr. Brüss on Instagram Dr. Brüss on LinkedIn Your Symphony of Selves: Discover and Understand More of Who We Are by James Fadiman and Jordan Gruber Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Erica Siegal, LCSW returns to discuss the important topic of supporting survivors of psychedelic abuse. Erica is a psychedelic-assisted psychotherapist, community organizer, and harm reduction advocate. In 2019 she founded NEST Harm Reduction, a California-based mental health and psychedelic support organization that provides psychotherapy, outreach, education, and integration. Erica also recently founded SHINE Collective to support survivors of psychedelic harm and abuse. In this conversation, Erica unpacks the complexities around various forms of abuse that exist in psychedelic spaces. One major form of abuse she identifies is financial coercion, where clients of psychedelic facilitators come to feel that one's spiritual access has a paywall, or that they are having to make major financial decisions while under altered states of consciousness. Erica also discusses problematic sexual and romantic dynamics that can arise, drawing a clear line in the sand that there should never be any form of sexual contact between psychedelic facilitators and clients. In closing, she shares more about the work SHINE Collective is doing to support survivors of psychedelic abuse, and discusses ways that listeners can help support this important work. In this episode: What inspired Erica to start SHINE Collective Issues of financial coercion in psychedelic spaces Different forms of spiritual abuse Ways identify the dynamics of spiritual abuse and guard against them Why Erica is skeptical of husband-wife teams of psychedelic therapists or facilitators Issues of sexual dynamics between psychedelics facilitators and clients Training and integration needed prior to skillfully and safely facilitating psychedelic experiences What SHINE Collective is doing to support survivors of psychedelic harm Quotes: “You also see people who are like ‘oh well if you want to keep working with me it's this price' and then all of a sudden the access to psychedelics—the spiritual access—now becomes ‘well I have to be paying this person $1,000 a month to just be on their mailing list because they are the person that is acting as the point between me and my spiritual access.'” [11:19] “If you're facilitating, you should have a consultation group of other facilitators in which you consistently welcome constructive feedback. … And be able to have case consultations, and be able to have reflection.” [26:43] “Psychedelic facilitators should not be having sex with people they are facilitating psychedelic ceremonies for.” [30:35] Links: NEST Harm Reduction website NEST Harm Reduction on Instagram NEST Harm Reduction on Twitter SHINE Collective website SHINE Collective on Instagram Erica on LinkedIn Erica on Instagram Previous episode: Avoiding the Traps of Psychedelic Self-Absorption with Adam Aronovich, PhD(c) Article by Jules Evans and Joseph Holcomb Adams: “Blurred Lines: improving the ethics of psychedelic fund-raising” The Emerald Podcast by Joshua Michael Schrei on Spotify Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Kyle Buller and David Drapkin, LCSW of Psychedelics Today join to discuss psychedelic training and education. David is a licensed clinical social worker, the director of education and training at Psychedelics Today, and one of the creators of their 12-month training program, Vital. Kyle is the co-founder of Psychedelics Today and VP of training and education. In this conversation, Kyle and David share an overview of the current state of psychedelic training programs and education. Kyle shares his own background with psychedelic education, discussing how he got involved in this field and what he's found most beneficial and effective in psychedelic training. Kyle and David also discuss the complexities of weighing different programs, considering medicine-specific versus general programs, programs focused on specific modalities, programs geared towards specific professions, and more. They also discuss the details of how they created Psychedelics Today's training program, Vital. In closing, David reiterates the value of diversity in psychedelic education, both in enriching the learning experience and extending the impact of this education. In this episode: The variety of psychedelic education programs The vision behind the Psychedelics Today Vital course What to look for in psychedelic education programs Equity and diversity in training programs Medicine-specific vs. medicine-general programs Dealing with the uncertainties around working with psychedelics as legal landscapes develop Psychedelic training program scholarships Quotes: “Something we put a lot of emphasis on with Vital, is that it be experiential and inner-directed—a process of understanding self and coming out of Vital with more refined questions and a clearer sense of where to go next.” [8:31] “If the psychedelic movement is going to continue to grow, we need people to be educated in all realms so that we can help to reduce the stigma.” [11:42] “If you want to start working with these medicines, building those foundational elements is so important. Like learning how to work with your body, learning how to use your breath to navigate experience.” [31:12] Links: Psychedelics Today website Psychedelics Today Vital course Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Adam Aronovich, PhD(c) returns to discuss issues of psychedelic self-absorption—and how to avoid these traps. According to Adam, he is a PhD candidate in medical anthropology, the creator and curator of Healing from Healing, a trophy husband and dad. In this conversation, Adam revisits his previous discussion of psychedelic narcissism and explains why he's now somewhat more critical of the term. However, Adam still sees issues around cultivating epistemic humility and acknowledging the political dimensions of healing in psychedelic contexts. He explains the issues he takes with forms of New Age, Neoliberal spiritual perspectives he sees as pervasive and typically unacknowledged amongst many engaging with psychedelics. He also discusses how some pop psychology terms have worked their way into the psychedelic realm and what impacts that has had. In this episode: The “spectacle” of filmed psychedelic experiences on social media The intersection of medical and spiritual cultures in psychedelics and how this can create issues of access The cheapening and overuse of the idea of “trauma” in popular discourse and the birth of “traumadelic” culture Why approaches focusing on excavating supposed repressed traumatic memories from childhood should be approached with a degree of skepticism Quotes: “One of the main things with plant medicine—particularly when people are sharing about it—is that people want to be really vulnerable and people want to be very authentic… But at the intersection with the spectacle, that vulnerability and authenticity become part of the spectacle in the sense that they become 100% performative.” [19:01] “The people who don't have that modicum of self awareness and epistemic humility to really understand, with intellectual honesty, the scope of their understanding and knowledge, then it is very easy to overdo it. And then we do a disservice, not only to the actual traditions that we purport to be portraying, but also to the people that we're working with.” [37:56] “If you don't understand that your healing is political, because individual health, and individual happiness, and individual everything is intrinsically related to collective health, and social health, and cultural health, and environmental health, then you need to go back to square one because you haven't understood anything. ” [40:02] “If we can't even fathom that perhaps my own wellbeing is in constant dialogue with the wellbeing of a society, and the wellbeing of a culture, and the wellbeing of an environment—that nobody can be healthy and happy unless everybody else is relatively healthy and happy—then we are in big trouble and we haven't really learned everything.” [40:20] Links: Healing from Healing website Healing from Healing on Instagram Healing from Healing on Facebook Adam on Instagram Society Of The Spectacle by Guy Debord Wikipedia entry on the Satanic panic Previous episode: Navigating Psychedelic Narcissism with Adam Aronovich Previous episode: How Western Medicine and Indigenous Traditions Differ in their Approach to Mental Health and Healing with Adam Aronovich Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Dr. Michelle Weiner joins to discuss the research on ketamine assisted psychotherapy for chronic pain conditions. Dr. Weiner is Double board-certified in Interventional Pain Medicine, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Director of Integrative Pain Management at Spine and Wellness Centers of America. She uses a unique personalized approach to treat the root cause of one's pain using a biopsychosocial model including lifestyle and plant medicine to empower her patients to cultivate health, optimize quality of life and decrease pharmaceuticals. In this conversation, Dr. Weiner discusses her recent research into ketamine therapy for chronic pain and comorbid depression, which compared psychedelic and psycholytic doses of the dissociative. She emphasizes the importance of a biopsychosocial approach to pain treatment and sees the psychotherapy aspect of the ketamine treatments as crucial to their efficacy, as this approach allows doctors to have a better understanding of the complex etiology of the patients pain beyond just what shows up on imaging and empowers patients to actively take ownership of their pain management. While the results from Dr. Weiner's study were very encouraging, she mentions that ketamine therapies typically require maintenance and that more longitudinal research is needed to further understand how durable these changes are. In this episode: The issue of central sensitization in chronic pain The difference between psychedelic and psycholytic doses What led Dr. Weiner to study chronic pain and comorbid depression Neuropathic, nociceptive, and nociplastic forms of pain The influence of trauma and stress on chronic pain The intersection of pain and identity Dr. Weiner's biopsychosocial approach to pain treatment The differences between cannabis and ketamine as pain treatment medications Quotes: “A lot of [patients'] pain is really similar to fear—fear in the brain—and… if we're not able to understand where this fear is coming from we're not able to extinguish their pain. So I really changed the way I practice and use ketamine because I started to think more about how the psychiatrists are using it, in terms of preparation and integration.” [6:59] “What I've seen is that ketamine does require maintenance in the sense that even if we do six sessions, a lot of patients do need to come back after a few weeks or a few months for maintenance treatment with ketamine as well as therapy.” [20:09] “Pain doctors [should try to] be a little bit more aware of the set, setting, and preparation and integration so that we don't need to use benzos and [patients] can actually have this dissociative experience to allow them to have hope or get out of that fight or flight.” [33:04] Links: Dr. Weiner's study: Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy treatment of chronic pain and comorbid depression: a pilot study of two approaches Dr. Weiner's website Dr. Weiner on Instagram PMA webinar with Dr. Weiner: Treating Pain and Functional Neurologic Disorders with Psychedelics Spine and Wellness Centers of America Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Jules Evans joins to discuss his work with the Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project. Jules is a research fellow at the Centre for the History of Emotions at Queen Mary University of London and author of four books including The Art of Losing Control and Breaking Open: Finding a Way Through Spiritual Emergency. He is also the Director of the Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project and the editor of the substack Ecstatic Integration. In this conversation, Jules shares how he first became interested in psychedelics and the kinds of ecstatic experiences they can produce, as well as what prompted him to turn his attention to the challenging experiences that can result from consuming these substances. He discusses the initial research from the Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project, sharing the typical ways challenging experiences manifest, as well as the coping strategies people employ to work through these experiences. In closing, Jules reiterates the newness of the psychedelic field, encouraging more research into difficult forms of ecstatic experience and ways to effectively navigate the challenges these pose. In this episode: What got Jules interested in the topic of difficult psychedelic experiences Common impacts of challenging psychedelic experiences Depersonalization vs derealization What helped people integrate challenging psychedelic experiences How people used “cognitive self care” to process challenging experiences The history and meaning of the term “spiritual emergency” Psychedelic “flashbacks” and hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD) Quotes: “30% of our respondents reported anxiety, panic attacks, social anxiety—and then all these sub-themes related to fear like fear of losing your mind, fear of dying, fear of the experience repeating, fear of being alone.” [17:04] “Feeling you don't have anyone to talk to about [a psychedelic experience] will make extended difficulties more likely. Not knowing the dosage that you take seems like it makes extended difficulties more likely.” [24:44] “The overwhelming majority [of people who had challenging psychedelic experiences], like more than 85%… still believe in the therapeutic potential of psychedelics.” [32:41] “Our culture has a lot of ecstatic illiteracy. We've lost the maps and guides and safe places to having ecstatic experiences, so we're ecstatically naive. And we need to develop ecstatic literacy to learn to get better at having these kinds of experiences.” [51:11] Links: Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project website The first study from the Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project: Psychedelic integration challenges: Participant experiences after a psilocybin truffle retreat in the Netherlands Ecstatic Integration Substack Jules' book: Breaking Open: Finding a Way Through Spiritual Emergency Jules on LinkedIn Jules on Twitter Jules on Instagram Centre for the History of Emotions at Queen Mary University of London Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Dr. Reid Robison joins to discuss managing medical risk in patients seeking psilocybin therapy. Dr. Robison is a board-certified psychiatrist and Chief Clinical Officer at Numinus, overseeing the company's psychedelic and mental health services across the US and Canada. He has led over 200 clinical trials in neuropsychiatry, including the MAPS-sponsored MDMA-assisted therapy for eating disorders study, and several other psychedelic studies with psilocybin, LSD and DMT. In this conversation, Dr. Robison begins by sharing how researchers have been determining guidelines for managing medical risks associated with psilocybin and how this guidance may shift as research continues in real-world settings at larger scales. He also discusses the intricacies of psilocybin's pharmacokinetics and how the substance interacts with common psychiatric medications such as SSRI antidepressants. In closing, Dr. Robison emphasizes the importance of keeping a close eye on potential psychological risks of psilocybin and other psychedelics, especially amid the excitement stemming from the incredible potential of these medicines. In this episode: The emerging medical indications for psilocybin therapy How the research into psilocybin has developed in the past few years The pharmacokinetics of psilocybin Medication interactions with psilocybin Risks of serotonin syndrome Absolute vs relative contraindications Psilocybin's effect on QT interval and heart valves The Psychedelic Medicine Association's “Psilcobyin-Informed Clinicians” database comprised of practitioners who have completed the course Quotes: “There's a lot to learn [about the interaction of psilocybin and SSRIs] and it's a little bit unpredictable. And some people anecdotally would say that their SSRI interfered with their trip or diminished the experience and others would say it did not.” [26:22] “Psychological risks are nontrivial, including the risk of a difficult experience—something that may even need some mental health treatment afterwards, something that may be meaningful, nontrivial for the individual for a while, and can coexist with the mystical experience. And having the most meaningful experience of your life can coincide with the most difficult.” [40:43] Links: Course: Managing Medical Risk in Patients Seeking Psilocybin Therapy Dr. Robison's website Dr. Robison on Twitter Dr. Robison on Instagram Numinus website Previous episode: Psychedelics for Eating Disorders with Reid Robison Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Kevin Franciotti, MA joins to discuss the intricacies of psychedelic-assisted therapies for substance use disorder. Kevin Franciotti is a Denver-based writer, therapist, advisor, and thought leader in the fields of psychology, psychedelics, and substance abuse counseling. In this conversation, Kevin shares his expertise on the existing research on psychedelic medicines for substance use disorder (SUD) and also discusses the limitations of the results of this research. He talks about the difficulties of designing trials and protocols for psychedelic therapies that target SUD, touching on how this disorder can interact with the neuro-physical and psychological effects of psychedelic medicines. He also contrasts emerging psychedelic treatments for SUD with dominant abstinence-based models and shares where he thinks psychedelic therapies may be a healthier alternative. In closing, Kevin reiterates that it is crucial to continue integrating harm reduction perspectives as psychedelic therapy continues to gain more mainstream traction. In this episode: Contraindications which can arise during detox periods which may require a person to be fully detoxed prior to pursuing any psychedelic-assisted therapy for SUD The neuro-physical effects and the psychological effects of psychedelic substances The role of peer support in psychedelic-assisted therapy for SUD The stigma around psychedelic therapies within traditional recovery programs and communities How psychedelic therapy protocols interface with current guidelines from the American Society of Addiction Medicine The future of insurance coverage for psychedelic therapies Issues of “psychedelic exceptionalism” Quotes: “Ibogaine has somewhat of a miraculous quality of being able to attenuate some of the most painful, acute symptoms of opiate withdrawal—but that is only specific to opiate withdrawal.” [11:33] “What's miraculous about a medicine like ibogaine or even psilocybin… is it's designed to enhance somebody's ability to confront their underlying issues.” [16:57] “The future of addiction treatment embracing psychedelics is really going to hinge on the treatment industry being willing to construct innovative ideas.” [30:37] “Drugs are drugs. Drugs don't have an inherent moral quality around them. [What's important to highlight] is the risk of stratifying people who use drugs as somehow being superior or inferior based on which category of socially accepted drugs that they're doing.” [42:39] Links: Kevin's website Kevin on Twitter Kevin on Instagram Kevin on LinkedIn Psychedelics in Recovery Journey Colab All Points North (APN) “Dispelling Lies the Psychedelic Community Believes About Drugs” presentation by Carl Hart, PhD at Horizons 2019 Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Wilhelmina De Castro, LCSW joins to discuss the ways psychedelics may be used to support goals of queer liberation. Wilhelmina is a psychedelic therapist in the San Diego area and serves as a DEI officer for Integrative Psychiatry Institute. She is also lead faculty for the Psychedelic Research and Training Institute and is committed to creating access to psychedelic healing for historically marginalized populations. In this conversation, Wilhelmina discusses the major topics at the intersection of psychedelic healing and queer identities. She shares her own journey of how psychedelics helped with self-discovery and acceptance of her queer identity, discussing the ways these substances can help gender and sexual minorities step outside of forms of normativity that are enforced in the culture. She also discusses creating safe spaces for queer folks where they can access psychedelic healing with facilitators and other participants of a similar background. In closing, Wilhelmina reiterates the continuing issues of access and trust queer people face in the current psychedelic landscape, emphasizing the significant work which must be done to improve this situation. In this episode: How psychedelics can help with self discovery and self exploration What inspired Wilhelmina to begin working professionally with psychedelics Creating spaces for psychedelic healing tailored to queer-identified people Dealing with microaggressions in the context of a psychedelic retreat Working with a therapist or facilitator who shares a queer identity The queerness of psychedelics Quotes: “When I began to explore with psychedelics, there were moments of this connection beyond… the way I was socialized or conditioned to think was normal. I was able to just be myself [and] found that this attraction and this embodiment that I was feeling was actually where I was supposed to be.” [4:41] “Psychedelics can be really helpful in challenging, in questioning, in dissolving those oppressive narratives that keep people oppressed, that keep them from accessing their liberation. And so if we can do this consciously, and if we can do this in a safe space where harm is not perpetuated, then we actually have this beautiful opportunity for collective liberation” [14:25] Links: Wilhelmina's practice, Integrate Integrate on Instagram Integrative Psychiatry Institute Psychedelic Research and Training Institute Queering Psychedelics: From Oppression to Liberation in Psychedelic Medicine SoundMind Institute Psychedelics and Identity Initiative Queer Psychedelic Society Psychedelic Liberation Collective Previous episode: Psychedelics and the LGBTQIA2S+ Community with Dr. Angela Carter Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Joël Brierre joins to discuss the important topic of safety when working with 5-MeO-DMT. Jöel is the founder and CEO Tandava Retreats and co-founder of the 5-MeO-DMT education and training platform F.I.V.E. Jöel and his team are focused on shepherding 5-MeO into the world in a safe and effective manner. In this conversation, Joël shares his expertise on the screening that should be done prior to 5-MeO-DMT experiences, discussing both physical and psychological considerations. He also talks about synthetic 5-MeO-DMT vs the extract from the Bufo alvarius toad and explains why his retreat center only uses the synthetic version. In closing, he discusses the nuances around drug-drug interactions and how he navigates these with participants, exploring the nuances of the pharmacology involved. In this episode: What inspired Jöel to start F.I.V.E. The physical medical considerations when screening patients for 5-MeO-DMT Why it is theorized that 5-MeO-DMT could trigger conditions like multiple sclerosis to recur Psychological red flags for people seeking 5-MeO-DMT experiences Jöel's thoughts on navigating psychedelic narcissism Safety considerations working with patients with significant trauma Determining the dosage of 5-MeO-DMT and why Jöel thinks there's a lot of value in lower doses Alternative routes of administration for 5-MeO-DMT other than smoking Quotes: “It's very important to us that [5-MeO-DMT] is shepherded out into the world in a safe and effective way, with a good understanding of how it can go wrong—because another bad headline can really harm the progress that it has seen.” [7:14] “Where we used to feel you really had to work your way up to 5[MeO-DMT], we found with the right amount of prep and with a good individualized approach it's right for anyone—as long as they're in the right place for it. So if they make it through the screening and intake process, we're good to go.” [23:09] “There's no need to turn it into a goal-oriented thing where [the participant] needs to get to a full release. We see plenty of full resolutions happen where we never even have to take a participant to a mystical experience.” [29:43] Links: Tandava Retreats website F.I.V.E. website Previous episode: How to Choose a Psychedelic Facilitator or Retreat Center with Joël Brierre Previous episode: Navigating Psychedelic Narcissism with Adam Aronovich Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Joshua White returns to discuss the role of peer support in the psychedelic ecosystem. Joshua (he/him) is founder and executive director of Fireside Project and has prior experience as a volunteer counselor on a hotline and as a volunteer at the Zendo Project. He has also practiced law as a deputy city attorney at the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, where he focused on suing business exploiting vulnerable communities. He also co-taught a nationally-renowned clinic at Yale Law School. In this conversation, Joshua shares updates from the first two years of Fireside Project, the psychedelic peer support hotline. He mentions that the hotline has grown nearly 1,000% since their first month, with the number receiving 1,500 calls this past month. Joshua also discusses the intricacies of peer support, sharing why he thinks this form of support is particularly well-suited to psychedelic experiences and how he understands the relationship between psychotherapy and peer support. In closing, Joshua reminds listeners that Fireside Project is available to take calls from anyone working through a psychedelic experience—whether they are in the midst of an altered state of mind or seeking to integrate a past experience. In this episode: When to call the psychedelic peer support hotline The history of peer support and when it may be helpful Why Joshua believes its important for peer support volunteers to have had their own psychedelic experiences The ways peer support and psychotherapy differ The limits of peer support How peer support is similar to the methods used in MDMA-assisted therapy Critiques of peer support Joshua has heard and his responses The relationship between peer support and theoretical frameworks in psychotherapy Quotes: “In non-psychedelic peer support, often the peer-ness starts with a pathology—alcohol use disorder, tobacco use disorder, etc. Psychedelic peer support, the idea is that having had a psychedelic experience by itself is the layer of peer-ness that's needed to go deeper with someone regardless of other aspects of your identity you may have.” [8:55] “One of the, I think, key parts of peer support is that we don't interpret a caller's experience for them. We are present with them so that they can interpret their experience and we can create a safe and non-judgmental space for them to engage in that kind of interpretation.” [18:32] “I think especially with an experience as vast as the type that can be precipitated by psychedelics, having multiple forms of support is essential.” [22:23] Links: Fireside Project website Fireside Project on Instagram Fireside Project on Twitter Previous episode: Insights Gained from the First Year of Fireside Project with Joshua White Previous episode: Fireside Project: The World's First Psychedelic Hotline with Joshua White and Hanifa Nayo Washington Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Hannah Cross, LCSW joins to discuss group ketamine assisted psychotherapy for frontline healthcare workers. Hannah is a licensed clinical social worker and therapist who specializes in trauma healing and psychedelic integration, including work on LSD and psilocybin clinical trials. In this conversation, Hannah shares details from the study exploring group ketamine therapy in a cohort of ten frontline healthcare workers, discussing the study design, the intricacies of group therapy, and the specific dosing protocol and therapy regimen for the patients. She reveals the very promising results of this early study and also shares a number of emotional stories of transformation from the patients. In closing, Hannah discusses the early indicators of the durability of positive effects from this kind of ketamine assisted therapy and lists a number of additional on-going and upcoming studies of group ketamine treatments for other populations. In this episode: The inspiration for this ketamine study How the frontline healthcare workers in the study were chosen What makes a person a good candidate for group therapy The protocol for the ketamine assisted therapy used in the study Why the therapy began with a low, sublingual dose of ketamine How psychotherapy was integrated with ketamine treatments in this study The reductions in PTSD, depression, and anxiety that resulted from the ketamine assisted therapy Why Hannah sometimes sees an increase in anxiety towards the beginning of the therapeutic process Quotes: “Ketamine can help people access more of that self-healing energy and when that's present in a group setting and people are essentially able to shine this healing energy on each other, there's this exponential healing I think can happen.” [7:16] “When you wrap a ketamine experience up in experienced and effective therapy, there is this safety in the container that really allows people to have the inward focused journey under ketamine for that forty-five minutes to an hour.” [20:03] Links: Full study: Ketamine-Assisted Group Psychotherapy for Frontline Healthcare Workers with COVID-19-Related Burnout and PTSD: A Case Series of Effectiveness/Safety for 10 Participants Numinus website Group ketamine assisted therapy by Numinus Hannah's private practice, Wild Sunflower Counseling Cedar Psychiatry website Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Dr. Arsalan Azam joins to discuss the potential of ketamine therapy for helping to address the stress of major life transitions. Dr. Azam is a board-certified Emergency Medicine physician and medical director of Daydream MD. He attended medical school as a Dean's Scholar at Case Western Medical School and completed his clinical rotations at the Cleveland Clinic. He has also worked as an emergency medicine physician around the country, including as a relief physician for hospitals impacted by staffing shortages. In this conversation, Dr. Azam shares patient experiences from his own ketamine practice and discusses the complexities of different approaches to ketamine treatment and different indications, including how some individuals may benefit especially from ketamine assisted therapy, while others may be well served by stand-alone ketamine infusions, especially considering the cost differential of these treatments. Additionally, Dr. Azam explores the role integration and peer support can play in the context of ketamine treatments, mentioning these may be less cost-prohibitive ways for patients to get the most out of their experiences. In this episode: The kinds of life transitions ketamine is helpful with in Dr. Azam's experience What kinds of patients Dr. Azam's practice serves The unique mechanism of ketamine Leveraging ketamine treatment to navigate breakups or professional transitions Ketamine assisted psychotherapy vs stand-alone ketamine infusions, and when having the extra support of therapy may be especially beneficial The role of integration and peer support in ketamine treatments The research into ketamine treatment for suicidal ideation How Dr. Azam sets up treatment programs for different kinds of patients Quotes: “The magic of this neurobiology is that, unlike our existing tools which take weeks to kick in often, this one works within hours. And so it really becomes more of a rescue medication or a supportive medication for these transitions of life that works quickly.” [8:32] “Think of our mind and our mental patterns as a piece of cold steel—and it's kind of locked in that structure, in that pattern. Psychedelics, like ketamine and others, can heat that steel up, and make it much more moldable and then when it cools back down it'll maintain a persistent new structure. So ketamine assisted therapy is a tool that helps us leverage that hot piece of steel to mold it into something else.” [11:56] “Ketamine works very quickly to reduce suicidal thinking and its degree of effect directly corresponds to the degree of symptoms. So someone who has really severe suicidality is more likely to experience a response to ketamine and is more likely to experience a significant response to ketamine.” [18:36] Links: Daydream MD website Daydream MD on Instagram Fireside Project website Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui
In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Ben Malcolm, PharmD joins to discuss the research surrounding the intersection of psychedelics with pregnancy and nursing. Dr. Malcolm is a psychopharmacology consultant, psychedelic educator, founder of Spirit Pharmacist, LLC and a board member of the Psychedelic Medicine Association. Dr. Malcolm recently wrote an overview article on the existing research into psychedelics, pregnancy and breastfeeding. In this conversation, Dr. Malcolm shares the current state of research that he explored in his article, highlighting the few points where data does exist while emphasizing that there are still major unknowns. Overall, Dr. Malcolm describes how most are very conservative when it comes to psychedelic use while nursing or pregnant, though pregnancy seems to present more concerns than nursing. Dr. Malcolm also discusses ketamine and the interesting findings in patients who were given this substance as an anesthetic for cesarean sections. In conclusion, Dr. Malcolm suggests moving beyond a black and white perspective on this topic, emphasizing that there are also opportunity costs to not pursuing healing. However, in this area especially, more research is needed before clear guidelines can be developed. In this episode: The lack of treatment options for postpartum depression Why it is likely for a fetus or infant to be exposed to psychedelics if a mother ingests them while pregnant or nursing Psychedelics and the developing brain Ritual use of ayahuasca and mushrooms among pregnant women in traditional ceremonial contexts The research into negative impacts of ecstasy use during pregnancy and the variables that confound the results The unknowns about microdosing while nursing The research into whether LSD is a teratogen The effects of psychedelics on hormones Pregnancy as an aspect of set and setting Quotes: “Psychoactive drugs or psychotropic drugs typically end up in breastmilk more than other types of substances because they are usually more fat-soluble. Usually to get into brain tissue they have to be a little more fat-soluble than drugs that act in the periphery.” [10:15] “In the nursing period I think that there's more potential to use psychedelics safely and without really taking much risk as far as exposing the [child], whereas in pregnancy, yeah, you just don't really have that choice—the fetus is going to be exposed.” [24:42] Links: Dr. Malcolm's recent article: “Psychedelics, Pregnancy, and Breastfeeding” Spirit Pharmacist website Spirit Pharmacist on Facebook Spirit Pharmacist on Instagram Spirit Pharmacist on YouTube Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui