Psychedelic Futures: The Pollination Approach

The Psychedelic Society's Psychedelic Futures series investigates not-for-profit, co-operative and community-led alternatives to the corporatisation of psychedelics.

For our first event we are delighted to welcome Bennet Zelner, PhD, associate professor at the Robert H. Smith School of Business and advisor to Usona, MAPS, MIND and Synthesis Institute.

Bennet is the pioneer of the Pollination Approach, an approach to psychedelic therapy that acknowledges the intrinsically interdependent production of individual and community wellness, and contrasts sharply with current pharmaceutical-centred approaches to mental healthcare.

It is rooted in the regenerative principle that all forms of local capital must be renewed and recirculated locally for a community and its members to thrive. 

The Pollination Approach envisions wellness centers, gathering places where community members may participate in a range of healing and community-building activities in addition to psychedelic-assisted therapy. Explicit reconnection activities for those who have undergone therapy include group integration sessions as well as community reintegration programs conducted in partnership with local organisations, such as businesses, cultural institutions, civic organisations, religious organisations, and others. These organisations may also serve as points of access, especially in communities where psychedelic medicines are viewed with skepticism.

The ownership and governance of wellness centres under the Pollination Approach is founded on two principles. The first is stakeholder inclusivity, the notion that an organisation should operate for the explicit benefit of its stakeholder groups including customers, employees, community members, and others. The second is distributed local ownership. Local ownership supports the health of community economic systems by promoting the recirculation of income, creating an economic multiplier effect from the local (re)investment that such recirculation enables.

At this event, Bennet will present an overview of the Pollination Approach before entering into conversation with Stephen Reid, with time for Q&A at the end.