Plant Medicine Podcast

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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 Facebook
Previous episode: Exploring DMT Entities with Matthew Johnson, PhD

Psychedelic Medicine Association

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Dr. Michelle Wiener 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. Wiener 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. Wiener’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. Wiener 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. Wiener’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. Wiener's study: Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy treatment of chronic pain and comorbid depression: a pilot study of two approaches

Dr. Wiener’s website

Dr. Wiener on Instagram

PMA webinar with Dr. Wiener: Treating Pain and Functional Neurologic Disorders with Psychedelics

Spine and Wellness Centers of America 

Psychedelic Medicine Association

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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

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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

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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

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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

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In this episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, Joël Brierre joins to discuss the important topic of safety when working with 5-MeO-DMT. Joël is the founder and CEO Tandava Retreats and co-founder of the 5-MeO-DMT education and training platform F.I.V.E. Joël 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 Joël 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

• Joël’s thoughts on navigating psychedelic narcissism

• Safety considerations working with patients with significant trauma

• Determining the dosage of 5-MeO-DMT and why Joël 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

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