For over 15 years, Dr. Ben Sessa has been at the forefront of psychedelic and cannabis research and clinical medicine in the UK through his affiliations with Imperial College London. Ben qualified as a medical doctor from UCL in 1997 and went on to specialize in psychiatry. For 25 years he has worked as a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist with young people and adult patients in the field of addictions and trauma-related psychiatry.

Ben started studying psychedelics as a junior doctor and has taken part in research projects at Bristol University, Cardiff University and Imperial College London with LSD, psilocybin, DMT, ketamine and MDMA – receiving and/or administering all of these compounds in legal research settings.

One of the first doctors to develop the field of contemporary psychedelic research in the UK, he was the former co-founder, former CEO, and subsequently the former Head of Psychedelic Medicine at Awakn Life Sciences, a Bio-Tech company carrying out psychedelic research into addictions. Awakn opened four clinical centers in the U.K. and Europe, providing psychedelic psychotherapy with ketamine, for a wide range of psychiatric indications, as well as an extensive R&D psychedelic research program.

Ben was one of the first Medical Cannabis psychiatric prescribers in the UK and is a trained MDMA, ketamine and psilocybin therapist. He has led research into MDMA-assisted therapy for Alcohol Use Disorder and is published widely in the academic and medical press. Dr. Sessa is the co-founder and past president of the Breaking Convention conference. He is the author of The Psychedelic Renaissance (2012/2017), the novel To Fathom Hell or Soar Angelic (2015) and Altered States (2021). 

Episode Highlights

• Understanding MDMA and its potential in psychiatry
• Exploring the mechanism of MDMA
• First MDMA study outside of MAPS: focus on addictions
• The role of psychotherapy in sustaining long-term behavioral and mood changes
• Unexpected psychedelic experiences with MDMA
• The intersection of Dr. Ben’s personal experience and professional interest in psychedelics
• The importance of holistic approach in mental health treatment
• The impact of early attachment on mental health
• Understanding intergenerational trauma 
• Exploring the use of psychedelics for personal growth
• Psychedelics and trauma healing: a new perspective
• The flaws of categorical diagnoses in psychiatry
• The role of trauma in mental disorders
• The potential of psychedelics for treating psychosis
• The current and future state of psychedelic research
• The economic implications of psychedelic therapy
• The need for a shift in mental health care paradigm
• The role of politics and racism in drug policy
• The case for regulated market for drugs

Dr. Ben Sessa

• Website: www.drsessa.com

Stefanie Cohen

• Website: www.harveymountainhealing.com

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• TED Talk: Is MDMA psychiatry’s antibiotic? with Dr. Ben Sessa