My guest today did some significant healing at a psilocybin ceremony at a retreat center in Mexico. She takes us there and explains why she was able to heal in that environment in ways she hadn't before. You'll also hear how and why she does psychedelic work as a therapist.

Dr. Cheryl Tien, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist who helps individuals navigate grief, identity, and life transitions with a culturally attuned, trauma-informed approach. She specializes in psychedelic integration—supporting clients in making meaning of experiences with medicines like MDMA and psilocybin in a grounded, evidence-based way. Her work centers on safety, ethics, and translating profound experiences into sustainable change in everyday life.

Here's some of what we talked about:

• Deciding to get licensed, and the pros and cons of that as a psychedelic facilitator
• Advocating for psychedelic medicine accessibility
• Grieving the loss of a former client to suicide
• Getting racially assaulted
• Having fears, visuals and nightmares as a result of stressful events
• Hitting the limits of talk therapy in her own healing
• Choosing to attend a psilocybin ceremony retreat in Mexico
• Why the medicine is 10% of the experience
• Her internal experience during the ceremony
• Doing a sweat lodge the following day
• How she decides when to do a psychedelic journey and what medicine she needs
• Being "spiritually hopeful"
• Her advice to people new to psychedelics
• healing generational trauma

Show notes at https://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/254