Bradford Martins, MD, PhD is a board-certified addiction psychiatrist based at a psychiatric clinic in New Haven, Connecticut where he supports folks navigating substance use disorders, including through implementing community-based models for the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders. Dr. Martins is also an Assistant Professor Adjunct at Yale University conducting research in both the Bassir Nia Lab to study the therapeutic potential of dimethyltryptamine (DMT) for alcohol use disorder, and the ENACT Lab to study the therapeutic effect of psilocybin on OCD, while also working towards greater equity and accessibility in the psychedelic space. We hear about the origins of that community and equity focus in Brad’s psychedelics roots, exploring his experience growing up as a self-proclaimed feral child in the woods of Arkansas, later leading him to his first psychedelic experience, deeply reconnecting to the land he grew up on while in connection and community with friends and fellow ‘Children of the Forest’.

Shownotes

For anyone in the US looking for SUD or Mental Health treatment: Home - FindTreatment.gov

A link to the DMT study for alcohol use disorder: Study Details | NCT06070649 | The Potential Therapeutic Effects of Psychedelic, N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), on Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) | ClinicalTrials.gov

Brad’s favourite quote from ‘Helplessness Blues’ by Fleet Foxes: https://youtu.be/7HHgedNNQco?si=x8SPUWQZBX8Fco90 -- “If I know only one thing, it’s that everything that I see of the world outside is so inconceivable, often I barely can speak”

Erowid, a non-profit educational & harm-reduction resource with 60 thousand pages of online information about psychedelics and associated topics: https://www.erowid.org/

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

#psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

John Gilchrist is Director of Communications at TheraPsil, a Canadian not-for-profit working for psychedelic access for folks at end of life and other issues about accessibility, regulation and choice in the psychedelic space. In our conversation, we talk about his own personal psychedelic roots: his connection to community, family and lived experience, and a first experience that contained both the light and the shadow of psychedelic trips in a lot of ways. This conversation with John is being published as part of the Podcasthon movement, an annual global initiative that encourages podcasts to dedicate one episode of their show to a charity of their choice, and to release these episodes in a coordinated effort in mid-March to shine a light on some of the good work being done in communities around the world. And so, beyond John's personal psychedelic roots, we also talk a bit about the work of Therapsil, and he shares about some of the end-of-life patients who have been supported by Therapsil, and some of the ways he has been personally touched by his role working there.

Shownotes

• Therapsil’s website: https://therapsil.ca/
• To donate to their work: https://therapsil.ca/donate/
• For volunteering inquiries: https://therapsil.ca/volunteer/
• To sign up to their newsletter: https://therapsil.ca/newsletter/
• You tube channel, to watch videos John mentioned of Thomas Hartle and Janis Hughes, two patients supported by Therapsil: https://www.youtube.com/@TheraPsil/featured
• Learn more about the Podcasthon movement: https://podcasthon.org/

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

Trigger Warning: discussions of suicidality

Karen Pascal was born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, and spent much of her childhood outdoors, birdwatching and camping with her family—feeling playful, carefree, and deeply connected to the natural world. This was an anchoring Karen lost touch with as life unfolded, and as she grew older, she struggled with anxiety and depression. After exploring many different therapeutic approaches without lasting relief, it wasn’t until her marriage unexpectedly ended and she experienced what she calls her “life quake” that psychedelics entered her life and she began ketamine-assisted therapy. We talk about what the clinical experience was like for her, the benefits she received, and how that led her to deepen her work with an experienced facilitator. We also talk about her deep reconnection with nature and how she has worked to resource herself with the community and experiences that have helped to ground in her body and the world around her.

A reminder that this episode contains mentions of suicidality. This warning is meant to empower you with the knowledge you need to make healthy decisions about how and if you should consume this podcast content. We invite you to practice self-care and do what feels right for you. And if you need support, please connect with someone who can help: family and friends, professionals, or a crisis line. There are both Canadian and international recommendations in the show notes below. You are not alone-- not in your pain, nor in your healing.

Shownotes

• • Karen's email if listeners would like to reach out about her forest walks: [email protected]
  • Karen's birding account on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birds_unshuttered/

Below are some Canadian and international mental health resources to access if you are in distress or need support:

• • Crisis Services Canada: https://988.ca/
  • Befrienders Worldwide (crisis lines serving 32 countries): https://befrienders.org/
  • International Directory of Mental Health Helplines: https://www.helpguide.org/find-help.htm
  • The Fireside Project (US-only psychedelic-specific support): https://firesideproject.org/
  • Psychology Today (to find a therapist in North America): https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/therapists

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

#psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

Erika Dyck is a professor in the Department of History at the University of Saskatchewan. Her work focuses on 20th century medical history, including the history of psychedelics, psychiatry, eugenics and population control. Erika grew up not far from the Weyburn, Saskatchewan, the birthplace of the word ‘psychedelic’, and where a lot of psychedelic research was happening in Canada in the early days. And yet, Erika’s roots were very much outside of that world. In our conversation, we wend our way through her relatively secular upbringing, her desire to leave rural Saskatchewan and experience the world, and we talk about some of her early exposures that led her to become interested in the field of psychedelic studies. We also dive into one of her more recent and deeply meaningful psychedelic experiences which she had in communion with others and with the natural world-- allowing her to connect not just to the geography but also the history and communities that continue to shape both her research and her own lived experience.

Shownotes

• A link to learn more about Erika's books on the history of psychedelics: https://research-groups.usask.ca/history-medicine//publications.php
• Or check out her most recent publication "Psychedelics: A Visual Odyssey": https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262547666/psychedelics/
• Hear more about Erika's work by watching her TEDx talk "Just Say Know" about psychedelic drug history: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc7Blc1w1ho

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

#psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

Anthony di Virgilio is a father, a registered psychotherapist and a student of sacred plant teachers. He is deeply interested in the connection between mental and emotional health, relational dynamics, and spirituality - and he integrates these perspectives into his therapeutic work, and we hear in our conversation together, he also integrates these into his own work with psychedelic medicines. Anthony also studies vitalist herbalism, Indigenous healing modalities, and principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and is a Fire Keeper and Song Carrier for Anishinaabe Elder Douglas Cardinal, and a humble student of North and South American Indigenous teachings and ceremonies. In our conversation together, Anthony and I talk about the fear, confusion and isolation he experienced as a child— and the bravery he worked to cultivate as he tried to make sense of a world that felt very unsafe in both the physical and spiritual realms. We talk about some of his first experiences with cannabis before eventually making his way towards his first psychedelic experience with ayahuasca 14 years ago--- a foundational relationship that continues to shape his life and practice today.

Shownotes

• Holistic Psychotherapy, Anthony’s therapy practice website with his wife and associates: https://www.holisticpsychotherapy.ca/

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

#psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

Trigger Warning: discussions of suicidality

Robert Décarie is a local certified Holotropic Breathwork facilitator, a former counselor and wildlife management specialist, and a delightful human being. As we explore in our conversation together, after having a gregarious but dissociated childhood in Montreal and experiencing a dark night of the soul in his early twenties, he pivoted to study environmental sciences (M.Sc.) and had a 25-year career in wildlife management. In the mid-2000s, he readjusted the course of his life to deepen its meaning and chose to study to become a counselor, and in 2008, he started practicing Holotropic Breathwork, eventually completing his training to become a certified facilitator which he has been offering to the Ottawa community since 2015. In our conversation together, we walk through several decades of psychedelic roots, from visiting Mexico in the 1970s, to experimenting with ayahuasca in a couple of different settings, to finally experiencing what he considers to be his first true psychedelic experience in a well-supported set and setting that allowed him to connect deeply with himself and to love. It was a pleasure to wend our way through Robert’s psychedelic roots, or what he calls his holotropic life!

A reminder that this episode contains mentions of suicidality. This warning is meant to empower you with the knowledge you need to make healthy decisions about how and if you should consume this podcast content. We invite you to practice self-care and do what feels right for you. And if you need support, please connect with someone who can help: family and friends, professionals, or a crisis line. There are both Canadian and international recommendations in the show notes below. You are not alone-- not in your pain, nor in your healing.

Shownotes

• Robert’s holotropic breathwork website: https://ottawaholotropic.ca/en/
• Favourite song from Sgt. Pepper album: A Day in the Life, but the entire album surging from nowhere, colorful, creative, joyful, and alive.
• First Carlos Castenada book read: A Separate Reality
• Current precious inner exploring and integration tool, Focusing (Eugene T. Gendlin, 1982, Bantam Books) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtYGnwwGzdA

Below are some Canadian and international mental health resources to access if you are in distress or need support:

• • Crisis Services Canada: https://988.ca/
  • Befrienders Worldwide (crisis lines serving 32 countries): https://befrienders.org/
  • International Directory of Mental Health Helplines: https://www.helpguide.org/find-help.htm
  • The Fireside Project (US-only psychedelic-specific support): https://firesideproject.org/
  • Psychology Today (to find a therapist in North America): https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/therapists

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

#psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

Trigger Warning: discussions of suicidal thoughts

Dr. Paul Grof is a Canadian research psychiatrist and clinician who has been involved in psychedelic and transpersonal work for over six decades. He was a professor at several Canadian and European universities until recently retiring from the University of Toronto in 2022, and served as an Expert at the World Health Organization from 1985 to 2000, where he chaired the Committee on Psychotropic Substances. It was a pleasure to get to sit down with Paul to explore his roots: from growing up in the Czech Republic, to being part of the initial wave of people in Western society experimenting with LSD in research labs. In our conversation together, he takes us back to the 1950s and 60s and generously shares some of his experiences during those early days of Western psychedelic research--- and perhaps most importantly, about how he was so personally and professionally impacted by this unfolding.

Shownotes

• Presentation on Paul's recently published paper "Consciousness: local and non-local" on Youtube: https://youtu.be/NKt36A0bKV8?si=dY8tqcDR2E6QC9gN

_______

A reminder that this episode contains mentions of suicidal thoughts. This warning is meant to empower you with the knowledge you need to make healthy decisions about how and if you should consume this podcast content. We invite you to practice self-care and do what feels right for you. And if you need support, please connect with someone who can help: family and friends, professionals, or a crisis line. There are both Canadian and international recommendations in the show notes below. You are not alone-- not in your pain, nor in your healing.

Below are some Canadian and international mental health resources to access if you are in distress or need support:

• • Crisis Services Canada: https://988.ca/
  • Befrienders Worldwide (crisis lines serving 32 countries): https://befrienders.org/
  • International Directory of Mental Health Helplines: https://www.helpguide.org/find-help.htm
  • The Fireside Project (US-only psychedelic-specific support): https://firesideproject.org/
  • Psychology Today (to find a therapist in North America): https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/therapists

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

#psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

Ruth Webster is a retired library scientist, a fellow New Brunswicker, and someone with a lifelong curiosity about connection with self and the world around them. After a complex childhood growing up in the 1950s and 60s and first encountering psychedelics as a teenager and saying ‘no’, her curiosity about psychedelics was not piqued again until 2015 when she started a Holotropic Breathwork training course. Through a number of curious coincidences, she found her way to her first psychedelic experience with Iboga at a retreat centre in Mexico a year later. Ruth shares about her first experience, and how it has shaped her relationship with the substances, and with herself.

For the listener, Ruth is someone who also navigates some physical limitations, so please feel welcome to enjoy finding your audio groove as you listen in to our conversation.

Shownotes

Holotropic Breathwork training Ruth mentioned taking: https://www.holotropic.com/

As well as the Grof Legacy Training: https://grofpsychedelictrainingacademy.ca/breathwork/

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

#psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

Matt Jaworski was born into a mixed family in the Ottawa suburbs, and was exposed to many things that seemed surreal to him from an early age. Because of this, he has spent much of his life seeking out answers to why things are the way they are, and at the same time learning to let go and be led when the path to follow is clear.  In our conversation, we talk about his childhood and his very trusting nature as a kid, what he learned about the world and himself growing up with a differently-abled younger brother, how his passion for organic food cultivated his curiosity in plant medicines, all of which which led him to eventually grow his own mushrooms and experience his welcoming and warm first psychedelic trip.  While he is no longer an active member, Matt also helped start the Ottawa psychedelic society which is still in operation today--- one of the many seeds he has planted along his psychedelic path. 

Shownotes

• James Fadiman’s “The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guidebook”: https://www.psychedelicexplorersguide.com/ 
• Yann Martel's "Life of Pi": https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4214.Life_of_Pi
• Celine Dion, ‘The Power of Love’ music video: https://youtu.be/Y8HOfcYWZoo?si=rYRgL7GSSlnSq72c 
• Ottawa Psychedelic Education Network: https://www.ottpsychedelic.ca/ 

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

#psychedelics #podcast #tripreport

Lucia Rios Maia da Silva is a queer Brazilian psychotherapist whose life and research are guided by a deep connection to nature and plant medicines. In our conversation together, we explore their childhood raised by two pastors, and the disconnection that they experienced as they were forced to try to ‘correct’ their queerness, and the new communities and spiritualities they built as they learned to live in their truth. After coming out in Brazil, Lucia moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 2019 seeking a safer social and political context, which moves us into hearing about their first psychedelic experience with psilocybin mushrooms. They also co-facilitate a biweekly hapeh circle open to the Ottawa community members, and during their free time, they can be found practicing yoga, cycling along the river, or drumming on their djembe.

Shownotes

• Lucia's professional website: www.linesofbecoming.com
• Facebook group for the hapeh circle Lucia helps convene: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1104427398535575

Music credit: Music by Mass X Audio from Pixabay

#psychedelics #podcast #tripreport