The Psychedelic Therapy Podcast

Today’s guest is a legend in the field of traumatic stress studies. Dr. Rachel Yehuda has been researching stress and PTSD for 30 years and now with the promising results from MDMA clinical trials trials, she and her team have founded the Mount Sinai Psychedelic Psychotherapy and Trauma Research.

On the show, we discuss the four pillars of Mount Sinai’s new center. We go deep into the history of the PTSD diagnosis and the evolving understanding of how trauma works in the brain, including an explanation of epigenetics. We look at how the center will study psychedelic medicine from basic science using stem cells to specific types of therapy, and collaboration with other medical centers.

Dr. Yehuda is the Director of the Center for Psychedelic Psychotherapy and Trauma Research at Mount Sinai, Vice Chair for Veterans Affairs for the Department of Psychiatry, Director of the Traumatic Stress Studies Division, Director of the Yehuda Lab, and a Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine. She is also the Director of Mental Health at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center. She has authored more than 450 published papers, chapters, and books in the field of trauma and resilience, focusing on topics such as PTSD prevention and treatment, molecular biomarkers of stress vulnerability and resilience, and intergenerational effects of trauma and PTSD.

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When ancestral wisdom is missing from modern psychedelic conversations, the Black-led Sabina Project is there to educate, reduce harm, and facilitate ceremony. On today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Podcast, Charlotte James and Undrea Wright invite us to reconnect to Sacred Earth Medicines.

We begin the show discussing Kambo, a healing ritual using the poisonous secretions of the giant monkey frog. We talk about why it is so necessary to connect to ancestral wisdom in the modern psychedelic movement through the lens of the project’s upcoming series AfroPsychedelia. Charlotte and Dre share how the Sabina Project has shifted to facilitate remote and legal ceremonies with Rapeh (also called hapè), an Amazonian medicinal snuff. Overall, Dre and Charlotte embody the Sabina Project mission of teaching others how to live life in ceremony.

Charlotte James and Undrea Wright are cofounders of the Sabina Project, named after María Sabina, a Mazateca curandera. The Sabina Project focuses on providing psychedelic education particular for the BIPOC community, as well as preparation and integration and the facilitation of legal ceremonies. Charlotte has a background in harm reduction, psychedelic exploration, and marketing strategy. Undrea is a Kambo medicine practitioner and cannabis entrepreneur involved in decriminalization efforts. Together they utilize ancient earth medicines and ancestral wisdom to support equitable liberation and spiritual enlightenment.

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If there was ever a people who understand the importance of evidence-based healthcare, it’s the Germans, and they are starting to get very interested in psychedelic medicine. Today our guest is Dr. Andrea Jungaberle, co-founder of the MIND Foundation, a research center and nonprofit advocacy group for psychedelics in Berlin.

On the show we discuss the current landscape of psychedelic-assisted therapy in Germany. Andrea shares about the importance of evidence-based care and the forthcoming 144 person psilocybin study EPIsoDe on which the MIND Foundation is a collaborating partner. She details MINDS’ Augmented Psychotherapy Program and Insight Conference. Finally Andrea speaks about her book “Yoga, Tea, and LSD,” and her passion for using psychedelics to work with end-of-life anxiety.

Andrea is a co-founder and board member of the MIND Foundation. She also serves as OVID Health Systems’ Medical Director and MIND’s Director of Collaboration and Media. She is a clinical specialist in anesthesia and emergency medicine and currently training in cognitive behavioral psychotherapy. She is a certified Kundalini Yoga teacher, has participated in several accredited trainings in psychedelic therapy, and is part of the EPIsoDe study team, preparing to treat patients at Charité hospital in Germany’s first modern clinical trial involving psilocybin.

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Equal access to psychedelic medicine is a huge issue in this burgeoning field. Today’s guest, Genesee Herzberg has prioritized ethics in founding Sage Institute, a sliding scale clinic that offers psychotherapy and psychedelic-assisted therapy and is also supporting the proliferation of ethical clinics through a new consulting group, Forth Road Health.

On the show, we discuss how Sage Institute uses the community mental health clinic model to provide greater access to psychedelic-assisted therapy. We talk about Sage’s protocols as well as its training and research components. We discuss the efficacy of different molecules for treatment as well as the psycholytic vs psychedelic approach to Ketamine-assisted therapy. Finally we discuss Forth Road, a forthcoming Strategic Consulting Company, that supports academic medical institutions, healthcare systems, independent practitioners and therapy providers exploring psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Genesee is an individual, couple and family therapist. She trained in MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD with MAPS and Ketamine-assisted therapy with the KRIYA Institute. She is the co-founder and Executive Director of both Sage Integrative Health, and Sage Institute both located in the California Bay Area.

This podcast is brought to you by Maya, a software platform designed to help psychedelic practitioners manage, measure, and illustrate health outcomes We are currently working with Ketamine practitioners, including today’s guests Genesee, in the development of the platform through our Council of Guides. If you are interested in being a part of this group, helping to co-create the Maya platform, please visit: bit.ly/mayacouncil

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Can psychedelics be considered a “neurological contact lens” for those on the Autism spectrum? Today’s guests Aaron Paul Orsini and Justine Lee are determined to find out and are sharing their findings with the world.

On the podcast, we discuss how experimenting with LSD helped Aaron understand and appreciate his Autism as a kind of altered state and led to his book Autism on Acid. We cover seven key takeaways for using psychedelics to work with autistic populations. Justine shares how connectivity works in neurodiverse brains. Finally we talk about the weekly gathering, the Autistic Psychedelic Community, and how psychedelic therapists can get involved.

Aaron and Justine are cofounders of the Autistic Psychedelic Community, a peer support group for neurodivergent individuals interested in discussing psychedelics. Aaron is the author of Autism On Acid: How LSD Helped Me Understand, Navigate, Alter & Appreciate My Autistic Perceptions and is currently editing his second book, a neurodiversity-minded anthology of psychedelic essays that is now available for preorder. Justine is a graduate student in pharmacology at University of California, Irvine. She is investigating the therapeutic potential of psychedelic compounds with respect to autism and other neurological conditions.

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While 2020 has been difficult in so many ways, this year brought psychedelic medicine further ahead by leaps and bounds. At Maya, we were honored to share the wisdom of 25 healers and leaders in the psychedelic world through this podcast. Today we are sharing their advice to practitioners.

On the show, our guests offer advice and perspectives to the therapists doing this important work. Their wisdom is at times simple, profound, and even controversial or contradictory. They speak of how to approach clients of specific demographics, how therapists might relate to themselves in this work, and what our collective responsibility is to the psychedelic movement as a whole. Most of all, across the board, our guests have expressed their gratitude. Thank you, thank you, thank you, psychedelic therapists!

You can hear more from each of our guests in a full episode at mayahealth.com/podcast.

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Jonathan Sabbagh is building a space and solution for independent therapists who want to provide Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) by offering a prescription service, a medically supervised location, and a community.

On the show, we talk about Jonathan’s startup Journey and the tools he is creating to democratize access for independent psychedelic practitioners. We discuss set and setting and the Journey space. We talk about vetting and training psychedelic therapist and how Journey endeavors can create community. We also go over concerns around the medicalization of psychedelics.

Jonathan is the Co-founder and CEO of Journey Clinical Inc and is currently studying to be a psychedelic therapist himself at The New School. After 20 years in finance and entrepreneurship, he is bringing his skills and passion into the psychedelic community with the support of his own deep medicine work.

As the adoption of psychedelic therapy grows worldwide, support services for independent practitioners, like Journey, will be invaluable.

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Today on the podcast, I'm speaking to Dr. Molly Maloof, a concierge and lifestyle medicine practitioner who has developed a comprehensive protocol for Ketamine-assisted therapy.

On the show, we talk about Molly’s professional journey from burning out in residency to concierge medicine to Stanford professor and Ketamine practitioner. We discuss her protocol in detail and why one shouldn’t try to treat their own depression with street Ketamine. Finally, Dr. Molly gives her advice to new practitioners especially regarding creating a brand in the psychedelic space.

Dr. Molly is a physician, an entrepreneur a medical advisor, a Ketamine practitioner, and a Stanford lecturer. She has advised over 42 companies throughout the world and has lectured extensively. You can catch her with Dr. David Rabin on the Psychedelic News Hour on Fridays on ClubHouse or in the Apple Store as a podcast in January.

Healing is holistic, and it seems like Dr. Molly has thought of everything.

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Today on the he Psychedelic Therapy Podcast I’m speaking to a man who is changing the narrative around plant medicine in Asia. Jonathan de Potter, founder of Behold Retreats has big visions for the region and it starts with helping business leaders awaken.

On the show, we talk about the challenges of addressing mental health issues in Asia. Jonathan shares his perspective of what makes a great psychedelic practitioner from his own experiences. We discuss Behold Retreats and why Jonathan is focusing on healing leaders in the business world. We also review medical screening and onboarding of patients. Finally Jonathan shares his predictions for the future of plant medicine in Asia.

Prior to launching Behold Retreats in March, Jonathan directed business strategy for Accenture in Hong Kong. His personal experience with plant medicine radically altered the course of his life, and he spent 5 years working with medicine before launching his retreat company. Behold has held retreats in Mexico, Ecuador, and Costa Rica, and is planning to expand to Peru, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain.

Before we get started, a word from Maya, the platform designed to help psychedelic practitioners track, measure, and illustrate the health outcomes of their work and the organization that makes this podcast possible.

Maya is currently working with individual ketamine practitioners in its pilot program called the Council of Guides. If you are interested in being a part of this group, helping to co-create the Maya platform and getting first access, please visit the Council of Guides page on the Maya website at https://www.mayahealth.com/council.

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Today I’m interviewing Ronan Levy, co-founder of the psychedelic healthcare company Field Trip. The company includes Field Trip Health Centers for ketamine-assisted therapy, Field Trip Digital (including the apps Trip and Portal), and Field Trip Discovery, which amongst other pursuits is developing the novel psychedelic FT - 104.

On the show we talk about Ronan’s experiences with psychedelics and meditation and the business of Field Trip in detail. Ronan shares his perspective on the modernization and industrialization of psychedelics and addresses the concerns of the existing psychedelic community on the impact of big business on the community. We also talk about the role of therapists, equal access to medicine, and whether it would be a good thing to get mental health benefits without the trip.

As one of a few large organizations hoping to industrialize psychedelic medicine, Field Trip is controversial within the psychedelic community. While Maya Health and I personally don’t endorse all aspects of the Field Trip model, Ronan is a thoughtful person and was gracious in inviting a nuanced conversation about these issues. During the interview, we discuss the North Star psychedelic ethics pledge, of which Maya is a signatory, and the cautionary fable We Will Call It Pala about unforeseen consequences in the rush to psychedelic medicalization, which I would recommend reading prior to listening to this conversation.

Ronan is the Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Field Trip. He is also a partner at Grassfed Ventures, a cannabis and biotech VC firm, and Chief Strategy Officer for Trait Biosciences. He co-founded Canadian Cannabis Clinics as well as CanvasRx Inc. Originally a lawyer, Ronan holds a Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto. You can hear Ronan on The Field Tripping Podcast, a place for epic personal, spiritual and business journeys on — and in — psychedelics.

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