Psychedelics Today Podcast

In this episode, Joe interviews Rick Doblin, Ph.D.: founder and president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), and former board member at Lykos Therapeutics, MAPS’ public benefit subsidiary.

Doblin tells his side of the story: that the FDA’s concerns with double blinding not working had been fully addressed ahead of time, that they had negotiated agreements that were no longer agreed to when new FDA employees came on board, that there was a lot of confusion from going back and forth with the FDA on how Phase 3 studies should be designed, and more. He believes that both Lykos and MAPS made a massive mistake in assuming that provable science was more important than public opinion, and that ignoring critics who were saying whatever they wanted caused them to lose control of the narrative – which clearly influenced the advisory committee. While Lykos figures out their next steps with the FDA, MAPS is focusing their attention on what they feel is most important in light of this ruling: better public education and drug policy.

He talks about:

• How there’s a bias at the FDA to be harsh: Does automatically saying no just make it look like you’re being rigorous?
• The work of the Dutch government in researching MDMA, and Lykos’ odd decision to not highlight any of it
• Massachusetts’ Legalization and Regulation of Psychedelic Substances initiative, and the huge opportunity for progress at the local level
• Why federal agents at Burning Man work so hard to give tickets to attendees for smoking cannabis
• Why sharing stories of your positive experiences with psychedelics is so important

and more! 

MAPS has announced that 2025’s Psychedelic Science conference will be in Denver, June 16-20, and will have experiential opportunities before and after. 

For links, head to the show notes page. 

In this episode, Kyle interviews Gabriela Galindo: program coordinator of FLOWS (Foundations for Leaders Organizing for Water and Sustainability), an organization working towards social and environmental justice, ecosystem restoration, community building, and the preservation and protection of Indigenous medicines.

She discusses her entry point to psychedelics and how she got involved with Colorado’s Natural Medicine Health Act (Prop 122) when she saw a complete absence of Indigenous representation in the legislature. The narrative that we all have a right to healing and that these medicines belong to everyone is pretty common today, but Galindo argues that this is not fair: that each plant has its own history, and that each is protected by its own culture. Shouldn’t the communities that have stewarded these medicines for centuries have a say in whether their medicine is going to be shared and legislated at the state level? Shouldn’t they have the ability to consent to these new proposals?

She talks about:

• Why she likes using ‘movement’ instead of ‘renaissance’ when discussing our psychedelic culture
• What we could learn from Indigenous people’s harmony with nature as we face an ongoing climate crisis
• The balancing act of pleasing everyone: Would decriminalization be as supported if Indigenous communities wanted to keep some of these substances criminalized for the protection of their culture and their ecosystems?
• How psychedelic communities should evolve to include community work into their routines: What do local communities need and how can you help?
• The importance of knowing when to step aside and truly center a community voice

and more! 

If you’re in Colorado, Galindo will be leading a panel on Oct. 17 called “Honoring Sacred Plant Medicines: Restoring Balance Through Indigenous Wisdom” as part of Wellness Week in Boulder. Click here for more info.

For links, head to the show notes page. 

In this episode, Joe interviews Mareesa Stertz: lead of strategy/communications at the Global Psychedelic Society, co-founder of Lucid News, and filmmaker, currently finalizing her second feature film, “Confessions of a Psychonaut.”

She discusses her path to wanting to create the film: how she always felt like something was wrong with her but didn’t know exactly how to start her healing path, how seven ayahuasca trips didn’t give her the breakthrough experience she wanted, and how she realized over time that she didn’t have a hidden moment of trauma to overcome, but rather, lots of “little t” trauma – something that a lot of us have, without necessarily knowing it. She saw the true power of people sharing their stories of becoming healthier, and has found that aligning our stories to the classic framework of the Hero’s Journey and Carl Jung’s concept of individuation is the perfect formula for self-awareness, growth, and finding more meaning in life.

She talks about:

• How the Hero’s Journey makes sense of the abyss, and how the abyss helps us to see how much we’ve been programmed
• Her formula for a good story: who you were before the event, the event, and how it changed you
• Her Sphinx project, where she aims to bring giant sphinxes (from “The NeverEnding Story”) to Burning Man, as a way for people to determine if they are “worthy”
• Her “Talk Box” art installation, which involves strangers meeting in a confession booth to engage in meaningful conversations based on a wheel of questions
• The power of group coherence and how much stronger a healing container can become over time

and more! 

Stertz is offering a course on finding where the Hero’s Journey is in each of our lives: “Emerge: A Journey of Self-Authorship” begins on October 29. Click here for more info.

For links, head to the show notes page.

In this episode, Joe interviews Micah Stover: certified psychedelic somatic therapist and author of the upcoming book, Healing Psychedelics: Innovative Therapies for Trauma and Transformation; and Craig Heacock, MD: adolescent, adult, and addiction psychiatrist, and host of the Back from the Abyss podcast.

Stover discusses the inspiration for the book: the ancestral voices she started hearing after she had children, being featured on Heacock’s podcast and becoming fascinated with people’s healing stories, and her move to Mexico, where she learned the beauty of a less complicated and more connected life. She learned that the village you surround yourself with is really the medicine, and that existing in the mysteries of life can be much more beneficial than trying to solve everything. Combining her Western training with more Indigenous perspectives, she wondered: Where do science and spirit meet? And how can they dance together?

They discuss:

• Stover’s early days of offering medicine journeys in Mexico, and how much leaning on elders from all backgrounds matters
• The importance of discernment in non-ordinary states: Is spiritual bypassing just the absence of discernment?
• How finding a village can be just connecting to the earth: How much of our trauma is from a “nature deficit disorder”?
• The power of transference and the relationship between therapists/facilitators and clients
• The idea that modern psychology has fallen short because we’ve sterilized love out of the room, and the challenge of bringing love back as part of a safe container

and more! 

The book, which is laid out somewhat like a workbook (and which Heacock wrote the foreward to) comes out on November 4 and is available for pre-order now.

For links, head to the show notes page.

In this episode, David interviews Glauber Assis, Ph.D.: research associate at the Interdisciplinary Group for Psychoactive Studies, director of the Psychedelic Parenthood community, Vital instructor, and leader of Jornadas de Kura, a plant medicine center in Brazil.

He talks about growing up in Brazil in the shadows of colonialism, and how he felt his early experiences with ayahuasca and the Santo Daime church decolonized his mind, changing his relationship with himself and his family, and eventually leading him to start his own church: Céu da Divina Estrela. He believes that to truly know ourselves, we need to experience other cultures, and to truly see the commonalities between each other, we need to recognize just how different we all are. He feels that true growth is not found in the substance or experience, but in the relationships we have with others, and our ability to change.

He discusses:

-How ayahuasca becoming a global phenomenon is revitalizing traditions that may have otherwise been lost -His first travels to the U.S. and why we need to stop romanticizing other cultures -The power of live music in a ceremonial group setting -The birth of his third child in a car, and what psychedelic parenthood really means -The importance of understanding multiple different frameworks and being able to use them together

and more! 

Bonus: This episode features the first live performance in PT podcast history – a song Assis wrote in the Santo Daime tradition.

Click here to head to the show notes page.

In this episode, Joe interviews Norman Ohler: award-winning novelist, screenwriter, and journalist.

Following in the footsteps of "Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich," his newest book, "Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age," tells the story of how the Nazi’s passion for methamphetamine turned into a curiosity about LSD, and how their experiments with trying to harness LSD as a truth drug eventually led to the CIA continuing their research under their MKUltra program. The book came about from trying to understand why LSD never became medicine – a question posed by his father, when discussing how LSD could help with his wife’s progressing Alzheimer’s symptoms.

He discusses:

• His path to becoming a “gonzo historian” and how his early psychedelic research was inspired by a friend’s discovery of methamphetamine tablets from the 40s
• Henry Beecher’s LSD experiments with students at Harvard, and how researchers often didn’t know they were contributing to MKUltra
• His recent appearances on The Joe Rogan Experience and Jesse Watters Primetime
• His mother’s experience with microdosing LSD and why police showed up at his father’s door with a warrant
• Why he believes psychedelics will be legalized in the U.S. in the next 10 years

and more! 

For links, head to the show notes page. 

In this episode, Kyle interviews Lana Pribic, M.Sc: host of the Modern Psychedelics podcast, certified professional life coach, and founder of Kanna Wellness. 

She talks about her early days of rave culture and MDMA, to developing a problem with alcohol and cocaine, to where she is today: finding joy in the simple things in life, embracing recreational psychedelics, and continuously working on herself while understanding that psychedelic experiences are not the be-all, end-all medicine, and that taking space to integrate learned lessons is where the true potential lies. She recognizes that many of us set out to heal trauma or work on something specific, but often get caught in a "healing trap," where a victim energy ends up holding us back –  and keeps us coming back. When is the healing done? When do these experiences become a habit or escape? What are we not integrating? 

She discusses: 

• The "7 levels of energy" framework she uses with clients
• How she works with clients who return to unhealthy patterns after a big experience
• The judgment of the psychedelic space, both for people who stop using psychedelics and for people who return to the well perhaps too ofte
• Her relationship with her mother and how her mother's cancer treatment inspired her to create Kanna Wellnes
• How much of a factor acceptance is in finding joy in the mundane 

and more!

Serving Canada (for now), Kannawellness.com just launched, and features kanna extract 8 times more potent than what is on the market today. If you're curious, use code PT10 at checkout for 10% off your order!

For links, head to the show notes page.

In this episode, Joe interviews Ingmar Gorman, Ph.D.: clinical psychologist and co-founder and CEO of Fluence, a psychedelic education company.

Gorman served as a co-principal investigator and study therapist on MAPS’ Phase II and III clinical trials for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD, and works with drug sponsors: training, developing the components for clinical trials, and designing therapy manuals. With his insider’s perspective, he discusses the reasons why he believes the FDA rejected MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD: from ICER’s 2.1 section of the report giving legitimacy to allegations they don’t have the authority to research, to Lykos not being able to defend some accusations due to confidentiality, to the damage caused over time (which likely influenced the decision) from attacks against Lykos from dissenters.

He discusses:

• How, despite abuse claims, the main allegations in the report were actually about the mishandling of data or influence of investigators on participants
• The complications of needing to follow study frameworks: Should your adverse experience be in the report if it happened outside the study window?
• How easily opposition can attack and demonize a faceless company, while forgetting the humanity of the people behind it
• Inner healing intelligence and the proposition that people have been indoctrinated into this concept by MAPS
• The need for journalists to research more and not just jump on a narrative

and more!

For links, head to the show notes page. 

In this episode, Kyle interviews Beth Weinstein: spiritual business coach, host of the “Medicine For These Times” podcast, and founder of the Psychedelics, Sacred Medicines, Soul’s Purpose & Business summit.

She talks about a pattern she noticed of people working with psychedelics and seeing progress on what they set out to heal, but with a short-lived afterglow, as they remained in unfulfilling jobs without making any changes. She wondered: What if they applied the lessons they learned during their experience to their careers? What small steps could they start taking to either improve their current job, or find their true soul’s purpose and carve out a new path? Weinstein’s path has led her to combine practical business action plans with more spiritual and traditionally psychedelic modalities to help people grow in their careers and become their most authentic selves – especially if they’re trying to enter into the psychedelic space.

She discusses:

• The importance of making time to talk things out with a coach, integration circle, or friends – especially in a culture that only gets more distracting and chaotic every day
• The challenge of differentiating between guidance: Is it your soul’s true purpose, or a trick of your ego?
• The weirdly taboo topic of money in psychedelics, and the delicate balance of aligning with charitable values while making a living
• The mystical aspects to how life can change with new energy: Maybe that layoff happened at the perfect time?
• The power of positivity and small steps toward change, and how working on something outside of work can transform how you show up at work

and more! 

Weinstein’s newest course begins early next year: The True Path Entrepreneur Group Business Coaching Mastermind Program, which is a 12-month live coaching course designed to reprogram limiting patterns and beliefs and help move people into alignment with their true path. Click here for more info and to apply.

For links, head to the show notes page.

In this episode, David interviews Daniel Shankin: psychedelic integration coach, Vital instructor, and founder and director of Tam Integration.

He talks about the underrated importance of integration circles, how he created Tam Integration out of a personal need for them, how simple it can be for people to create their own groups, and how open-ended newly formed groups can be. He also discusses his “fractal inquiry” coaching method, and how the best coaching involves simply asking questions that lead clients to their own realizations and wisdom. He is offering courses that teach both of these skills: a course called Creating Community Psychedelic Integration Circles, and the newly-launched, year-long Mt. Tam Psychedelic Integration Coaching Program, beginning in October.

He discusses:

• The importance of learning how to focus on your breath, especially during a tough experience
• Hugging the Hindu spiritual leader, Amma (Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi), and the special energy that some people have
• The benefits of knowing when a mind path isn’t worth exploring
• The difference between judgment and curiosity
• The weirdness of psychonauts, and how maybe getting a little weirder is what’s needed for your healing

and more! 

For links, head to the show notes page.

In this episode, Joe interviews Joanna Kempner, Ph.D.: associate professor in the Department of Sociology at Rutgers University and author of the recently released, Psychedelic Outlaws: The Movement Revolutionizing Modern Medicine.

The book profiles the history and groundbreaking work of ClusterBusters, a nonprofit researching and spreading awareness about what someone named Flash discovered decades ago: that for some people, psilocybin and LSD could stop cluster headaches from coming on. Through early internet message board posts and email exchanges between Bob Wold, Rick Doblin, and others, Kempner pieced together their story. And through attending ClusterBusters meetings, she discovered that a lot of the true healing lies in the bonds formed and the hope people find when seeing something new work for a pain for which science has no answer.

She discusses:

• The lack of political will behind something so debilitating: Why is there no funding for this?
• The importance of patient advocacy and the role of the internet in sharing novel information
• The difficulty in studying a disease so unpredictable: How do you run a randomized trial when you don’t know when a cluster is going to happen?
• Why the headache community clashes with psychology
• Concerns over how to ethically combine underground and Indigenous knowledge with above-ground University research

and more! 

For links, head to the show notes page.

In this episode, Kyle interviews Mustapha Khan: Emmy Award-winning director with over 100 film and television credits, who has worked with clients such as Coca-Cola and Honda, and celebrities ranging from Maya Angelou to Snoop Dogg.

Khan is finalizing a film about Lenny and Elizabeth Gibson and their ongoing work at Dreamshadow – the people and community responsible for Joe and Kyle meeting and the creation of Psychedelics Today. He talks about meeting the Gibsons, being welcomed into their community (instead of his proposed “fly on the wall” role), how centered and happy he felt after his first breathwork session, and what he has learned through the process: that breathwork can be an incredibly healing modality, but the magic he has found has been more in the community surrounding it, and the responsibility (and honor) of being a sitter for someone else.

He discusses:

• The first time his breathwork went psychedelic, and speaking with his recently deceased Mothe
• How he got into filmmaking and why he wants to tell stories about people like the Gibson
• The beauty of breathwork not having a dogma or doctrine attached to it
• The power in holding space for someone else, even if it’s just being presen
• The importance of taking action that aligns with psychedelic ethos: What can you do to contribute to your community?

and more! 

Khan is hoping to release the documentary, “Life and Breath,” in October. In addition to a screening at Dreamshadow, PT will likely do a virtual one as well, so stay tuned for updates!

For links, head to the show notes page.

In this episode, Joe interviews Danielle Nova: founder of Psychedelic Recovery, founding team member of Decriminalize Nature Oakland, and Executive Director of the San Francisco Psychedelic Society.

As a recovering addict, Nova discusses how working with psychedelics helped her find her way to recovery, and how she's spreading that knowledge to others through her Psychedelic Recovery program, which focuses more on 'targeted abstinence,' instead of the total abstinence model of Psychedelics In Recovery (which works alongside AA's 12-step program). She believes that it's extremely important to reframe addiction as a life process or temporary state of consciousness (rather than a life sentence you can't escape), and that beating addiction is not about constantly being afraid of a relapse, but about evolving to a state of empowerment: that you can overcome it, and that actually, a horrific addiction may have saved you and brought you to where you're supposed to be.

She discusses: 

• The complications of Western medicine and the impact of conflicting medications that are nearly impossible to stop taking
• How self-regulation of tough emotions with outside stimuli (be it drugs, pornography, or even video games) trains people to rely on external forces rather than themselves
• How addicts end up programing themselves with 'addict consciousness,' and the power of changing one's mind state to view suffering as the fuel for a new purpose
• How, over time, we will likely start viewing microdosing as a regular dose, and the large doses we're used to will be seen as overdosing
• How being part of her ayahuasca experience (and having one himself) completely changed her father's perspective on drugs and addiction

and more!

She has co-created Microdosing Facilitator Training with Adam Bramlage of Flow State Micro: a first-of-its-kind 4-month program teaching clinicians, facilitators, and coaches about microdosing and how to safely guide others through the practice. The next cohort launches in January 2025.

For links, head to the show notes page. 

In this episode of Vital Psychedelic Conversations, David interviews Deanna Rogers: Registered Clinical Counselor and Vital instructor.

She discusses how trauma grows in our bodies, and the importance of practitioners and facilitators becoming trauma-informed before working with clients. She stresses the need to create the right conditions for clients to be able to work with trauma – to bring compassion to the different parts of their self and build a relationship with the uncomfortable ones, to interrupt negative narratives, and to learn how to exist in a place where they can embrace their window of tolerance and explore discomfort in a safe way. What is the specific container and pace each client needs? How flexible is their nervous system to be able to work with these states? What can be done to bring out the empathetic witness in themselves? And most importantly, how can their sense of agency be improved so that they feel like they’re fully in control of how deep things go?

She discusses:

• Her early ayahuasca experiences, and her path toward working with others, including working with Gabor Maté and Peter Levine
• How psychedelics allow us to access our irrational, animal parts, and how this work is often a combination of sacred and messy
• The need for facilitators to have a basic understanding of the nervous system and fight or flight reactions
• Moving away from the idea of: “There’s something wrong with me.” What do these chronic narratives do to our bodies?
• Working with clients to build out the capacity of their nervous system first, before working with any trauma

and more!

Rogers is one of our Vital instructors, featured in one of Vital 4’s new Specializations: Somatics & Trauma. This cohort begins on September 17, and the application deadline is next week, September 3, so apply today before it’s too late! For links, head to the show notes page.

In this episode, Joe interviews Jean Lacy: Executive Director of the Illinois Psychedelic Society; and La Shawn K. Ford: 17-year member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 8th District.

Together, they are working on the CURE (Compassionate Use and Research of Entheogens) Act, which aims to decriminalize plant medicines and bring a state-regulated model for psychedelic use to Illinois. Similar to Oregon's model, but with hopefully a more cohesive ecosystem, it would include service centers, different license types, the removal of psilocybin and psilocin from the controlled substances list, and a percentage of taxes allocated to education of first responders and law enforcement. Guided by the mistakes of cannabis legalization, they're putting a lot of focus on accessibility – not just for consumers, but for people trying to get licenses and open businesses. What does equity and inclusion look like in a psychedelic service model?

They discuss: 

• The need to educate lawmakers about psychedelics and shine a light on the myths and lies of the Drug War 
• The importance of understanding the process and doing the work when working with lawmakers: When it's done right, democracy can actually happen
• Why conversations about accessibility and certain provisions need to happen up front, as bills are being written
• The impact of bipartisan support, and how bipartisan psychedelics are starting to become
• The overwhelming support for the CURE Act that Rep. Ford has seen, from people of all walks of life

and more!

If you want to help, please sign their petition and/or make a donation. And if you want to help on a larger scale, get out there and have those conversations: Tell your story, and tell it to lawmakers. Your voice can make a bigger difference than you realize.  For links, head to the show notes page. 

In this episode of Vital Psychedelic Conversations, David interviews Rachelle Sampson, Ph.D.: researcher and founder of Blue Prism Coaching; and Bennet Zelner, Ph.D.: researcher, speaker, and creator of the Pollination Approach. They are both Vital instructors and Associate Professors at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland.

Based on a passion for regenerative economics (how we might be able to apply patterns of nature to socioeconomic systems), they are co-leading the Connected Leadership Study, a research project tracking how psychedelic experiences can facilitate change in people in leadership positions. They believe that a shift from a mechanistic attunement to a more synergistic recognition of our interconnectedness should lead to new ways of thinking, resulting in more creative leaders with better decision-making and team-building skills, and corporate culture caring more about values, regenerative models, equity, and sustainability – all while still being successful. They wonder: Can psychedelic experiences create better leaders? Can capitalism become more conscious?

They discuss:

• The structure of the study, what they learned in the first cohort, and why they track participants for a yea
• How change happens over time, and why they believe it to needs to happen from the bottom u
• The concept of emergence and emergent change illustrated by the shifts in movement of a flock of bird
• How synergistic attunement can be traced back to the cellular level
• The challenge of balancing the therapeutic aspect of psychedelics with the more corporate strategy/professional side

and more!

The study’s next cohort begins in October, so if you’re a business leader interested in being a participant, head to Leaders.study for more info. And if you’d like to learn more about these concepts, the new Regenerative Business and Leadership specialization path in this year’s cohort of Vital digs deep into this world. And we’ve just extended the applications to Sept. 2, so you still have time to apply! For links, head to the show notes page.

As the psychedelic renaissance continues to spread throughout the West, we learn more about these substances and experiences every day. But are we losing the important ancestral teachings and Indigenous knowledge that got us here?

In this episode, Kyle interviews Alonso Del Río: author, musician, filmmaker, founder of the Center for Healing and Consciousness Studies (Ayahuasca Ayllu), and facilitator with 45 years of experience largely under the framework of the Shipibo tradition.

Together with translator, Francisco Rivarola, they have developed a course called “Ancestral Teachings for the Psychedelic Renaissance,” which aims to be both an honoring of knowledge that has safeguarded these traditions, and a bridge between that wisdom and our Western frameworks, teaching ancestral traditions (largely Shipibo and Incan-Peruvian), the roles and function of dietas, the less talked-about dangers of brujeria (witchcraft), holistic frameworks for dealing with mystical experiences, and the connection between spirituality and responsibility towards nature. The course features 20 hours of Del Río’s teachings (with subtitles) and is the first time they’ve been made available to the general public.

He talks about:

• The importance of following guidelines when working with ayahuasca, and how Westerners often don’t respect the rigor required to do it right
• The different types of healers in the Shipibo tradition, from good and bad to the “Ascended Master,” who transcends physical limits and is incapable of causing harm
• The potential for ayahuasca to be weaponized, how often this happens, and the risks for Westerners who aren’t aware
• How the consciousness level of a person can be related to the emotions that that person allows themselves to have
• How the expansion of consciousness is healing in itself

and more!

Ancestral Teachings for the Psychedelic Renaissance is a self-paced course that can be taken at any time, so if you’re interested, take advantage of early bird pricing and check it out in the Psychedelic Education Center now! For links, head to the show notes page.

In this episode, Vital instructor, Diego Pinzon, hosts his first podcast, interviewing Vital graduate and clinically-trained psychologist, “The Kinki Buddhist”: Kate Amy.

As Amy’s interest in psychedelics grew, she began to see a clear intersection between psychedelic states and the non-ordinary states she’d reached through years of meditation practice, as well as lessons from Buddhism that could help in better understanding psychedelic journeys. She talks about the importance of really understanding what it is one is seeking when looking to have a psychedelic experience, and the significance of integration – no matter how long it takes. While she has tips that have worked for clients, she feels that the psychedelic space has a long way to go in establishing best practices for the most effective integration.

She discusses:

• Why she uses the name, “The Kinki Buddhist”
• How she frames the psychedelic experience as taking an evolutionary substance (and/or receiving a software upgrade)
• The necessity of having a positive relationship with the self before a big trip
• The continuous process of patients and facilitators both engaging in shadow work, and ways of discovering our different hidden parts
• The rigidity many of us prescribe to certain healing frameworks, and how beneficial it can be to view strict rules as guidelines for exploration instead

and of course, her experience with Vital!

The deadline for submitting your application is next week, August 23, so make sure to get your application in today. For links, head to the show notes page. 

In this episode, Chris Koddermann interviews two members of the Center for the Neuroscience of Psychedelics at Mass General Hospital: founding director, author, and co-founder of three drug development companies, Dr. Jerry Rosenbaum; and psychiatrist and associate director and director of cognitive neuroscience, Sharmin Ghaznavi, MD, Ph.D.

Rosenbaum and Ghaznavi bonded over an interest in rumination, and wondered: How could the plasticity-inducing effects of psychedelics change these negative loops people find themselves in? How important is the ability to break out of those loops – and learn new patterns – when our concept of self is so central to who we are? Ghaznavi is studying the effects of psilocybin on rumination and scanning patients at multiple times throughout the process to track data we still don’t really have: how psychedelic-induced neuroplasticity changes over time, and why.

They discuss:

• How much of a role the default mode network takes in the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics: Is it overblown?
• Hyperscanning, which involves scanning two individuals at the same time, looking for potential concordance in signal and/or an increased alliance between the therapist and patient
• The Schultes Legacy Project and the work of Stephen Haggarty to explore the potential of largely unstudied psychoactive plants
• Critiques of the recent ruling on Lykos and MDMA-assisted therapy and the clash between the FDA and the advisory committee: Were they really on the same page?
• The false dichotomy of neuroscience vs. patient experience: Does the subjective experience actually increase plasticity and other measurable benefits?

and more!

For links, head to the show notes page.

In this episode of Vital Psychedelic Conversations, David interviews Tiffany Hurd: microdosing coach, speaker, business leadership advisor, and student in our current cohort of Vital.

After 15 years in the corporate healthcare industry and several years on antidepressants, she started microdosing psilocybin and saw an immediate change in her life, tapering off antidepressants within a few months. She realized that she could blend her background in business development and strategy with microdosing, helping companies (and specifically company leadership) become more vulnerable, heart-centered, and innovative. She has found that the changes in people have (not surprisingly) led to improved employee mental health, better team relationships, and more open-mindedness and authenticity, and likely, a large reason for that is not the microdosing itself, but the increased attention to preparation and integration – two huge factors often not discussed with microdosing.

She talks about:

• Why mentorship/coaching has not been seen as an integral part of a microdosing practice, and why it should be
• Her drive to normalize the use of low-dose psychedelics, especially in our Western ‘go all in’ culture
• The benefits of pairing microdosing with other healing modalities, and how microdosing can help you embrace more of them
• Why she signed up for vital and how she feels about the course half way through
• How she deals with the illegality of substances in the corporate world

and more!

Microdosing is one of the new specialization tracks featured in our next cohort of Vital, beginning September 16. If you want to know more, send us an email or attend one of the next Vital Q+As!

For links, head to the show notes page.