Stacey Kosmerly, Ph.D.: Psychedelics & Psychotherapy

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For many people, the term “psychedelics” conjures up images of hippies tripping through the Summer of Love, Timothy Leary, strange and mystical spiritual experiences, street drugs with a high likelihood of generating “insanity” and maybe even a Pink Floyd concert.  While psychedelics are certainly powerful compounds that must be approached with a high degree of caution, the potential for psychedelic compounds such as psilocybin to augment the effectiveness of psychotherapy is an area of intense clinical and research interest among organizations such as Johns Hopkins University as well as the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).  Ms. Stacey Kosmerly, MA, Ph.D.  and Dr Pete Kelly, C.Psych, explore this topic in-depth while considering the features of emergent protocols for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, the potential underlying neurobiological mechanism of psychedelic compounds, the role psychedelics may play in accessing difficult emotions and traumatic experiences, parallels between mindfulness and psychedelic experiences as well as associated dangers and risks associated with use of psychedelic compounds.  Please note that this podcast is for general information only and that psychedelics are powerful compounds that can cause serious mental health difficulties in some individuals.  Discussion of the potential clinical utility of these compounds is not an endorsement of or suggestion to employ these compounds.            

Stacey Kosmerly, Ph.D is a Clinician (Supervised) at OICBT.  She completed her pre-doctoral residency in clinical psychology at the OICBT. She has a MA in Applied Psychology from Laurentian University. Ms. Kosmerly uses primarily a cognitive behavioural approach to therapy. She has also received training in emotion focused therapy (EFT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and she draws from these approaches when appropriate. Ms. Kosmerly is involved in the OICBT’s Adult Attention Deficit Disorder Intensive Assessment Program, the Dialectic Behavioural Therapy (DBT) Program, and the Virtual Reality Program.