The Psychedelic Therapy Podcast

Have you ever wondered what it would take to create a psychedelic therapy clinic? Today’s guest, Veronika Gold, co-founder of Polaris Insight Center in San Francisco has done just that. Our conversation starts with Veronika first meeting Stanislav Grof at 16 years old in the Czech Republic and we follow her journey from studying at CIIS (California Institute of Integral Studies) to founding Polaris. We cover the challenges she has faced from battling misconceptions, to therapeutic transference, to providing equal access. We also discuss the efficacy of different therapeutic modalities as well as different molecules. Veronika is has an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from the Charles University in Prague and an M.A. in Integral Counseling Psychology CIIS. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with certificates in EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and Realization Process. She is a Sub Investigator and a co-therapist in MAPS Clinical Program for MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy and has trained in Ketamine-assisted therapy with Dr. Raquel Bennett at Kriya Institute, and Dr. Phil Wolfson, and Julane Andries at the Ketamine Training Center. Healthy therapeutic relationships are a cornerstone of creating a good set and setting for psychedelic-assisted therapy, and Veronika clearly has what it takes to help her clients heal. A note from Maya who presents the Psychedelic Therapy Podcast: As a practitioner with a leading psychedelic practice, Veronika has been a part of helping Maya co-create our software platform designed to help psychedelic practitioners track, measure, and illustrate the health outcomes of their clients. If you are an individual ketamine practitioner interested in being a part of the foundation of this platform, please visit our Council of Guides page on the maya website: https://www.mayahealth.com/council LINKS Veronika Gold Polaris Insight Center TIMESTAMPS :05 - Veronika’s interest in psychedelics was sparked by meeting Stanislav Grof at 16 :10 - Veronika’s journey in starting a ketamine-assisted therapy clinic :15 - Challenges from combating misconceptions to transference and countertransference :23 - Which therapeutic modalities are most efficacious when working with psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy :33 - Choosing different psychedelic molecules for healing and how healing can turn into psychospiritual development. :43 - Helping clients get access to psychedelic therapy :49 - Veronika speaks to psychedelic practitioners

Wise psychonauts have long known that the real work of psychedelic healing is in the post-experience integration and there is no one more renowned in this field than today’s guest Deanne Adamson, founder of Being True To You. We spend the first third of our conversation discussing preparation for psychedelic healing, including how to anchor an experience as it happens. We talk about integration as a long road of cultivation and explore when to invite more medicine work as part of that process. Deanne describes her technique of using an integration wheel for tracking outcomes. Finally we talk about integration coaching itself and the particular value of the exhaustive training provided by the Being True To You program. Deanne is the founder of Being True To You, a certification program and network that provides one-on-one coaching to help people integrate transformational experiences. She developed the Transformational Recovery Model based on her extensive work supporting families through ibogaine and helping to facilitate the natural recovery process. She has a Master’s in Mental Health Counseling, and her academic background is based in spiritual psychology. Integration leads to cultivation which leads to transformation. Today on the Psychedelic Therapy Podcast, Deanne shows us how to support this powerful healing process. But first, a quick word from us at Maya. If you are a psychedelic practitioner, please consider taking 10 minutes to complete our Psychedelic Practitioners Survey. By gaining insight into psychedelic therapy practices, Maya aims to shed light on the amazing work that’s happening in this space. We believes the world of psychedelic medicine needs more data to develop best practices and help practitioners provide safe and effective services at scale. By contributing to this survey, you can also sign up to be amongst the first to get access to the Maya platform designed specifically for psychedelic practitioners. LINKS Being True To You Psychedelic Practitioners Survey TIMESTAMPS :10 - Using “anchoring” to transition out of a psychedelic experience to maximize integration :13 - Integration starts with preparation :26 - Integration leads to cultivation which leads to transformation :32 - When should someone move from integration to new medicine work :38 - Using an “integration wheel” to consider the most salient things taken from an experience :46 - How are integration coaching working with therapists? :53 - The Being True to You coaching program and the issue of bias in psychedelic practice

How will doctors who don’t know about psychedelic therapies, learn to be receptive to these innovative compounds as valuable tools for their patients? Dr. Lynn Marie Morski, host of the Plant Medicine Podcast, has a brilliant idea–to form an association dedicated to educating medical practitioners about psychedelics. On today’s episode, we discuss why Lynn Marie created the Psychedelic Medicine Association. We talk about what it means to create a coalition of ethically aligned actors and how to advance equal access to entheogenic compounds. Lynn Marie shares her entrepreneurial challenges and her dreams about where this association could go in the next 5 to 10 years. As you’ll learn on the show, Lynn Marie has quite an impressive background. She is a physician, an attorney, a podcaster, and the author of Quitting by Design. She works with the Veterans Administration and hosts the Plant Medicine Podcast. LINKS Psychedelic Medicine Association Psychedelic Medicine Association Virtual Launch Event Plant Medicine Podcast Quitting by Design TIMESTAMPS :06 - How psychedelic medicine can change the way we believe we must achieve to be loved :14 - Lynn Marie’s successful Plant Medicine Podcast :23 - Why Lynn Marie created an association to educate doctors on the value of psychedelics :29 - Creating coalitions of ethically aligned actors and equal access to psychedelic :40 - Where Lynn Marie sees the Psychedelic Medicine Association in 5-10 years :45 - Founding members, Lynn Marie’s team, and how you can get involved. :53 - Lynn Marie speaks directly to psychedelic practitioners

This week’s guest, Belinda Eriacho, brings powerful insights from her lineage as a Native American woman and her life experience as a powerful healer and public speaker. We start the show with a land acknowledgment honoring Indigenous land rights, before exploring key aspects of Belinda’s worldview, including the importance of humor and the principle of "hózhó," which means to walk in harmonious relationship with everything around you. Belinda shares her own intergenerational trauma and her sacred corn pollen path. We end our conversation with important considerations for psychedelic therapists who wish to help heal Native Peoples. Belinda is a healer and leader from the Dine’ (Navajo) and Zuni lineage. She is certified in Integrated Energy Therapy and has advanced degrees in Health Sciences, Public & Occupational Health, and Technology. Through her personal practice and her leadership as a public speaker, Belinda supports the healing of Native Peoples and is helping to guide the Psychedelic Renaissance towards a more holistic perspective. Also, if you're a psychedelic practitioner, please take 10 minutes to complete our survey. Your contributions will help shed light on psychedelic-therapy practices around the world. LINKS Belinda Eriacho Considerations for Psychedelic Therapists when Working with Native American People and Communities Guidelines for Inclusion of Indigenous People into Psychedelic Science Conferences App for Land Acknowledgements Video on Intergenerational Trauma: Native American Legacy at MAPS POC Workshop Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist TIMESTAMPS :05 - Belinda educates us about land acknowledgments :13 - How Native People use humor as a form of resilience :18 - The principle of hózhó,: Walking in harmonious relationship to everything around you :21 - Belinda shares her own story of intergenerational trauma and her personal Corn Pollen Path :29 - The Native American worldview, the western medical model, and the Decriminalization Movement :44 - Considerations when working with Native American people :53 - Belinda speaks to psychedelic therapists

Today on the show, I am honored to be speaking with a healer and guide who is deeply steeped in ritual, magic, and the wisdom of her Haitian ancestors, Florie St. Aime. On the show we discuss how growing up in Brooklyn of Haitian descent informed Florie’s perspective on psychedelics. We talk about psychedelic medicine as ancestral healing and justice work. Florie shares her experience on MAPS’ first training for communities of color in Kentucky and what she learned from her cohort there. Finally, we discuss the importance of ritual and the influence of the regal Haitian lineage Florie holds. Florie is a radical social worker and a graduate of MAPS’ 2019 training for communities of color. If you are interested in learning more about her work, you can email her at floriest.aime@gmail.com. If you are inspired by her work, consider contributing to her gofundme - linked in the show notes. Finally, a message from Maya, the psychedelic practitioner platform that makes this show possible: If you're a psychedelic practitioner, please take 10 minutes to complete our survey. Your contributions will help shed light on psychedelic-therapy practices around the world: https://www.mayahealth.com/research/surveys LINKS Email Florie: floriest.aime@gmail.com Contribute to Florie’s gofundme MDMA Therapy Training for Communities of Color and Psychedelic Medicine and Cultural Trauma Community Workshop: 8-Day Conference Maya Practitioner Survey TIMESTAMPS :08 - How the D.A.R.E. program and Florie’s Haitian background influenced her perspective on psychedelics growing up :13 - Psychedelics first came into Florie’s life as medicine :24 - For Florie, psychedelic work is ancestral work in the service of justice :31 - Learning across the cohort at MAPS’ first BIPOC training :36 - The importance of ritual and the influence of Florie’s Haitian ancestry :46 - How to be a good ancestor :53 - Florie speaks to psychedelic practitioners

MDMA therapy for veterans suffering from PTSD has gotten a lot of attention in the world of psychedelic medicine lately. Meanwhile, Jesse Gould is bringing veterans to South and Central American retreats for ayahuasca healing with his nonprofit the Heroic Hearts Project. On the show, Jesse explains how psychedelic therapists and healers should think about working with veterans. He describes his own experience with PTSD and ayahuasca as well as the details of the Heroic Hearts program—from funding—to integration coaching. Jesse gracefully responds to the delicate question of how U.S. foreign policy plays into healing veterans in Latin American countries. Jesse Gould is a former Army Ranger who founded the Heroic Hearts Project in 2017 to connect military veterans struggling with mental trauma to ayahuasca retreats and other psychedelic medicine resources. Heroic Hearts is a registered 501(c)(3) non profit that has raised over $350,000—all of which goes directly to supporting veterans. Jesse speaks about psychedelics and mental health around the world and his work has appeared in the New York Times as well as numerous podcasts and conferences. Ayahuasca is a profound medicine that has the power to positively influence veterans’ lives, so to truly support our troops, we must also support psychedelic medicine. LINKS: Heroic Hearts Project: https://www.heroicheartsproject.org/ TIMESTAMPS :05 - Jesse shares his stereotypes left over from growing up in the D.A.R.E. generation and the complexity of trauma and addiction :17 - How to psychedelic healers should approach working with veterans :23 - How the experience of a “dark cloud” after his military service brought Jesse to ayahuasca :29 - Why ayahuasca instead of MDMA or other psychedelics? :37 - The process by which veterans can work with Heroic Hearts and how is it funded? :50 - What about the way that US foreign policy has negatively impacted Latin America, where these medicines originate? 1:01- Jesse speaks to psychedelic healers 1:04 - How we can support Heroic Hearts

Today I am speaking with trauma specialist Bessel van der Kolk, best-selling author of The Body Keeps the Score, a beloved book about healing our deepest wounds. On the show we discuss Bessel’s work with MDMA therapy for trauma. We dispel the myth that PTSD is only something experienced by soldiers returning from war, and discuss how early attachment wounds can actually be more intractable to traditional treatment than acute trauma. We talk about why we get addicted to our own trauma and we review other psychedelic compounds like ketamine and ayahuasca. At the end of the interview (after the outro music), Bessel generously addresses the unfortunate circumstances that lead to him being fired by the Justice Resource Institute, answering a question suggested by our Psychedelic Therapy Facebook group. Bessel is an author, researcher, and sought after public speaker. In addition to founding Boston’s Trauma Center and his popular books, Bessel is also the Principle Investigator for MAPS’ MDMA trials at its East Coast hub in Boston. LINKS Bessel van der Kolk The Body Keeps the Score The Faces of Phase 3: Principal Investigators in MAPS’ Clinical Trials of MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD TIMESTAMPS :04 - Bessel’s first experience with psychedelics :09 - The iconic American image of the veteran with PTSD :13 - Why psychedelics and trauma. :18 - How psychedelic practitioners can work with trauma :26 - Psychedelics and ancestral trauma :31 - How we get addicted to our trauma :35 - Attachment wounds vs acute trauma :43 - MDMA therapy and psychodrama therapy :55 - Ketamine as a trickster molecule 1:07 - Bessel speaks directly to psychedelic therapists 1:10 - Bessel addresses his termination from the Trauma Center he founded

Today I’m speaking to Lauren Taus, a licensed psychotherapist and a yoga and meditation teacher based in Venice Beach, California. In addition to modalities like cognitive behavioral therapy, family systems work, mindfulness, and somatic techniques, she also offers ketamine assisted psychotherapy (KAP) when she feels that it’s appropriate for clients. On the show we discuss Lauren’s background with MAPS MDMA protocols and the tutelage of her mentor Phil Wolfson, editor of The Ketamine Papers. We talk about equal access to psychedelic medicine and her advice for young practitioners. Lauren also has her own podcast, INbodied Life with guests like Rick Doblin, Rachel Yehuda, and Camille Barton so we share a few podcasting tips as well. So prepare for a journey and may we all return with a little more softness. LINKS Lauren Taus, INBodied Life The Ketamine Papers TIMESTAMPS :08 - First psychedelic experience. :13 - How Lauren started working with ketamine :18 - How Lauren works with ketamine :29 - Lauren’s mission and starting a podcast. :35 - Advise for young practitioners :40 - Equal Access :50 - MDMA vs ketamine for trauma therapy :54 - Lauren speaks to psychedelic practitioners

Today I am speaking to Bia Labate, the Executive Director of Chacruna, a popular psychedelic website and research institution. She is the Public Education and Culture Specialist at MAPS, adjunct professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), and author of over 20 books. On the show we discuss the mission of Chacruna--to give a voice and platform to people who have been traditionally excluded from the field of psychedelic science. We discuss how psychedelic therapists can become more engaged with the movement and give back to the community. We explore topics of social justice in the field and Bia’s own personal journey coming to California from Brazil. Finally, we highlight how psychedelics can be used for collective and how psychedelic healing is inherently political--from queering psychedelics--to Black Lives Matter. Bia is a huge proponent of including more diverse voices in the psychedelic community, especially of queer, women/non-binary, Latinx, and indigenous folks in these important and societal-shifting conversations. LINKS: Bia Labate: https://www.bialabate.net/ Chacruna: Chacruna.net  TIMESTAMPS: :05 - The goal of Chacruna is to give voice and platform to the people that have been traditionally excluded from the field of psychedelic science. :15 - A PhD Anthropologist, Bia loves psychedelics because they are “mega cool.” :21 - How should new psychedelic therapists acquaint themselves with the movement? :25 - How can individual therapists give back to the psychedelic community? :36 - How Bia’s understanding of social justice, and her own personal liberation came from moving to California from Brazil. :41 - Psychedelics are political, from queering psychedelics to Black Lives Matter :54 - Psychedelic healing is collective healing :59 - Bia speaks directly to psychedelic therapists

Today I am speaking to Kevin Franciotti, founder of Psychedelics in Recovery, a fellowship of individuals in 12-step programs who wish to use psychedelics and plant medicines as part of their recovery. A passionate enthusiast of psychedelic medicine, Kevin’s work is informed by his own relationship to addiction. On the show we discuss Kevin’s experience using ibogaine as a treatment for his own opiate addiction and how his work in recovery helped him become a leader in the community.. We talk about the history of Alcoholic Anonymous and other 12-step programs. We explore recovery with a harm-reduction ethos and finally how psychedelic therapists can collaborate with the recovery community. Kevin is a journalist, a psychedelic researcher, a harm reduction educator, and a substance use recovery advocate. LINKS Kevin’s Website:  http://kevin.franciotti.net/ Psychedelics in Recovery https://www.psychedelicsinrecovery.org/ Kevin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevinFranciotti TIMESTAMPS :05 - The history of Alcoholic Anonymous :13 - 12 step groups beyond AA and Psychedelic and Recovery :21 - Kevin’s personal experience with opiate addiction which led to ibogaine treatment :28 - How ibogaine works for opiate addiction :37 - Kevin’s experience with 12 step programs and other accountability after his ibogaine treatment. :46 - The creation of Psychedelics in Recovery, a 12 step community with a harm reduction ethos :53 - How do psychedelic therapists collaborate with this community and others like it