Altered States of Context

A bit of an ASOC origin story! In this Episode Nate interviews the Perspectives Retreats crew, which include our very own Brian Pilecki, Jenna LeJeune, Miranda Morris and Temple Morris. The idea for Perspectives Retreats originated in the same place as Altered States of Context- at a psilocybin retreat in Jamaica 6 years ago. Since then the Perspectives crew have worked to develop the most thorough and clinically informed retreat model in the business- and they are here to tell us about it. 

Dr. Alex Belser joins us to further discuss EMBARK and how his passion for training psychedelic therapists led to the development of a broadly applicable model that includes all aspects of psychedelic experiences. With the recent rejection of MDMA-assisted therapy by the FDA, we discuss the future role of psychotherapy, in contrast to more minimal psychological support, in future psychedelic medicine. We also discuss how you might get involved in psychedelic-assisted therapy (spoiler alert: there are no clear paths).

Humans are natural storytellers, for better or worse. How can we become more aware of the stories that embed our lives? How do psychedelics help us see the stories that we live inside and help us have more agency about being an author to our stories? Our guest Jennifer Beman is a documentary film editor who has created a method for visual story-telling called BioGraffs. Hear her describe how BioGraffs can be used to get underneath language and serve as a tool for a range of applications including therapy, talking about sex, resolving conflict within couples, and psychedelic integration.

Dr. William Brennan describes EMBARK, a transdiagnostic flexible model of psychedelic facilitation that builds on existing approaches in clinical research of psychedelic-assisted therapy. He describes the six clinical domains and four care cornerstones, and how they can be flexibly applied to a range of conditions and settings. We discuss some of the pros and cons of a unifying model of change in psychedelics, as well as the tension between individualism in psychotherapy with a systemic, contextual understanding of mental health problems.

Gabby Lehigh recently earned her PhD from the Department of Anthropology at the University of South Florida (USF). She holds a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in anthropology from USF. Her dissertation research focused on transformative psychedelic experiences at music events to understand how psychedelic use in everyday contexts creates meaningful and impactful experiences. She recently accepted a position as a research coordinator at Moffitt Cancer Center, developing novel interventions for smoking cessation among underserved populations. She is passionate about developing and supporting diverse clinical, spiritual, and recreational models of psychedelic (and other drug) use to expand accessibility for harm reduction and benefit enhancement. She believes everyone should have affordable and accessible access to these substances and treatments in the contexts they find most suitable for themselves. Gabby is also the co-founder and Managing Director of Psychedelic Grad, a web-based community for up-and-coming psychedelic professionals. In addition, she hosts the Psychedelic Grad podcast, Curious to Serious, where she interviews students and professionals in the psychedelic space on how they navigated the path from being curious about psychedelics to dedicating their careers to them.LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielle-lehigh 671b2182PG:https://www.psychedelicgrad.comPodcast:https://open.spotify.com/show/1py4yZ8XY9pYkDoWQxed3B?si=b3cb4322b5a34f2a

New EPISODESAfter a bit of a break, we are back with three new episodes and a new format. Instead of biweekly episodes during a season, we are simply going to release episodes whenever we feel like it! We are hoping that this intermittent schedule of reinforcement works well for all of our loyal listeners, as it makes it much easier for us to keep recording these interesting and in-depth conversations and putting them out, without feeling bound to a schedule. We're excited to keep bringing you thought provoking conversations with leaders in the field, so stay tuned to season infinity!In this particular episode, Nate interviews Brian about the state of Oregon's new supervised psilocybin program, and they discuss what seems to be working, what doesn't, and lessons learned.

Andy Mitchell, author of “Ten Trips,” describes his experience having ten different psychedelic experiences in very different types of contexts ranging from academic settings to indigenous communities. Andy provides a fresh take on psychedelics with a unique perspective of sampling several sub-communities within the larger psychedelic community, including therapists and scientists, psychonauts and inner travelers, and spiritual or religious practitioners. Andy describes how he has come to see how much psychedelics have become a construct that can become what we want them to be based upon our own beliefs and worldviews, and how their trickster qualities tend to obstruct them being confined by any particular framework.. Finally, hear how Andy used the process of writing his book to help integrate his experiences, and how these experiences have changed him. 

In this episode we take a slight detour from our main topic to discuss Nate’s experiences with farming in central Illinois. Hear Nate describe how he got into farming and how his experiences with animals have shaped the way he thinks about everything from diet to psychotherapy. You’ll hear Nate defend why he is virulently "pro-savanna" and discuss how living in a sustainable ecosystem allows for regular experiences of abundance, as well as staying close to the cycle of life and death. And yes, we do discuss how sustainable farming does fit neatly within the psychedelic experience.

Join us for a conversation with Franklin King, is a psychiatrist with expertise in neuroscience and psychedelics. Hear him discuss his history of working in a psych ER and his perspectives on how public health interventions can help people attain greater wellness. Dr. King’s unique experience in mental health care and research on psychedelic-assisted therapy leads to an engaging discussion about how psychedelic medicine is evolving in our current health care system. Dr. King is a psychiatrist at Mass General Hospital in Boston, was trained in residency and fellowship in Consult-Liaison Psychiatry and a research fellowship with the Cardiac Psychiatry Research Program. He is particularly interested in optimization of therapy paradigms within psychedelic research as well as the use of psychedelic-assisted therapies in disorders at the mind-body interface. Dr. King is currently the Principal Investigator (with Co-Investigator Erin Mauney) on a pilot study exploring the feasibility of psilocybin-assisted therapy for irritable bowel syndrome and is the study psychiatrist for a neuroimaging study partnering with MAPS examining the effects of MDMA-assisted therapy for fibromyalgia (PI: Vitaly Napadow). He is also co-developing the Harvard Interdisciplinary Program in Psychedelics with friends colleagues at BWH and BIDMC, a program that will provide education and training in psychedelic-assisted therapies for clinicians across the various hospitals in the Harvard Medical School community.

Christine Calvert, a certified Holotropic Breathwork facilitator, discusses the history and development of holotropic breathwork and its relation to psychedelic-assisted therapy. Topics include the importance of preparation, the breath as a vehicle for healing, group formats for collective healing experiences, the role of the sitter, and the power of music in altered states. They also explore the significance of the birth experience, the benefits of individual and group work in healing, and the unknown aspects of altered states.