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Early Research, Psychedelics in Palliative Care, and the Intersection of Science and the Sacred

May 7, 2024
Featuring: William Richards, STM, Ph.D.

In this episode, Joe and Kyle interview William Richards, STM, Ph.D.: senior advisor at Sunstone Therapies, psychologist at the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, contributor to Vital, and author of Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics & Religious Experiences.

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In this episode, Joe and Kyle interview William Richards, STM, Ph.D.: senior advisor at Sunstone Therapies, psychologist at the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, contributor to Vital, and author of Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics & Religious Experiences.

He talks about the first time he experienced psilocybin in a research study in 1963, his early studies on the psychology of religion, working with Abraham Maslow, how he became one of the early psychedelic therapists, and what it was like for all of that to disappear when Nixon came into office and shut everything down. He discusses his move into psychedelics and end-of-life care after seeing patients’ fear of death completely disappear, and contemplates whether psychedelics could help people prepare for death – how would we live if we no longer feared death?

He also discusses:

  • How the integration of psychedelics into palliative care should be a huge step in cultural acceptance
  • How psychedelics could be used for education and boosting creativity, problem solving, and even new perspectives on history and classic works
  • The study of comparative religion and the potential for psychedelics to find the connections and commonality between seemingly disparate religions
  • The impact of psychedelic experiences on the perception of the sacred
  • How fascinating it is that the same substance, dose, and set and setting can create such incredibly different experiences

and more!

Links

Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences, by William A. Richards

The Psychology of Science: A Reconnaissance, by Abraham H. Maslow

The Divine Comedy: The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and The Paradiso, by Dante Alighieri, translated by John Ciardi

Clinicaltrials.gov: Psilocybin

Amazon links are affiliate links, meaning that Psychedelics Today will receive a percentage of the sale.

William Richards_ STM_ Ph.D. 2

In this Episode

William Richards, STM, Ph.D.

William (Bill) Richards, STM, Ph.D., is a senior advisor at Sunstone Therapies, a psychologist in the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and has been involved in psychedelic research since 1963. He also is also associated with the Program in Psychedelic Therapies and Research at the California Institute of Integral Studies. His graduate degrees include M.Div. (Yale), S.T.M. in the psychology of religion (Andover-Newton) and Ph.D. (Catholic University). He studied with Abraham Maslow at Brandeis University and with Hanscarl Leuner at Georg-August University in Göttingen, Germany. From 1967 to 1977, he implemented projects with LSD, DPT, MDA and psilocybin at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, including protocols designed to investigate the promise of psychedelics in the treatment of alcoholism, depression, narcotic addiction and the psychological distress associated with terminal cancer, and also their use in the training of religious and mental-health professionals. His recent research at Johns Hopkins, in collaboration with colleagues at New York University, has focused on the potential value of psilocybin in the continuing education of professional religious leaders from different world religions. At Sunstone Therapies, he is especially focused on integrating psychedelic therapy into palliative care. His book, Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences, published by Columbia University Press, has now been translated into multiple languages.

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