It is with heavy hearts that we share some important news with our community: after careful consideration and factors outside Psychedelics Today’s control, we’ve made the challenging decision to cancel Convergence, originally scheduled from March 30 to April 2 in Los Angeles. 

This decision comes following troubling operating issues with the venue selected for Convergence. Rather than re-imagining the event at a new venue and potentially depriving our guests of the experience they’d come to expect, we’ve decided the best way to honor our community is to step back until we are able to host a gathering in a space that aligns with our original vision.

All stakeholders, ticket holders, and supporters have been contacted directly with more information via email. If that’s you, kindly check your inbox. Should you have any more questions, please reach out to us via DM or at info@psychedelicstoday.com.

But it’s not all bad news. We’re pleased to announce we’re working with speakers and panelists to host their Convergence talks & panels on the Psychedelics Today media platform and podcast! This content will be free for all to enjoy, so stay tuned for all the details as they’re announced.

We are humbled and grateful for the support of our psychedelic community, and appreciate all those who helped us in our work to bring Convergence to life. We have plans for more events and surprises in store in 2023/2024, so stay tuned – we hope you’ll join us there ✨

Andrew Tatarsky’s Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy (IHRP) provides a
framework for effective therapy with people along the entire spectrum of risky
and addictive behavior including the use of psychedelics in recreational,
ceremonial and therapeutic contexts. The harm reduction shift starts where
people are, supports people in creating their optimal relationships to substances
and emphasizes empowerment and collaboration between the provider and
consumer. IHRP brings a harm reduction orientation to psychotherapy,
substance use treatment and psychedelic-assisted therapy.

IHRP techniques are uniquely tailored to each person. A central focus on the
therapeutic alliance and relationship creates a context in which to clarify the
meanings and functions of problematic behavior, enhance self-regulation and
support maximizing benefit and minimizing risk. IHRP addresses related
personal, relational and lifestyle issues concurrently with problematic behavior.

This introduction to IHRP will cover the clinical rationale, theoretical foundation,
basic definitions of harm reduction and an overview of IHRP and it’s Seven
Therapeutic Tasks. Special attention will be given to the relationship between
trauma, dissociation and problems with self regulation and addiction.

The class will combine lecture, discussion and clinical illustrations. Particpants
are encouraged to bring their most challenging case vignettes for discussion.

You will learn:

-The challenging realities of people who struggle with problematic drug use

-The limitations of traditional abstinence-only treatment

-The role society plays in the shaping of how we understand substance use and how treatment has developed

-The multiple meanings process model of addiction underlying IHRP

-The core harm reduction principles

 -An overview of IHRP’s Seven Therapeutic Tasks

 -Application to psychedelic preparation and integration

• Resources:

1. Bridging the Worlds of Harm Reduction and Addiction Treatment
2. The Challenge of Harm Reduction: Changing Attitudes Toward Addiction Treatment 
3. Integrative Harm Reduction Psychotherapy: A Case of Substance Use, Multiple Trauma, and Suicidality
4. Warning Signs When Selecting a Psychedelic Facilitator
5. Guide to Finding a Safe Ibogaine Clinic
6. Ibogaine and Iboga: Traditional Use, Conservation, and Ethical Considerations

With the growing number of clinical studies showing positive results for depression, anxiety and PTSD, many people are looking forward to sitting with psilocybin for its healing benefits. The question comes up a lot, would it be more beneficial to try psilocybin on a retreat or in a clinical setting.

Join Neil Markey and Dr. Andrea Pennington of Beckley Retreats as they weigh the pros and cons of each.

About Neil Markey
As co-founder and CEO of Beckley Retreats, Neil is passionate about sharing the science-backed benefits of psychedelics in conjunction with the contemplative practices that support holistic wellbeing. At Beckley Retreats, he’s dedicated to building a business that operates with the utmost integrity, both internally and across the many communities it will touch.

A Captain in the US Army Special Operations 2nd Ranger Battalion, Neil was deployed once to Iraq, and twice to Afghanistan. After, as an MBA/MIA masters student at Columbia University, he suffered from depression and PTSD. This led him to alternative wellbeing practices and marked the start of a profound healing journey with mindfulness and psychedelics. Prior to Beckley Retreats, Neil worked as the Chief Growth Officer for a $450M private equity portfolio company where he was responsible for all strategy and growth planning. Before that he worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Co, where he also co-led the internal mindfulness program. Neil credits meditation and plant therapy with saving his life.

About Dr. Andrea Pennington
Dr. Andrea is an American integrative physician, Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Facilitator, acupuncturist and creator of The Cornerstone Process for Conscious Evolution and The Attunement Meditation. She has written or contributed to 18 books, and is the bestselling author of The Top 10 Traits of Highly Resilient People, The Real Self Love Handbook, and The Orgasm Prescription for Women. She is also an international speaker with over 4 million views of her TED talks, hosts the Conscious Evolution Podcast, and has a vast career in global media and documentary filmmaking. With over two decades of medical practice specialized in trauma recovery, addiction medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture, Dr. Andrea has provided medical services, workshops and retreats to help thousands of people build resilience, reclaim vitality after burnout, recover from Adverse Childhood Experiences and nurture real self love in order to thrive in all areas of life.

Dr. Andrea brings her background and experience to the role of Senior Advisor, Program Facilitation for Beckley Retreats.

Insurance for the nascent psychedelics industry is a four-letter word. And where available, while business insurance is often purchased as part of licensing obligations, is it often treated as an oversight and later forgotten.

This webinar shares insider tips and tricks for making insurance a profit center. We will discuss the current state of the market for insuring psychedelic businesses, including types of insurance policies, “red flag” policy terms, best practices for applications, and more.

Presented by: Jodi Green, Counsel, Feldman Legal Advisors

After protecting insurance companies from up to billion-dollar liabilities in her early career, Jodi Green now helps forward-thinking organizations mitigate risks, with a focus on startups and companies operating in highly-regulated industries, such as cannabis and psychedelics. Jodi is licensed to practice law in California and Illinois and assists clients with a wide range of legal needs, including corporate governance; complex contracts; regulatory compliance; and insurance coverage and risk management. She also provides fractional general counsel and risk management services to growth-stage entities.

Join us for a discussion about the regulatory environment in Oregon and Colorado on January 12th, 2023 at 10am PST/1pm EST.

Integration as a word is being applied to a wide range of practices and means different things in different settings. How can we understand the process of integration from a Depth Relational Process perspective which highlights depth perspectives – like the Jungian or attachment lens -, relational unfolding and depth of processing? And how can we match integration set with integration setting from a theoretically pluralistic perspective to meet the needs of people post experience at an appropriate and adequate level?

Depth Relational Process is a model we have co-developed with Dr. Tim Read in support of working with the deep psyche as well as expanded states. In this talk we will consider the main elements of working in this way alongside some clinical material to bring some of these ideas into the realm of practice.

Maria Papaspyrou is a senior accredited psychotherapist, working in private practice in Brighton, UK. Her core trainings have been in integrative relational psychotherapy, systemic family constellations and supervision. She has had a long-term interest in the healing potential of expanded states and her clinical practice focuses on psychedelic integration and working as a supervisor for individuals and organisations in this field.

She has co-edited “Psychedelic Mysteries of the Feminine” with Chiara Baldini and David Luke and “Psychedelics & Psychotherapy: The Healing Potential of Expanded States” with Dr Tim Read. With Tim they have co-founded and co-direct the Institute of Psychedelic Therapy (IPT) where they have co- developed and teach a 2-year professional training on Psychedelic Assisted Therapy through their model, Depth Relational Process.

You can find out more about her work at towardswholeness.co.uk.

Psychedelics open us to the prospect of death as part of our common humanity and consciousness. Research from NYU, Johns Hopkins and UCLA have consistently shown that psilocybin, not just reduced the anxiety and depression associated with the fear of dying in cancer patients, but it also brought feelings of unity and peace and acceptance to death and dying.

This panel will bring together the Founder of the first-of-its-kind end-of-life psilocybin retreat and training, the End-of-Life Doula who led the programs’ development, a psychedelic trained psychotherapist with 30 years’ experience as a hospice social worker and cancer survivor who participated in an MDMA study for individuals with life-threatening illnesses, and a Psychedelics Today colleague who was transformed through psychedelics after the death of her father.

Join them in an engaging panel discussion to talk about the death and dying process, the role of an End-of-Life Doula in this process, how and why psychedelics are powerful sources for healing in those with terminal diagnoses, and how you can begin to shift your thinking about death and dying. They each will share their personal stories with psychedelics and death which are moving testimonials to the potency of psychedelics for this, the most important, part of one’s life journey.

Please note that an attendee report (names, email addresses) is shared with the partner.

Panelists:

Christina Ingenito – LCSW, Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapist, Clinical Director at Diaspora Psychedelic Society

Monica Miller – Event Manager at Psychedelics Today

Catherine Durkin Robinson – Death Doula and Educator at Anitya Doula Services

Host:

Christine Caldwell – Manager, End-of-Life Programs at Diaspora Psychedelic Society

On November 1, the Oregon Health Authority published its proposed final rules for the Measure 109 psilocybin services program. OHA also has given “last call” for public comment and scheduled three public comment hearings November 15-17.

Join attorney and activist Jon Dennis in a conversation moderated by Professor Pilar Hernandez Wolf about the proposed psilocybin rules and ways to help educate OHA around issues of community concern.

Join us for a presentation with Cathy Harris, LCSW, who will be sharing about her lived experience in a cult, which ultimately led her toward helping others find self-compassion and joy in life.

After her experience, Cathy has been learning and working over the last 25 years to facilitate healing in many settings: military and civilian substance abuse treatment (adults and teens), in-home therapy, crisis center, mobile crisis, inpatient trauma treatment, outpatient group treatment and private practice.

Her work is rooted in Trauma-Informed thinking and she finds fulfillment in sharing this perspective with a variety of professionals. She currently works with veterans, active duty and ex-cult members via private practice.

Cathy’s presentation will cover:

• Defining and understanding what a cult is, using Lifton’s 8 Critera.
• The physical, mental, and emotional effects of cults and cult behavior.
• Why psychedelic therapy/work is vulnerable to cults and cult behavior.
• The role of Vicarious Trauma in development and healing.

Join us for an open dialogue with several game-changers from Nue Life who will discuss their treatment, findings, and a call for mainstream adoption of this method of care.

Many in the United States are benefitting from ketamine treatment, reporting that major symptoms of depression are reduced after just a few doses in a clinical setting. This medicine, when used with intention and care, can bring a new level of mental wellness to one’s life.

However, psychedelics like ketamine have a long history of stigma, resulting in reluctance from prescribers to adopt this type of treatment. The lack of ketamine prescribers presents a bottleneck to the mainstreaming of psychedelic treatment within the mental health infrastructure.

NueLife—a team of dedicated physicians, expert technologists, and compassionate clinicians—delivers responsive, personalized ketamine therapy in the comfort of their clients’ homes. Research shows that of their 650 patients with treatment-resistant depression and anxiety, approximately 2/3rds saw over a 50% reduction in symptoms after just six ketamine sessions.

Panelists:

Lauren Marchefka – Board-certified family nurse practitioner and member of the senior medical team at Nue Life.

Lynn-Marie Morski – President of the Psychedelic Medicine Association, host of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, and Medical Director for Nue Life Health.

Ben Medrano – Medical Director of Nue Life Medical Group. Additionally, Ben works in patient care as Medical Director of Field Trip NYC and DC clinics while providing direct care within his private practice.

Host:

David Drapkin – The Director of Operations and Strategic Growth at Psychedelics Today. Additionally, he is a licensed clinical social worker and seasoned mental health and addiction practitioner.

When it comes to patient populations, veterans are among the most challenging to treat. Many return from service with debilitating conditions, including PTSD, treatment resistant depression, traumatic brain injury and chronic pain.

The costs – both financial and human – of military service are extreme. Recent studies suggest that between 2001 and 2050, the total costs of caring for veterans of the post-9/11 wars will reach between $2.2 and $2.5 trillion. It is estimated that on average, 44 veterans die in the United States every day from suicide.

Can psychedelics promise new hope to veterans suffering in sub-standard models of care? How can psychedelics be used to create a better standard of care for veterans and their families?

Join us in discussion with three North American veterans (Arron Victory, Apex Labs; Jesse Gould, Heroic Hearts; and Justin LaPree, Heroic Path to Light) on the eve of Remembrance Day (Canada) and Veterans Day (U.S.) on topics including:

• How psychedelics are currently being used by veteran populations, both above and underground
• The current standard of care for veterans post-service, the strengths of the current system and where it falls short
• Grassroots community efforts to support veterans and first responders in North America
• How biotech is working to create alternate psychedelic treatment options for veteran populations
• Ongoing and upcoming clinical trials to study the effects of psychedelics on veterans
• How governments are responding to calls for psychedelic access for veterans
• Successes veterans and their families are finding in psychedelic therapies

A growing number of mental health professionals are enrolling in training programs in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, but don’t know know to implement PAP in their practice. Join cofounder and CEO Jonathan Sabbagh to learn more about how Journey Clinical enables licensed psychotherapists to deliver PAP in your own practice, starting with Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy. Jonathan will explain the Journey Clinical collaborative care model and technology platform, and share how their member psychotherapists successfully deliver KAP in their practice as an adjunct to therapy.

Jonathan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Journey Clinical, the leading telehealth platform expanding access to Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy. A serial entrepreneur, Jonathan built his career in finance, spending over two decades working for hedge funds and building businesses in Switzerland and NYC. After receiving a difficult diagnosis of PTSD and extreme burnout, Jonathan left the world of finance to focus on his mental health, during which he personally experienced the transformative benefits of plant medicine and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP).

Ultimately, Jonathan’s personal and professional journey motivated him to found Journey Clinical in 2020, the #1 platform in the US that enables licensed mental health professionals to deliver KAP at scale. Learn more at www.JourneyClinical.com.

Please note that registrations (names, email addresses) are shared with the webinar collaborator.

Join us for “Traditional and Modern Perspectives on Healing,” part two of a two-part series in collaboration with the Indigenous Medicine Conservation Fund (IMC Fund). The IMC Fund was co-created for the sovereign protection and regeneration of the medicines, ecologies & traditional knowledge Indigenous communities have honored for thousands of years.

In this webinar, we will be looking at the importance of respecting traditional Indigenous cultures and practices. This panel brings together professionals with both traditional and modern training to discuss these medicines and how they are being worked with at this time by different groups and in different demographics, and to learn together in an exchange between equals. Building on part one of the series, panelists will discuss the differences between appreciation and appropriation, and share their experience in the field and on the ground.

Please note that registrations (names, email addresses) are shared with the webinar collaborator.

Join us for “Appreciation vs. Appropriation,” part one of a two-part webinar series in collaboration with the Indigenous Medicine Conservation Fund (IMC Fund). The IMC Fund was co-created for the sovereign protection and regeneration of the medicines, ecologies & traditional knowledge Indigenous communities have honored for thousands of years.

In this webinar series, we will be discussing the importance of respecting traditional Indigenous cultures and practices. As the psychedelic renaissance forges on, it is important to emphasize conserving and supporting traditional knowledge and we are urging having these conversations. While the IMC Fund focuses on biocultures that have ancestral practices with plants such as ayahuasca, iboga and peyote, we know that all indigenous cultures have rich traditions that deserve respect, and that land and territory issues at the community level are linked to mental health and climate change outcomes globally.

How do we ensure the original holders of these sacred medicines are respected and uplifted in this search for our collective healing? Together we can hold a respectful and constructive dialogue and exchange that isn’t extractive, and instead appreciates rather than appropriates an exchange between equals.

This webinar is FREE to attend, however, we highly recommend making a contribution via Grow Medicine (https://growmedicine.com/), a project and donation platform of the IMC Fund.

Speakers:

Sutton King, MPH – Co Director of the Urban Indigenous Collective
Anahí Ochoa – Director of the Intercultural Yaqui Medicine Clinic
Mona Polacca – Leader in the Native American revitalization movement
Miriam Volat, MS – Co-Director of the Riverstyx Foundation

Join the father of modern microdosing, Dr. James Fadiman, Ph.D, and Adam Bramlage, microdosing coach and educator, as they answer your questions on the history, science and best practices for microdosing psychedelics. Bramlage will present a 15 minute crash course on Microdosing 101, before a 45 minute Q and A with James Fadiman, Ph.D. Bramlage and Fadiman are the lead educators of Psychedelics Today’s newest online course, “The Microdosing Masterclass.” (www.psychedeliceducationcenter.com/p/microdosing-master-class)

James Fadiman is an American writer known for his research on microdosing psychedelics. He and Robert Frager co-founded the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, which later became Sofia University, where he was a lecturer in psychedelic studies. Fadiman is a proponent of microdosing. He writes and lectures on the topic and collects anecdotal reports from those who practice it.

Adam Bramlage is Founder/CEO of Flow State Micro, a functional mushroom company, and microdosing education platform. Bramlage works one on one with clients to optimize their microdosing experience. He’s helped hundreds of people, from professional athletes to people suffering from addiction and depression, achieve results through microdosing in his private practice.

Europe’s leading conference on psychedelic science and therapy. ICPR is returning for its fifth edition in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with speakers Paul Stamets, David Nutt, Amanda Feilding, Roland Griffiths, Rick Doblin, and more.

Are you interested in learning more about ICPR? Head to the ICPR conference page for more detailed information and to register for tickets.

On Thursday September 15 at 1p ET, Court Wing of REMAP Therapeutics and Joe Moore of Psychedelics Today will discuss a recently published paper – “Microdosing psilocybin for chronic pain: a case series”.

Microdosing psilocybin for chronic pain: a case series by Matthew Lyes, Kevin H Yang, Joel Castellanos, Timothy Furnish

Link to register.

Are you interested in attending our live Navigating Psychedelics course?

Do you have questions?

Are you looking to level up your offerings in the expanding field of psychedelic-assisted support and want to know how to get there?

Visit the links below to register for your preferred Q&A date and time:

Tuesday, November 22nd 5:00pm MST

Past episodes

Links

Religious Practice Under Oregon Measure 109 by Jon Dennis, Esq.

An interview Jon did with Psanctuary, a psilocybin church out of Kentucky, about the proposal

Psychedelica Lex: Jon Dennis, Esq. Gives an Oregon Psilocybin Update – Measure 109

Psychedelichealth.co.uk: Psychedelics industrial complex could put psychedelic religions in jeopardy

Are you interested in attending one of our upcoming Navigating Psychedelics course offerings?

Do you have questions about our course that you would like answered?

Are you looking to level up your offerings in the expanding field of psychedelic-assisted support and want to know how to get there?

Join Joe Moore Friday July 2nd at 9:00am MST in this special Q&A to get all of your questions answered, so you can dive into a course that levels you up in your career of psychedelic integration support.

Register here!

Join Joe Moore and Tim Cools to discuss Psychedelic Experience. We’ll be taking questions from the audience to discuss how the website has been up and running since 2017, their recruitment and safety protocols and much more.

This special webinar will take place May 27, 2021 at 10:00AM MST

About Tim Cools

Tim is a conscious entrepreneur and psychedelic coach. After experiencing the profound transformational power of Ayahuasca in 2015, he realized his purpose is to advocate safe and responsible use of psychedelic plants and medicines: this is how Psychedelic Experience was born! He has over two decades of professional experience developing industrial-grade software in various industries, including smart homes, energy, payroll and logistics. In 2018, Tim re-trained himself as a psychedelic integration coach and guide, hosting legal psychedelic sessions and retreats in the Netherlands. Tim’s interests are software architecture, psychedelics and plant medicine, non-dualism, mindfulness, and helping people to reduce their suffering and improve their well-being.

Psychedelics Today is turning 5 years old!

On Thursday, May 13th, we’re celebrating 5 whole years of making Psychedelics Today and you are all invited to come celebrate with us! 

We’re hosting a live, virtual birthday party on 5/13 starting at 7:30 pm EST on Twitch. We’ll start with a conversation between Joe, Kyle, and our newest edition, Michelle, on the origins of Psychedelics Today, how Joe & Kyle met, why they wanted to start a psychedelic podcast and media company, how they created their Navigating Psychedelics course, and so much more! We’ll also be opening it up to questions from the audience, so if you’ve been meaning to ask us something, Thursday evening is your chance!

Then after about an hour, we’ll be winding down (or ramping up) with a live vinyl DJ set from dr. bouchard. So mark your calendars and get ready to celebrate our birthday with us! It’s totally FREE and guaranteed to be a super chill evening full of psychedelic insight, music, and more!