Postdoctoral Associate, Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine
“Salvia Divinorum, an Atypical Psychedelic”
Based on my laboratory and field work with Salvia divinorum (SD) and salvinorin A (SA) over the past five years, I will provide a brief overview of the subjective and behavioral effects of SD and propose a role of the kappa opioid receptor (KOR) system in embodied consciousness.
Biography: Dr. Addy is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in the New Haven area. He has investigated the effects of Salvia divinorum at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, Yale University School of Medicine, and the homes of indigenous healers in Mexico.
Registered psychologist, NEIP
“The Effect of Participation in Ayahuasca Rituals on Gay and Lesbian Self-perception”
I will discuss the results of my research on how ayahuasca affected the perception of identity, especially in regard to sexual orientation, of gay and lesbian ritual participants.
Biography: Clancy Cavnar, PsyD is a psychologist and artist living in San Francisco who has recently published an article based on her dissertation research on gay and lesbian ayahuasca users in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, and who has co-edited three books with Beatriz Labate: The Therapeutic Use of Ayahuasca, (Springer, 2014); Prohibition, Religious Freedom, and Human Rights: Regulating Traditional Drug Use (Springer, 2014); and Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond, Oxford University Press (2014).
“Does LSD Have a Future in Medicine?”
Although LSD has a promising and well-documented therapeutic potential, its re-adoption in clinical practice is uncertain for several reasons.
Biography: Peter Gasser is psychiatrist and psychotherapist in private practice. He lives in Switzerland and conducted a recent study on LSD-assisted psychotherapy. He has been interested in psychotherapy with mind altering drugs for 25 years.
“Psychedelics and Civilisation, Light and Darkness”
Graham Hancock investigates the possibility that by demonising and criminalising the use of psychedelics, rather than seeking out ways to harness their power for altering consciousness in safe and nurturing spaces, our society may have set itself on a profoundly negative path — a path that might even deny us the next step in our own evolution as a species.
Biography: Graham Hancock’s books on shamanism and altered states of consciousness, and on the possibility of a forgotten episode in human history, have been creating controversy for nearly quarter of a century. In February 2014 he was ranked number 30 on the Watkins List of 100 most spiritually influential people.
Founder-Director, Addiction Treatment Specialists
“Realizing Transformation: Integration and Continuing Care in the Psychedelic Treatment of Addiction”
What I have learned after treating and following up with literally hundreds of patient/journeyers is that proper and sustained attention to the Continuing Care (not aftercare) or Integration is the SINGLE best predictor for a successful or positive outcome for those using the psychedelic plant medicine ibogaine in the treatment of and the interruption of opiate addiction.
Biography: John was Principal Investigator for MAPS pilot study on the efficacy of ibogaine in the treatment of opiate addiction; this research was proceeded by 2 years as a methadone maintenance counselor in Oakland,CA (for his Pre-Doctoral internship). John has presented and discussed his work in Basel, Switzerland at the World Psychedelic Forum in 2008, the 1st International Ibogaine Conference in Sayulita, Mexico (2009), the 3rd International Ibogaine Conference in Vancouver (2012),the 4th International Ibogaine Conference in Durban, South Africa, the Women’s Visionary Conferences at Wilbur Hot Springs, CA in 2009 and in 2010 at Black Oak Ranch CA, Burning Man’s Palenque Norte Speaker series (2013) and at the Drug Policy Alliance Conferences in 2011 in Los Angeles and in 2013 Denver, CO, among many other forums and seminars world wide.
Relationship Coach, Honors Bachelor of Science in Biology & Philosophy
“Leading My Family To Ecstasy”
In the journey of introducing MDMA to her entire family as an annual ritual; Annie shares what transpired in those sessions, how they explored suppressed emotions like pain, anger & disappointment, while cultivating empathic resonance across the family system.
Biography: Annie has created a suite of practical tools that help clients resolve toxic patterns, develop romantic esteem, diffuse conflict, assuage shame/blame & cultivate deep, resilient relationships that last a lifetime.
“How Psychedelics Transformed My Life”
Former CNN correspondent Amber Lyon travelled the world exploring psychedelic medicines to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Ayahuasca, psilocybin mushrooms, and MDMA not only healed Lyon’s PTSD, but sparked a spiritual awakening that transformed her life and career path.
Biography: Amber Lyon is an Emmy Award-winning investigative journalist, author, filmmaker, and former CNN correspondent.
For more than a decade, Lyon’s investigations focused on violent conflict and tragedy causing her to develop symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. She travelled the world searching for natural therapies, and discovered the powerful healing of psychedelics. Her travels brought her to the shamans of Peru to journey with Ayahuasca, and to the curanderas of Mexico to work with psilocybin mushrooms. Through the use of both the Ayahuasca and the medicinal mushrooms, Lyon successfully cured her PTSD symptoms.
Lyon created Reset.Me to encourage and promote journalism on natural medicines and consciousness, support harm reduction, and to share her passion for the medicines with those in need.
“Psilocybin and Personality Change: Opening to Life, Death, and Everything In Between”
Katherine will present results from her groundbreaking study on psilocybin and personality change, and discuss how the personality trait of “openness to experience” is key to health and healing across the lifespan.
Biography: Katherine MacLean is an academically trained research scientist and meditation practitioner with a long-standing interest in the brain, consciousness and the science of well-being. As a graduate student at the University of California, Davis, Katherine was supported by a prestigious National Science Foundation research fellowship to study the effects of intensive meditation training on concentration, emotional well-being and brain function. As a postdoctoral fellow and faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, she was one of the only scientists in the world studying psilocybin — a psychedelic chemical found naturally in certain types of mushrooms. Her groundbreaking research on psilocybin and personality change suggests that psychedelic medicines may be the key to enhancing mental health and promoting openness and creativity throughout the lifespan.
“Journalistic Responsibility in the Coverage of Psychedelics”
Biography: Hamilton Morris is a journalist and science editor of Vice magazine and a contributor to Harper’s Magazine
“Toward a New Understanding of Altered States of Consciousness: Egolysis and Egolytic States”
We introduce a new term, “egolytic” (“a loosening, setting free, releasing, dissolution,” of the ego), as a descriptor of the process that may be evoked by a variety of consciousness-altering phenomena; by correlating the egolytic processes with existing neuroscientific, psychoanalytic, and clinical research on meditation, psychosis, and psychedelic therapy, we hope to offer a new model for the therapeutic effects of psychedelic medicines.
Biography: Casey A. Paleos is Co-Principal Investigator of the NYU-Bellevue IV Ketamine for Depression Study, a study therapist in the NYU Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety Study, and a Clinical Instructor of Psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine.
Jeffrey Guss is a Co-Investigator in the NYU Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety Study as well as the upcoming Alcoholism Psilocybin Study and is an Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine.
Alexander Belser is a co-founder of the New York University Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety Study and is currently heading a qualitative study to conduct in-depth interviews with these patients to vividly explore their experiences. He is a Fellow and Adjunct Professor at NYU’s Department of Applied Psychology.
“Acid Test: LSD, Ecstasy and the Power to Heal”
Can once-feared drugs heal our wounded warriors and liberate our souls? The astounding saga behind the renaissance in psychedelic healing.
Biography: Tom Shroder, Author and former Editor of The Washington Post Magazine. Tom Shroder is an award-winning journalist, editor, and author. His most recent book, Acid Test: LSD, Ecstasy, and the Power to Heal, was published in September. His earlier book, Old Souls, is a classic study of the intersection between mysticism and science.
Nicholas Blackston, Former Marine, participant in the MAPS clinical trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD. Nicholas Blackston joined the Marines out of high school, saw combat in the Iraqi cities of Faluja and Ramadi, suffered severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder until participation in experimental trials using MDMA-assisted therapy allowed him to face the roots of his disorder and heal himself.
