Psychedelic therapy

Physician Team Lead.

Rohini Kanniganti, MD, MSPH, HMDC is a Boulder based Board Certified Family Physician. She has served in hospice and palliative care for over a decade, currently at the Mountain Valley Hospice and Palliative Care in NC. She completed a fellowship in Integrative Psychiatry through the Integrative Psychiatry Institute, and serves at the Integrative Psychiatry Centers, as well as leading Physician support for the Experiential aspect of the IPI Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Training. She is a hybrid of science, art and sacred, and is always ready to play.

IPI Co-Founder · Medical Director.

Will Van Derveer, MD is Co-Founder of Integrative Psychiatry Institute and Integrative Psychiatry Centers. Dr. Van Derveer was co-investigator on a phase 2 MAPS study of Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for treatment-resistant PTSD, and co-authored the publication of this study in 2018. He has also provided Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy in two MAPS training studies. An active provider of KAP at his clinic in Boulder, CO, he has been teaching others KAP therapy for several years. Dr. Van Derveer contributed a chapter on mescaline in the 2021 "Handbook of Medical Hallucinogens" (edited by Charles Grob and Jim Grigsby). He is co-host of the Higher Practice Podcast.

Dr. Van Derveer regards unresolved emotional trauma as the most significant under-recognized root cause of psychiatric symptoms in integrative psychiatry practice, along with gut issues, hormone imbalances, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and other functional medicine challenges. He is trained in Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, Internal Family Systems, and other psychotherapy techniques. His current clinical passion is psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, which he mentors interested doctors in providing. An avid meditator, he has been a meditation instructor since 2004.

For the past several years Dr. Van Derveer has taught psychiatrists and other psychiatric providers integrative psychiatry in a number of settings, including course directing the CU psychiatry residents’ course as well as with Scott Shannon and Janet Settle at the Psychiatry MasterClass.

IPI Co-Founder.

Keith Kurlander, MA, LPC is the Co-founder of the Integrative Psychiatry Institute (IPI) and the Integrative Psychiatry Centers (IPC) along with Will Van Derveer, MD. He brings a professional and personal passion toward the innovation and evolution of the field of psychiatry, psychedelic medicine and psychotherapy.

The Integrative Psychiatry Institute is an educational platform that is advancing the field of mental health care with provider training focused on integrative medicine, functional medicine, lifestyle medicine, and psychedelic-assisted therapy.

The Integrative Psychiatry Centers serve patients with integrative psychiatry services as well as psychedelic-assisted therapy currently in form of IV and IM KAP.

He graduated Naropa University in 2005 with a master’s degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology. As a Partner of Boulder Psychotherapy Services, he has practiced integrative psychotherapy for over a decade. After years of treating highly complex patients, as well as a personal journey of overcoming complex trauma and mood-related issues, he turned toward integrative psychiatric practices as a key component to achieving mental health and understanding the healing process.

In 2014 he founded Higher Practice, an online company with the mission to empower therapists to achieve their highest potential in private practice. Keith believes mental health professionals are catalysts for positive social change and, therefore, are key influencers in uplifting consciousness and alleviating unnecessary suffering. With this in mind, he designed Higher Practice to provide mental health professionals with innovative clinical trainings for continuing education, as well as the most comprehensive business course available for those pursuing private practice.

He also co-hosts The Higher Practice Podcast for Optimal Mental Health. This weekly podcast interviews experts in the fields of neuroscience, psychotherapy, psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, developmental psychology, human behavior, psychiatry, clinical psychology, and nutrition. The Higher Practice Podcast is dedicated to bringing mental health clinicians the most current and innovative methods for transforming clients’ lives, as well as their own.

Director of Psychedelic Trainings.

Jaime received his Master of Arts in Counseling from Regis University and is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Colorado. Originally Born in Puerto Rico, and raised in a military family, Jaime has spent time in Europe, Central America, and many states in the US. He brings a unique blend of interpersonal, analytic and technical skills to his healing work and also provides services in Spanish. Jaime heavily leverages his life experiences when providing services and employs an integrative approach heavily rooted in existential and transpersonal theories. This approach allows him to guide clients through the difficulties of life which often cause us to question the purpose or meaning of such experiences. Jaime has been described as someone with a warm and calm demeanor whose presence alone has been known to be a comfort to those who share his company.

Lead Facilitator.

Sara is a psychedelic therapist and educator with expertise in MDMA-Assisted Therapy, ketamine-assisted therapy, psychedelic risk reduction, and psychedelic professional development. She served as the Course Director for the IPI Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Training from 2020-2022 and currently serves as Lead Facilitator for the training. Sara worked at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) beginning in 2013 where she held multiple titles including Harm Reduction Officer and Director of Harm Reduction, overseeing the work of the Zendo Project. Since 2015, she has served as an Investigator for MAPS Public Benefit Corporation Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials researching the safety and efficacy of MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD and currently works as a MAPS Educator and Associate Supervisor. Over the past decade, she has helped to train thousands of individuals on the topics of psychedelic-assisted therapy, psychedelic peer support, and personal and professional development in the psychedelic field. Sara believes in the potential of psychedelics as catalysts for individual, community, and collective healing. She lives in Boulder, Colorado with her partner Ryan and their King Charles Cavalier Pupplemousse.

Melissa Lavasani is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Washington, DC-based Psychedelic Medicine Coalition, a national association committed to advancing the science supporting psychedelic medicine, while creating and protecting access to these medicines through advocacy and education on a federal level. Melissa is also President of Psychedelic Medicine Advocacy and its Political Action Committee which is dedicated to ensuring all Americans are educated and empowered to elect lawmakers that support safe, equitable access to these life-changing treatments. Prior to that, Melissa proposed Initiative 81, the Entheogenic Plant and Fungus Policy Act of 2020, the largest ballot initiative win in Washington DC's history with 76% approval. Inspired by her own experience as a professional, working mother using psychedelic medicines to overcome severe postpartum depression when the healthcare system failed her, Melissa is one of the leading voices for policy, politics, and advocacy in the psychedelic space. She is also a Founding Board Member of the Psychedelics and Healing Initiative at the Global Wellness Institute, and on the Advisory Boards of Drugs over Dinner and Universal Ibogaine.

Melissa has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Macalester College, a Masters degree in Management from the University of Denver, and a Masters in Public Policy from George Mason University. Born in Washington, DC to Iranian immigrants, Melissa currently lives in Northeast DC with her husband Daniel, daughter Lola (9), son Ramsey (6), and their rescue pitbull, Gus.

Arielle Schwartz, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist, EMDR Therapy consultant, and certified yoga instructor with a private practice in Boulder, Colorado. She earned her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Fielding Graduate University and holds a Master’s degree in Somatic Psychology from Naropa University. She is the author of two books The Complex PTSD Workbook: A Mind-Body Approach to Emotional Control and Becoming Whole (Althea Press, 2016) and EMDR Therapy and Somatic Psychology: Interventions to Enhance Embodiment in Trauma Treatment (W. W. Norton, 2018). She is international sought out teacher offering trainings on topics of EMDR Therapy, Somatic Psychology, and Complex PTSD. She is dedicated to offering informational mental health and wellness updates through her writing, public speaking, social media presence, and blog.

Megan Oxley, MD is the founder and medical director of Michigan Progressive Health. A Board Certified Emergency Medicine physician, Dr. Oxley graduated from prestigious Wayne State University in 2009. She completed her residency training in Emergency Medicine in Detroit, serving the inner city. She spent a decade working in emergency departments in Michigan and Maryland and then transitioned to working with ketamine after helping a family member with treatment resistant depression. Dr. Oxley has been providing ketamine infusions for over four years. She is a founding board member of the American Society of Ketamine Physicians, Psychotherapists and Practitioners and is the current Vice President.

Dr. Nicholas Brüss is a leading psychedelic therapist, researcher, advocate, and educator, who is passionate about helping people heal, grow, and live meaningful lives. He is a therapist on the ground breaking FDA Phase III clinical trial of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD sponsored by Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and a clinical supervisor for MAPS Public Benefit Corp. Certified in both Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, he provides ketamine-assisted IFS therapy in private practice in California, New York and Texas. Dr. Brüss is the co-founder and lead clinical trainer at the Psychedelic Coalition for Health and is the Director of Psychedelic Medicine Advocacy for TREAT California.

Charles Raison, MD, is the Mary Sue and Mike Shannon Chair for Healthy Minds, Children & Families and Professor, School of Human Ecology, and Professor, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, WI. Dr. Raison also serves as Director of Clinical and Translational Research for Usona Institute and as Director of Research on Spiritual Health for Emory Healthcare in Atlanta, GA. In addition, Dr. Raison has served as mental health expert for CNN.com for many years. Dr. Raison is internationally recognized for his studies examining novel mechanisms involved in the development and treatment of major depression and other stress-related emotional and physical conditions, as well as for his work examining the physical and behavioral effects of compassion training. More recently, Dr. Raison has taken a leadership role in the development of psychedelic medicines as potential treatments for major depression. The recipient of several teaching awards, Dr. Raison has received research funding from the National Institute of Mental Health, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Raison received the Raymond Pearl Memorial Award from the Human Biology Association “in recognition of his contributions to our understanding of evolutionary biocultural origins of mental health and illness.” With Vladimir Maletic he is author of “The New Mind-Body Science of Depression” published by W.W. Norton in 2017. Dr. Raison serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Joseph McCowan, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, currently working in Los Angeles as a co-therapist in the MAPS sponsored phase 3 clinical trials of MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD. He is an alumni of MAPS August 2019 MDMA Therapy Training for Communities of Color. Joseph is deeply passionate about furthering education and awareness of the healing benefits of psychedelics for communities of color and in working to improve mental health outcomes for historically underserved communities.

Devon Christie, MD, is a family physician and certified Functional Medicine provider with a focused practice in chronic pain management. Devon is also a Registered Therapeutic Counsellor and certified Relational Somatic Therapist, as well as a certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher and Kundalini Yoga teacher with over 20 years’ personal experience in cultivating mindfulness and yogic practices. Devon is also a trained MDMA therapist with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and has training and experience in Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy. Devon is a teacher with the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) Certificate in Psychedelic Therapy and Research Program. She is passionate about educating health care providers in integrative mind-body wellness approaches, and therapists in somatic trauma-informed skillsets and relational nuances, especially in the context of psychedelic-assisted therapy. Devon is devoted to helping people uncover the root causes that lead to illness, connect with the wisdom and innate healing intelligence of their body-mind, and become active participants in their own wellbeing.

Brooke Balliett, LMFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist in Los Angeles, CA. Brooke has a passion for treating psychological, spiritual, emotional and relationship challenges through the development of self-awareness, emotional intelligence and recognition of the healing power we each inherently hold inside of us. From a framework integrating trauma work, developmental and transpersonal psychology, Brooke provides a range of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies including: MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of PTSD in clinical trials as a therapist supervisor and training assistant; Psilocybin Therapy for Treatment Resistant Depression in clinical trials as a therapist; and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy as a therapist and clinical director. After over a decade of clinical service provision and program development in publicly funded community mental health centers across central Los Angeles, she co-founded the California Center for Psychedelic Therapy in 2019 as her offering to those seeking health within a limited system of accessible, effective care and as a commitment to furthering access to cutting-edge psychedelic treatments to heal individuals and the communities surrounding them.

Torsten Passie MD, MA is a professor of psychiatry and psychotherapy at Hannover Medical School and visiting scientist at the Goethe University Franfurt/Main (Germany). He studied philosophy, sociology (M.A.) at Leibniz-University Hannover and medicine at Hannover Medical School. His medical dissertation was on existential psychiatry. He worked at the Psychiatric University Clinic in Zürich (Switzerland) and with Professor Hanscarl Leuner (Göttingen), the leading European authority on hallucinogens. At Hannover Mefdical School he directed the Laboratory for Neurocognition and Consciousness and did extensive research on altered states of consciousness and their healing potential, including research with hallucinogenic drugs (cannabis, ketamin, nitrous oxide, LSD, MDMA, psilocybin). He is a recognized expert on the pharmacology and therapeutic use of psychedelics. His publications appeared in Journal of Psychopharmacology, Neuropsychobiology, Addiction, CNS Neuroscience and Therapeutics and others. Some of his books are The Pharmacology of LSD (2010), Healing with Entactogens (2012), The Science of Microdosing Psychedelics (2019) and The history of MDMA (2021).

Mendel Kaelen is the founder and CEO of Wavepaths, a startup providing music both for and as psychedelic therapy. Prior to this, he worked as a PhD and postdoctoral neuroscientist at Imperial College London since 2012, where his research was the first to demonstrate music’s central role in psychedelic therapies. He is a thought leader on the therapeutic use of music and publishes and speaks frequently on this topic. He has been featured in Nature News, the San Francisco Chronicle, Vice Motherboard, Rolling Stone and TEDx. Mendel lives and works on planet Earth, and in his spare time likes to get into nature, and out of his mind with his musical instruments.

Nicholas Spiers is an anthropologist and documentary filmmaker. He co-founded Agua de Rayo, a non-profit civil organization based in Mexico’s Sierra Mazateca, which is invested in visual ethnography and community projects and which also has an interest in Mazatec psychoactive plant use. He has a Master’s degree in visual anthropology from the University of Barcelona and is interested in the sensory experience of audiovisual mediums. He has recently created an award-winning series about the psychoactive plant Salvia divinorum. He is Chacruna’s web video producer, whereby he creates content collating different perspectives and discussions from Chacruna conferences through compact and compelling video formats. He is also co-director with Bia Labate of the documentary web series The Peyote Files.

Kylea Taylor, M.S., LMFT is a licensed psychotherapist (CA MFC #34901) who has been thinking, writing, and teaching about ethics for almost three decades. She developed InnerEthics®, a self-reflective, selfcompassionate, approach to relational ethics which she is now teaching in psychedelic psychotherapy trainings. Kylea started studying with Stanislav Grof, M.D. and Christina Grof in 1984 and was certified by them as a Holotropic Breathwork® practitioner in 1990. She worked with Stanislav Grof as a Senior Trainer in the Grof Transpersonal Training throughout the 1990s and worked for nine years in a residential substance abuse recovery program where she managed a women’s program and facilitated Holotropic Breathwork®. She is the author of The Ethics of Caring: Finding Right Relationship with Clients, The Breathwork Experience, Considering Holotropic Breathwork®, and is the editor of Exploring Holotropic Breathwork®. InnerEthics.com

David B. Yaden, PhD, completed his doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania and is now an Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His research focus is on the psychology, neuroscience, and psychopharmacology of spiritual, self-transcendent, and other positively transformative experiences. Specifically, David is interested in understanding: how do brief experiences result in long-term changes to well-being? He is currently conducting studies to determine whether and how psychedelics increase well-being and treat mental disorders. He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed academic articles and 14 academic book chapters. His first authored book came out on September 1st, 2022––The Varieties of Spiritual Experiences: 21st Century Research and Perspectives––with Oxford University Press. His scientific and scholarly work has been covered by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, New York Magazine, NPR, CNN, and BBC. Tomorrow, David will be installed as the Roland Griffiths Professor of Psychedelic Research at Johns Hopkins.

Dr. Kelley O’Donnell is a board-certified psychiatrist and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and the Director of Therapist Training at the NYU Langone Center for Psychedelic Medicine. After receiving her medical degree and a PhD in Neuroscience at UCLA, she completed a psychiatry residency on the research track at NYU, where she continued as faculty after graduation. She is a study psychiatrist and psychedelic therapist working with psilocybin, MDMA, and ketamine, and she is involved in various initiatives to advance psychedelic education among medical professionals and trainees. In addition to her work at NYU, she is on the faculty of the ketamine-assisted psychotherapy training program at the Polaris Insight Center, and she is an Assistant Trainer in the MDMA Therapist Training Program at MAPS-PBC. She also has a small private practice in New York City, specializing in integrative depth psychotherapy, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, and psychedelic integration.

Katrina Michelle, PhD, LCSW earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from The Institute of Transpersonal Psychology at Sofia University and her Master’s in Social Work from Stony Brook University. For her doctoral research she conducted a heuristic study on Exploring Resistance to Spiritual Emergence. Her Master’s research focused on spiritual development within higher education.

Katrina worked as the director of harm reduction for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS PBC) at the Zendo Project and served for three years as the executive director of The American Center for the Integration of Spiritually Transformative Experiences (ACISTE). Katrina has served as graduate faculty at New York University’s Department of Applied Psychology, Columbia University’s School of Social Work, Fordham University’s School of Social Services, and The Institute for the Development of Human Arts.

Katrina is a member of the Emergent Phenomenology Research Consortium (EPRC) and currently working with an international team on research to elucidate adverse psychedelic experiences in order to contribute to evidence-based and trauma-informed integration practices. She is also a founding member of the advisory board for The Fireside Project, a psychedelic peer-support line.

Katrina is the founder and director of The Curious Spirit, a New York-based psychotherapy and coaching practice. She is also creator and producer of When Lightning Strikes, a documentary in progress intended to demystify the awakening process and help create a cultural context for understanding mystical phenomena while normalizing the often challenging elements of this natural human experience.

Andrew Bryant, MPH, LICSW is a clinical social worker, psychotherapist, and co-Director of North Seattle Therapy & Counseling, with a clinical focus on the impact of climate change and ecological crisis on mental health. He also provides Ketamine-Assisted Therapy (KAT), in collaboration with Telos Transformational Therapies, and organizes a local psychedelic integration circle for therapists and healers. Andrew is the founder of Climate & Mind, a project dedicated to gathering and promoting resources related to climate psychology for clinicians, the media, and the public. As part of this project, he provides lectures, seminars and study groups on climate mental health, and has been interviewed and featured in a number of media stories on climate psychology, including The LA Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The New York Times, and other media outlets. He is a member of the Alliance of Climate Therapists-Northwest (ACT-NOW), and of the Climate Psychology Alliance-North America.

Licensed Professional Counselor | Founder, Agile Wellness Group | Co-Founder, The Wounded Healer Project

Tim Spalla is a Licensed Professional Counselor and doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Denver. He is the founder of Agile Wellness Group, a Denver-based private practice, and co-founder of The Wounded Healer Project, a nonprofit that provides pro bono, veteran-led mental health services to justice-involved veterans.

Before entering the mental health field, Tim spent nearly 20 years overseas, first as a U.S. Army Ranger Intelligence Specialist with multiple combat deployments to Iraq, then as a private intelligence contractor supporting U.S. Special Operations missions across the Middle East and Horn of Africa. In 2015, he partnered with the National Geographic Society as a wildlife crime investigator, working alongside African governments and conservation groups to combat international trafficking syndicates.

Following a decade-long personal battle with PTSD, addiction, and moral injury, Tim experienced a transformative healing crisis that redirected his path toward clinical work in 2019. He holds a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Regis University, where he completed a yearlong internship with the Colorado Department of Corrections.

Tim specializes in trauma and moral injury recovery, with a focus on military veterans and first responders. His work integrates evidence-based clinical practices with psychospiritual approaches, including psychedelic-assisted therapies and Native American healing ceremonies. He is a 2022 Pat Tillman Scholar, recognized for his advocacy and research on innovative treatments for moral injury.

Dr. Sara Lewis is Co-founder of Memoru Center for Visionary Healing Arts, and formerly Associate Professor and Director of Training and Research at Naropa University's Center for Psychedelic Studies. Her book Spacious Minds: Trauma and Resilience in Tibetan Buddhism (Cornell Univ. Press, 2019) investigates how Buddhist concepts of mind shape traumatic memory and pathways to resilience. Sara has also published research on ayahuasca and spiritual emergencies. She is a Lykos Therapeutics Associate Consultant and provides ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in Boulder, CO.

Lecturer · Home Group Facilitator.

Emily earned her Master’s degree in Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology from Naropa University and holds certifications in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy and Hakomi Mindful Somatic Therapy. Emily is also a licensed Natural Medicine Clinical Facilitator and Distinguished Educator in the state of Colorado. Her work integrates mindfulness, somatic awareness, and psychedelic therapies, grounded in the belief that every person has an innate capacity for healing and growth. In addition to her clinical practice, Emily serves as faculty with the Integrative Psychiatry Institute, where she trains mental health professionals in Ketamine and Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy.

Psychologist and sexologist.

Jeanine Souren is a psychologist and sexologist with a focus on couples and family therapy. Her career is dedicated to helping repair, heal, and strengthen relational brokenness and sexual challenges for couples and individuals. She believes that relationships are at the heart of human emotions, whether it's the relationship with oneself or with others. Guided by the belief that self-knowledge is the beginning of all wisdom, she focuses on connecting and listening to this inner guide.

Jeanine is also an IPI trained psychotherapist in psychedelic assisted psychotherapy and serves as an educator and lecturer to a global audience of mental health professionals.

In 2022, Jeanine co-founded the Experiential Training Institute (ETI) alongside Hans, a psychiatrist. The institute is dedicated to training mental health professionals in the responsible use of psychoactive compounds, including the legal use of psilocybin-containing truffles in the Netherlands. ETI offers multi-day retreats where professionals gain first-hand experience with psilocybin truffles, deepening their understanding and paving the way for future treatments and applications in the field. Additionally, the institute provides small group retreats for individuals who, after screening, seek to enhance their personal growth and development.

Experience & Qualifications ● Psychotherapist (BIG registered) ● Psychologist ● Couples & Family Therapist (NVRG registered) ● Sexologist (NVVS registered) ● Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapist (IPI accredited) ● Lecturer PAPT (Integrative Psychiatry Institute and Experiential Training Institute)

Margaret provides Ketamine-Assisted Therapy and psychotherapy at Sage Integrative Health in Berkeley, CA. In 2021, she was part of the team that offered the clinic’s first Ketamine Assisted Therapy training. Her practice emphasizes trauma-informed, relational, and mindfulness-based approaches for healing.

For seven years, Margaret worked in community-based programs, helping unhoused and underserved populations manage depression, trauma, and psychosis.

Margaret is a first-generation American who grew up in Minnesota. She loves running, dancing tango, and listening to audiobooks.

Yaqui A. Martínez-Robles is a psychologist with Masters, PhD and PsyD in Psychotherapy. Training in Gestalt Therapy; Group Therapy, Music Therapy; Narrative and postmodern therapy. Certification in Transpersonal Psychology and Holotropic Breathwork (Grof Transpersonal Training); and as Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Provider (Integrative Psychiatry Institute). He is the author of four books, and co-author of another two, focused on the existential perspective of psychology and therapy. He has participation with chapters in several books and articles in several journals. Yaqui founded the Circle of Studies in Existential Therapy, in Mexico City, in 2002; where a master’s degree in existential-phenomenological therapy and analysis is offered. He teaches and trains existential-phenomenological psychology and therapy in Mexico and different countries. He is Honorary President of the Latin American Association of Existential Psychotherapy (ALPE). He works in private practice as a Gestalt therapist and existential-phenomenological therapist in modalities one-on-one, couples and groups.

Gloria Herrera Prats is an economist and a psychotherapist. As the latter, she has training in Gestalt Therapy, group therapy, psycho-corporal therapy and is a specialist in addictions.

For more than 20 years, she has been engaged in psychotherapy and has taught Gestalt Therapy for over 15 years. In fact, over the last 5 years, she has been teaching a specialty she created, along with a colleague, on the addictive experience from Gestalt´s perspective. In the process of creating and teaching such a program, she discovered psychedelic assisted therapy, triggering her interest, openness and willingness to learn more about psychedelic assisted therapy and its potential to help, especially in difficult processes, such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, eating disorders… which are often related to substance abuse.

At the same time, along her therapeutic practice, she found more and more frequently the need to accompany people in integration of experiences´ processes with different psychedelics.

In 2020 she attended a one-year seminar for therapists on Therapeutic Integration of Experiences with Psychedelics.

Home Group Facilitator.

Elizabeth Willis RN, MS, PMHNP(c) is a co-founder of the Organization for Psychedelic and Entheogenic Nurses (OPENurses) and has practiced as an emergency department registered nurse (ED RN) in critical care settings for a decade. Passionate about disaster response and humanitarian work, her nursing path has taken her as far as Bolivia, Ecuador, Cambodia, Laos, and Zimbabwe. She currently works as a front-line provider ED RN at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). A 2017 graduate of the second cohort of the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) Certificate in Psychedelic Therapies and Research (CPTR) program, she next earned a Master of Science (MS) degree from UCSF’s Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program.

Psychedelics, peer-support, harm reduction, and nursing are areas where she has received advanced training and cultivated deep experiences. In west Sonoma County, CA, Liz has volunteered or worked for organizations as diverse as the Humane Society, Planned Parenthood, Red Cross, and Sutter VNA Hospice. Since 2013, as a volunteer with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) for ZENDO Project, she has participated in all roles including medical lead and supervisor, training others in psychedelic harm reduction and holding space safely at numerous events and festivals in the United States, Costa Rica, and South Africa. In 2021, she was honored to serve as a supervisor for the launch of the pioneering psychedelic peer-support line — Fireside Project.

Her own personal healing journey began in Peru working within Shipibo traditions and ultimately led her to Teotihuacán, where her path as a Moondancer and as a Pipe Carrier walking in the Nahuatl lineage was initiated. Liz is looking forward to her future role as a PMHNP where she will continue to fulfill her mission:

To honorably bring psychedelic medicines and plant entheogens to the western medical model by elevating the art, science, and spirituality of nursing in the fields of psychedelic-assisted therapies and research.

Home Group Facilitator.

Nikki is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In addition to serving as a clinical facilitator in psychedelic research, she is an educator in psychedelic medicine, training clinical trial facilitators and providing education in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. She has received specialized training through the California Institute of Integral Studies, Polaris Insight Center, Naropa University, and MAPS/Lykos. Nikki has extensive experience working with a variety of psychedelic compounds within clinical research settings and also works with ketamine in her private practice where she utilizes a relational and attachment focused approach incorporating somatic attunement and the nervous system.

Home Group Facilitator.

Kosu Boudreau is a graduate from IPI’s Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Cohort #1 and currently works as a ketamine assisted therapist in Toronto, Canada. She also completed the MAPS MDMA therapy training.

Kosu worked in healthcare as a psycho-spiritual therapist and clinical educator for over 15 years before entering private practice. She integrates somatic, experiential, psychodynamic and parts work in her therapy style. Her down-to-earth approach is engaging, authentic and trauma-informed.

A self-professed learning nerd, Kosu is currently studying somatic attachment therapy and psychedelic somatic integration.

Shannon Carlin, MA, LMFT, is the Director and Head of Training and Supervision at the MAPS Public Benefit Corporation (MAPS PBC), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS PBC), a 501(c)(3) non-profit. As the Director of Training and Supervision, Shannon oversees the development and implementation of the programs that provide training and supervision to prepare mental health and medical professionals to deliver MDMA-assisted therapy in approved clinical settings. Shannon started working with MAPS PBC in 2011 before joining MAPS PBC in 2016. In her dedication to supporting people through growth and healing, Shannon has served as a co-therapist on MAPS PBC-sponsored Phase 2 trials researching MDMA-assisted therapy for anxiety associated with life-threatening illness and MDMA-assisted therapy for severe PTSD. Shannon’s direct clinical work continues to inform the development and implementation of the training programs she oversees. Shannon’s previous professional experience includes the development of community programs delivering resources, services, training, and support for healthy living, life skills, employment, and positive youth development. Her work has served adults with schizophrenia, bipolar, and substance use disorder, families and youth in a low-income residential setting, and high school students learning about moderation management of drug and alcohol use. In her lifelong commitment to address homelessness, Shannon volunteers with housing projects and shelters and completed a farm internship with the Homeless Garden Project. Shannon received her master’s degree in Integral Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies and a bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. An adventurer at heart, Shannon can be found in nature, backpacking, running, and dancing. She celebrates and cultivates relationship and community and is passionate about life, love, and thriving.

Ian Wickramasekera, PsyD, a clinical psychologist and have been a teacher of transpersonal psychology for over 20 years. He taught counseling related courses at Naropa University since 2015 and previously taught at Saybrook University, the Adler School of Professional Psychology, and the University of Illinois Medical School. His interest in psychedelically assisted psychotherapy began when He met and spent time with Dr. Timothy Leary in 1986. He loves researching anything related to mind/body/spirit phenomena. He is most well-known for his work in hypnosis and empathy which has won a number of awards and Fellowship in the American Psychological Association. However, he also developed research and theory involving biofeedback, Dzogchen, empathy, meditation, near death experiences, psychophysiology, Shamanism, spirituality, and transpersonal experiences. Almost all of his 50 plus publications can be accessed here: (12) Ian Wickramasekera (researchgate.net)

Sandhya Prashad, MD is a board certified psychiatrist specializing in interventional modalities for treatment resistant disorders with a particular interest and expertise in KAP. She completed both medical school and psychiatry residency at Baylor College of Medicine. She has been in private practice in the Houston area since 2011 and has been utilizing intravenous "ket" since 2016. She has personally administered over 5,000 treatments. She is the founder and medical director of Sandhya J. Prashad, MD, Houston TMS Therapeutics. Dr. Prashad is involved on an international level with furthering awareness and education regarding the safe and effective use of KAP. She is a founder, the former secretary and the current president of ASKP3. Dr. Prashad has been appointed as a clinical assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences where she assists in education of residents and medical students regarding the use of KAP and TMS in clinical practice. She continues to work to expand her practice to include evidence based interventional treatments as they become available, and has a particular interest in expanding access and affordability of these treatments.

Frederick Barrett is a cognitive neuroscientist with training in behavioral pharmacology, and the Associate Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research. Dr. Barrett has been conducting psychedelic research at Johns Hopkins University since 2013, and his research in healthy participants and in patients with mood and substance use disorders focuses on the psychological and neurological mechanisms underlying the enduring therapeutic and other effects of psychedelic drugs. In 2017, he received an NIH “R03” grant as Principal Investigator to investigate biological mechanisms of psilocybin effects, the first federally funded research since the 1970s administering a classic psychedelic to people with psychedelic effects as the primary focus. He has developed measures of subjective effects of psychedelic drugs, and has also published first-in-human studies characterizing the acute and enduring effects of psilocybin on the brain. He is currently leading clinical trials to investigate the use of psilocybin to treat patients with major depressive disorder and co-occurring alcohol use disorder, and he is leading a number of ongoing studies aimed at better understanding the psychological, biological, and neural mechanisms underlying therapeutic efficacy of psychedelic drugs.

Albert Garcia-Romeu (Roh-May-Oh), Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His research examines the effects of psychedelics in humans, with a focus on psilocybin as an aid in the treatment of addiction. His current research interests include clinical applications of psychedelics, real-world drug use patterns, diversity in science, and the role of spirituality in mental health. He is a founding member of the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research and the International Society for Research on Psychedelics.

Coreen Herron is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) with a nursing background in end-of-life care. She attended the first cohort of IPI’s Psychedelic assisted therapy practitioner program and now provides ketamine psychotherapy in private practice. Coreen also loves teaching hot yoga, which she has been doing for 15 years and getting outside and being active with her family.

Saundra Jain, MA, PsyD, LPC, is an Adjunct Clinical Affiliate, School of Nursing, at The University of Texas at Austin, and a psychotherapist in private practice. Dr. Jain is a co-creator of the WILD 5 Wellness Program and co-author of a well received workbook written for those interested in improving their mental wellness - KickStart30: A Proven 30-Day Mental Wellness Program. She is co creator of the Psychedelics and Wellness Survey (PAWS) exploring the intersect between psychedelics and wellness. She serves as a member of the Psych Congress Steering Committee providing direction regarding educational gaps/needs for mental health practitioners, and Sana Symposium providing psychedelics education for mental health and addiction professionals.

Drew is a licensed psilocybin facilitator in the state of Oregon, where he specializes in psychedelic-assisted healing. He received comprehensive training in this field through the Integrative Psychiatry Institute (IPI) in collaboration with MAPS, as well as through Bodhi Academy. Drew is deeply interested in the therapeutic potential of non-ordinary states of consciousness to support healing from trauma, addiction, depression, and other forms of psychological distress.

Drawing from a foundation in existential, meaning-centered approaches, Drew supports individuals in holistic healing journeys that address not only symptoms but also deeper questions of purpose, identity, and connection.

Rebecca Ahnsdotter is a trauma-informed clinical social worker with a private practice in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Rebecca specializes in anxiety, depression, addiction, trauma, and life transitions, and works primarily with women, the LGBTQI+ community, and individuals deconstructing religious trauma. She brings a compassionate, person-centered approach to her work, incorporating EMDR, IFS, ACT, and Ketamine-assisted therapy to support her clients' healing and growth. Rebecca received psychedelic-assisted therapy training through Integrative Psychiatry Institute and is one of Oregon’s first licensed psilocybin facilitators.

Prior to working as a clinical therapist, Rebecca founded and operated Evergreen, a national non-profit organization that offers counseling to financially distressed populations. In this position, she developed counseling and educational curriculum, and trained and mentored a team of counselors who provided services to over 100,000 students in ten years. When not working with clients, Rebecca can be found exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her partner and their six children.

Veronika Gold is a co-founder of Polaris Insight Center, and a psychotherapist licensed in California and Oregon. Veronika is a lead trainer at Polaris Insight Center Ketamine and Psychedelic Assisted Therapy training program, and she is a sub-investigator, supervisor, and a trainer in training for MAPS MDMA-AT program. Veronika has been a psychologist and psychotherapist specializing in trauma treatment, and in addition to psychedelic assisted therapy she has been a facilitator in EMDR and Organic Intelligence trainings.

Dr. Katy Barrs completed her doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Denver in 2007. She is currently an Associate Clinical Professor in the Military Psychology specialty at the Graduate School of Professional Psychology. After ten years of working for the Department of Veteran Affairs, she returned to the University of Denver to start and serve as the Clinic Director of the Sturm Center, a training clinic which serves Veterans, Servicemembers and their families. Dr. Barrs has worked with Veterans and Servicemembers at the Minneapolis V.A. Medical Center, the Boston V.A. Healthcare System, and the Denver Vet Center where she served in the role of Military Sexual Trauma Treatment Coordinator. Dr. Barrs oversees the Sturm Center, provides clinical education to multiple students within the clinic, and provides licensed community clinicians with education and consulting about these populations. She has been featured in the documentary Acronym, a timely expose about the nature of PTSD from combat. She recently completed Naropa University's Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Certification and is now enrolled in Elemental Psychedelics Mushroom Facilitator Advanced Pathway Program.

Michael D. Banov, MD is a triple board-certified Adult, Adolescent, and Addiction Psychiatrist and is the medical director of PsychAtlanta and PsychAtlanta Research Center in Atlanta, Georgia. PsychAtlanta is an outpatient behavioral health group practice providing comprehensive outpatient services to those suffering from a wide range of psychiatric problems.PsychAtlanta Research Center works with pharmaceutical companies to test new compounds for the treatment of psychiatric disorders including, but not limited to, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, attention deficit disorder, and schizophrenia.

Dr. Banov attended medical school at Emory School of Medicine and completed his psychiatry training at McLean-Mass General Hospital, Harvard Medical School residency program. He was chief resdient of the psychotic disorders program and was given a teaching faculty appointment at Harvard Medical School before moving back to Georgia. He is a certified clinical investigator, having received his certification from the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ARCP). He is also board certfied as a Diplomate by the American Board of Integrative and Holistic Medicine. He is an assistant clincial professor of psychiatry at the Medical College of Georgia.

Dr. Banov has conducted over 100 clinical research studies with new and existing compounds in the management of acute and chronic psychiatric conditions. He runs a treatment resistant mood and anxiety program that includes ketamine, Spravato, and other innovative therapy options. He recently published a paper in CNS spectrums on ketamine in anxiety disorders and is a medical consultant for an Atlanta-based medical device company working on innovation solutions to deliver intransal medications in a controlled and safe manner.

See www.psychatlanta.com for more information about Dr. Banov

Randall Malchow, MD served as an anesthesiologist for 25 years in the armed forces before retiring as a colonel in 2008. He then became an associate professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, where he was the first Vanderbilt physician to offer intensive ketamine infusion therapy in 2014. In 2015, he established one of the few ketamine infusion centers (KIC) in the Veteran Health Administration and the only KIC in the U.S. specifically targeting opioid cessation/reduction.

He has an extensive 30-year experience with the administration of ketamine for analgesic purposes and has presented his experience with ketamine in the veteran population at the American Society of Ketamine Physicians Annual Meeting in 2018. Dr. Malchow has published over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles and serves regularly on worldwide medical missions supporting those in need.

Dr. Malchow is honored to serve as the Medical Director for the AMG Ketamine & Wellness Center to provide compassionate and competent care for those suffering from chronic pain, opioid dependence, depression, PTSD, anxiety, and OCD.

Erin Amato, MD is a private practice Pediatric and Adult Psychiatrist at Montana Psychiatry & Brain Health Center in Billings, Montana. She was the first physician to bring Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Psychedelic treatment for depression to Montana and has focused her practice on innovative and integrative treatments to help patients find hope and healing. She completed TMS training at the Brain Stimulation Lab at MUSC and psychedelic assisted psychotherapy training through the Psychedelic Research and Training Institute (PRATI). In 2018, she founded The Center for Ideal Health with the aim to promote optimal health and aging through lifestyle and personalized medicine programs. She is currently an​Advanced Fellow in Anti-Aging, Metabolic and Functional Medicine with The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine and is passionate about helping people achieve optimal mood and memory across the lifespan through integrative and precision medicine.

Scott has been a student of consciousness since his honors thesis on that topic at the University of Arizona in the 1970s under the tutelage of Dr. Andrew Weil. Following medical school, Scott studied Jungian therapy and acupuncture while working as a primary care physician in a rural area for four years. Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy became a facet of his practice before this medicine was scheduled in 1985. He then completed a psychiatry residency at Columbia program in New York. Scott studied cross-cultural psychiatry and completed a child/adolescent psychiatry fellowship at the University of New Mexico.

In 2010 he founded Wholeness Center in Fort Collins. This innovative clinic provides cross-disciplinary evaluation and care for all mental health concerns. Scott serves as a site Principal Investigator and therapist for the Phase III trial of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD sponsored by (MAPS). He has also published numerous articles about his research on (CBD) in mental health. Currently, Scott works extensively with psychedelic-assisted-psychotherapy. He lectures all over the world to professional groups interested in a deeper look at mental health issues, safer tools, and a paradigm-shifting perspective about transformative care.