How is it that psychedelics can change the way we think? Some neuroscientists think of  the psychedelic experience biochemically; serotonin excitation creates an opening to question deeply held beliefs. That opening can lead to a dopamine-driven “wait, there are so many other possibilities” moment, which can shift how we think. This made me wonder: is the therapeutic change driven more by neural excitation and inhibition than by the experience itself? There are ongoing studies looking at whether psychedelics still work without the psychomimetic component. I’m curious—if we remove the altered state, does the change still happen? Or is the intensity of the altered experience relative to the healing potential?  Abraham Maslow spoke  about peak experiences—those moments that feel almost perfect. They can come from a [...]

This one-day conference provides a research-backed overview of psychedelic-assisted therapies, clarifying safe and effective integration into mental health and addiction services. We will examine their healing potential through psychodynamic, biochemical, somatic, relational, and spiritual lenses. Dr. Eva Altobelli Discusses the mental health and addiction epidemic, limited efficacy of current treatment and research indicating the potential benefit of psychedelic medicine. Clinical description of ketamine therapy as well as potential use of MDMA and psilocybin.   Dr. David Laramie: Will present on some of the possible therapeutic and philosophical implications of working clinically with expanded states as well as associated tensions with the current modes of thought and practice. Topics include entropic brain, placebo, expectations, set and setting.   LMU Conference Panel and Community [...]

From the first humans who painted visions onto cave walls, to today’s clinical trials with psilocybin and MDMA, our species has always sought meaning, healing, and connection through extraordinary states of consciousness. What we now call “psychedelic medicine” is not a modern invention—it’s a remembering. A return. A fire that’s never fully gone out. The story begins long before there were borders, empires, or even language as we know it. Across the continents, early humans gathered in circles, guided by dreams, instinct, and the natural world. In some of the oldest cave art found—like the mushroom figures painted 7,000 years ago in the Tassili n’Ajjer caves of North Africa—scholars see clues that our ancestors were already exploring plant-based altered states. These weren’t recreational experiences. They [...]

Psychiatry can get a bad reputation as psychiatrists we are relegated to the role of pill pushers. I know many of us do work that way, with a quick conversation and then out comes the prescription pads. On some level, that has been dictated by the insurance industry, which will only compensate a short medication management visit and not compensate at all if medications are not part of the picture. I would like to try and put a more human face to psychiatry and change our role from drug pushers to actual health care providers. To me, humanizing psychiatry includes recognizing that everything that happens to us since we came into this world leaves a mark. Our responses can be adaptive, maladaptive, or just survivalist. [...]