After decades of stalled progress, a new wave of clinical research involving psychedelic compounds shows promising results for treating depression, addiction, PTSD, and other mental health conditions. Evidence shows that psychedelics given in clinical therapeutic settings can engender mystical experiences akin to those had in spiritual contexts, and that these may be key to improvements in clinical conditions.
Psychiatry and traditional psychodynamic therapy have traditionally been dismissive of the value of religion and spiritual practices, but as psychedelic therapists grapple with valuing this experience and the new orientation to healing it requires, contemplative practices serve as a rich model.
This presentation will explore the potential value of psychedelic-assisted therapy for providers having a personal contemplative practice as they work with patients undergoing these profound experiences.
About Elizabeth Nielson, PhD
Dr. Elizabeth Nielson is a co-founder of Fluence and a psychologist with a focus on developing psychedelic medicines as empirically supported treatments for PTSD, substance use problems, and mood disorders. Dr. Nielson is a therapist on FDA approved clinical trials of psilocybin-assisted treatment of alcohol use disorder, MDMA-assisted treatment PTSD, and psilocybin-assisted treatment of treatment resistant depression.
Having completed an NIH postdoctoral fellowship at NYU, she has published and presented on topics of psychedelic therapist training, therapists’ personal experience with psychedelics, and including psychedelic integration in group and individual psychotherapy.
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Thursday, June 25th, 2020
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