Supportive and Specialized Care
This year, millions of people will use psychedelics outside of supervised medical contexts, many of them for the first time.
Taking psychedelics can result in overwhelming and uncomfortable experiences, more likely with high doses, amongst first-time users, and without adequate preparation or setting. Psychedelic harm reduction includes a variety of methods to help prevent and transform difficult experiences while in a non-ordinary state of consciousness.
The Zendo Project
Creates an environment where volunteers can work alongside one another to improve their harm reduction skills and receive training and feedback
Mission
The Zendo Project provides professional comprehensive harm reduction education and support for communities to help inform and transform difficult psychedelic experiences into opportunities for learning and growth.
Vision
We envision a world where communities are educated, resourced, and engaged in applying harm reduction principles to support individuals exploring psychedelic states; recognizing that challenging experiences can be opportunities for self-exploration and healing.
Trust.
Let go.
Be open.
Breathe.
Surrender.
4 Zendo Project Principles of Psychedelic Peer Support
Safe Space
If someone is having a challenging experience try to move them into a comfortable, warm, and calm environment. If possible try to avoid noisy or crowded spaces. Ask what would make them most comfortable. Offer blankets and water.
Sitting, Not Guiding
Be a calm meditative presence of acceptance, compassion, and caring. Promote feelings of trust and security. Let the person’s unfolding experience be the guide. Don’t try to get ahead of the process. Explore distressing issues as they emerge, but simply being with the person can provide support.
Talk Through, Not Down
Without distracting from the experience, help the person connect with what they are feeling. Invite person to take the opportunity to explore what’s happening and encourage them to try not to resist it.
Difficult is Not Necessarily Bad
Challenging experiences can wind up being our most valuable, and may lead to learning and growth. Consider that it may be happening for an important reason. Suggest that they approach the fear and difficult aspects of their experience with curiosity and openness.
Characteristics of a Challenging Psychedelic Experience
Psychedelic experiences can vary tremendously, and are sometimes unpredictable, but are most influenced by these factors:
Drug
- Type
- Dose
- Duration
- Presence of impurities
Setting
- Familiarity
- Sense of safety
- Level of noise/activity
Mindset
- Intention/expectation
- Emotional state
- Psychological well-being
- Previous experience with substance
Possible characteristics of a challenging experience
Anxiety
Memory Loss
Confusion
Fear of losing control
Feeling alone or trapped
Altered sense of
time and space
Disorientation
Do You Have a Testimonial or Feedback?
The Zendo Project is always interested in hearing more from our community about your experiences with our services, volunteering, and our trainings. You can choose whether to share your information or remain anonymous.
Staff and Board Members
Chelsea Rose Pires, M.A., LMFT
Executive Director
Chelsea Rose graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles Honors College with a B.A. in psychology in 2007, and received her master’s degree in Integral Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies in 2012. She has a passion for harm reduction as a therapeutic and practical approach to drug use and abuse prevention. Chelsea also works with DanceSafe, a public health organization, as manager for the reagent testing kit program. Additionally, she supervises the Crisis Response Team in Nevada County, supporting clients who come into the emergency room in psychiatric crisis. She lives in the Sierra foothills of California with her husband Alexandre, who is also involved in harm reduction work, their three children, and their chickens, fish, and kitties.
Linnae Ponte, M.A., AMFT
Board Member
Linnae earned her BA in Biological Psychology from New College of Florida in 2010 before going on to work for MAPS as executive and clinical research assistant and then as the founding director of MAPS’ harm reduction program, the Zendo Project. Linnae completed her Master’s in integral counseling psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies in 2017 and has been working in various clinical settings since, including the crisis stabilization unit at Sierra Memorial and in private practice. She has worked on various clinical trials, most recently at Yale University where she provided facilitation for subjects enrolled in a study investigating psilocybin for the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder. Linnae is passionate about the ways that psychedelic harm reduction, therapy, and research impact and inform one another, offering clarity and understanding into how psychedelics can be harnessed for the greatest benefit for humanity.
Stephen Bagley
Board Member
Steve comes to the Zendo Project Board with a decade of experience in psychedelic harm reduction. In 2012, he began organizing and running psychedelic harm reduction services at festivals in Northern California. Since joining Zendo Project in 2017, he has supervised harm reduction teams at numerous events in the US and abroad. Steve believes that Zendo Project’s contribution extends beyond the festival environment in two important ways: by providing critical hands-on training and education to volunteers, and by serving as a unique model for how individuals and organizations can respond to—and support—those experiencing psychedelic emergencies or acute emotional distress unrelated to substance use. He believes Zendo Project’s training model can bridge a gap in the way mental health support is delivered in a real-world setting, with great potential to transform how communities care for the most vulnerable among us during times of crisis and grief. Steve is passionate about the healing potential of psychedelics and is particularly interested in the use of these medicines to treat end-of-life anxiety in patients diagnosed with terminal illness. He works in nonprofit healthcare development for a major research hospital.
Collaborators
Sara Gael, M.A.
Harm Reduction Officer, MAPS
Sara has worked with the Zendo Project since 2013, coordinating psychedelic harm reduction services at festivals and events worldwide, and serving as the Director of Harm Reduction from 2016-2020. In her current role as Harm Reduction Officer, she continues to provide harm reduction education and consultation to organizations and communities. Sara received her master’s degree in transpersonal counseling psychology at Naropa University in 2012. She is a therapist for the MAPS clinical trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD in Boulder, CO. Sara serves as board president for DanceSafe and as the harm reduction advocate on Denver Psilocybin Policy Review Panel. Sara believes that developing a comprehensive understanding of psychedelic medicines through research and education is essential for the health and well-being of individuals, communities, and the planet.
Ryan Jay Beauregard
Harm Reduction Project Manager, MAPS
Ryan received his B.A. in Psychology from Claremont McKenna College, and spent 10 years mentoring at-risk teens and families through wilderness survival skills and nature connection. His passion for community connection, the environment, and intrapersonal healing continued with his involvement in permaculture, natural building, and ancestral grief rituals. As a volunteer with the Zendo Project since 2013, Ryan has had the opportunity to connect and expand the scope of psychedelic harm reduction in communities and festivals all over the globe. As the Zendo Project Manager, he integrates his skills in psychology, design and and community engagement. When he isn’t on the road with the Zendo Project, Ryan can be found at his home in Boulder, CO enjoying the great outdoors, experimenting with sustainable technology, and designing websites, logos and sacred geometry art.
Zendo Project is sponsored by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a 501©3 research and education organization that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana.