Beyond Therapy:

At this moment in history, there is more interest than ever before in the potential of psychedelics to be powerful therapeutic tools—but millions of people still use psychedelics outside of these legal contexts, from small parties and large festivals to private living rooms and spiritual ceremonies.

Join hosts Sara Gael and Ryan Jay Beauregard of the Zendo Project, and leading experts in psychedelic peer support and harm reduction, for a live online educational series about navigating psychedelic experiences.

In this first-ever Zendo Project Webinar Series, you’ll learn how to provide support for people having difficult psychedelic experiences, how to access resources for safer partying and drug testing, and how to reduce the risks associated with psychedelics through preparation, integration, and ethics. In five 90-minute sessions from May 30 through June 27, you’ll learn from leaders in the harm reduction and psychedelic communities, and discover how to apply their lessons to your life. You’ll also get a chance to ask questions and have them answered live!

The online sessions will include 60 minutes of presentations followed by 30 minutes of Q&A from the audience. All sessions will be live, and will take place on Thursdays from 11:00 AM PST to 12:30 PM PST (some sessions may go slightly longer depending on presenter availability and audience engagement).

Video recordings of each webinar will be provided to all registered attendees after the series concludes. Webinar recordings are expected to be privately sent to you via email after the webinar series.

All registration proceeds go to support the Zendo Project. By participating in this webinar series, you’re supporting the Zendo Project in providing peer support services and education, and demonstrating a compassionate alternative to handing difficult psychedelic experiences.

The Zendo Project is a program of the non-profit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a U.S. 501(c)(3) non-profit research and education organization.

Read through our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for more information.

$30 – Individual Session
$125 – Full Series, 5 Sessions (Save $25!)

Webinar Sessions:

MAY 30, 2019
Psychedelic Peer Support: Working with Difficult Psychedelic Experiences
Featuring Zendo Project: Sara Gael, Ryan Jay Beauregard, and Chelsea Rose

JUNE 6, 2019
Practice Safe Partying: Reducing the Risks of Psychedelic Use at Events
Featuring Mitchell Gomez and Stefanie Jones

JUNE 13, 2019
Being Prepared: Making the Most of Psychedelic Experiences
Featuring Kellye Greene

JUNE 20, 2019
Ethics, Safety, and Consent in Psychedelic Experiences: Creating a Safe Container
Featuring Annie Oak and Maria Carmo Carvalho

JUNE 27, 2019
Integrating Psychedelic Experiences: What Happens Next?
Featuring Ingmar Gorman and Marc Aixalà

Psychedelic Peer Support: Working with Difficult Psychedelic Experiences

MAY 30, 2019
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Pacific Time

Difficult psychedelic experiences can be frightening. What can you do to help someone having a difficult psychedelic or emotional experience? What techniques are available for helping transform a potentially traumatic situation into a positive one? What does it mean to create a safe container for someone going through a difficult time? What role has the Zendo Project played at festivals, and what take-home messages are available for others interested in psychedelic peer support?

The mission of the Zendo Project is to provide a supportive environment and education to help transform difficult psychedelic and psychological experiences into opportunities for learning and growth. We envision a world where communities are engaged in providing safety and support for people having psychedelic and psychological challenges; with harm reduction principles are used foremost to reduce the risks associated with substance use.

Sara Gael, M.A., (Zendo Project) received her master’s degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology at Naropa University. She began working with MAPS in 2012, coordinating psychedelic harm reduction services at festivals and events worldwide with the Zendo Project. Sara was an Intern Therapist for the recently completed MAPS-sponsored Phase 2 clinical trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD in Boulder, CO. She maintains a private practice as a psychotherapist specializing in trauma and non-ordinary states of consciousness. 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 Beauregard (Zendo Project) 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 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.

Chelsea Rose, M.A., (Zendo Project) 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 for DanceSafe, a public health organization, as the manager for the reagent testing kit program. Additionally, she manages the Crisis Response Team in Nevada County, supporting clients who come into the emergency room during a 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 Kisser kitty.

Practice Safe Partying: Reducing the Risks of Psychedelic Use at Events

JUNE 6, 2019
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Pacific Time

While there is no such thing as totally safe substance use (particularly under prohibition), there is such a thing as safer substance use. Join Mitchell for a discussion about how prohibition increases the harms of drug use, and how we can mitigate both the intrinsic harms of drugs, as well as harms created by government policy, through both education and direct harm reduction practices.

Mitchell Gomez (DanceSafe) is a graduate of New College of Florida (whose Alumni included the founders of Erowid, MAPS and the Zendo Project), and has his Masters from CU Denver. Although his research interests are extremely diverse, he is particularly interested in program evaluation and policy analysis as it pertains to the non-profit sector. Mitchell has been a part of the electronic music community since the late 90’s, when he first started attending underground breaks shows while still in high-school. In 1999 while living in Israel, he became one of the earliest full time professional fire spinners, eventually performing at some of the biggest electronic music events on four continents. Mitchell joined Dancesafe as their National Outreach Director in 2014 and was responsible for all volunteer coordination, the development, implementation, and evaluation of new training curriculum and outreach initiatives, and administrative tasks. He has volunteered with the Burning Man organization, SSDP and other small harm reduction projects for many years, and is a passionate advocate for reality-based drug policy and harm reduction. In addition to his work with DanceSafe, Mitchell also sits on the Advisory Council of Psymposia, a media and events group that shares stories and fresh perspectives about the emerging science and social issues of psychedelics, psychoactive drugs, policy reform, and harm reduction. In March of 2017 he was promoted to Executive Director of DanceSafe, and continues to remain active in outreach activities.

Stefanie Jones (Drug Policy Alliance) is director of audience development at the Drug Policy Alliance, a national advocacy nonprofit working to end the drug war and promote drug policies and practices centered in health and social and racial justice. She founded and runs DPA’s Safer Partying program, which introduces harm reduction principles and drug policy alternatives to partygoers as well as anyone with a role in event creation or safety. She also oversees DPA’s work developing Safety First, a harm reduction-based drug education curriculum for teens. In her prior role within DPA as event manager she produced four progressively larger editions of the biennial International Drug Policy Reform Conference, as well as numerous local policy conferences, fundraisers and coalition-building meetings. Stefanie is based in New York.

Being Prepared: Making the Most of Psychedelic Experiences

JUNE 13, 2019
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Pacific Time

Many people recognize the power of psychedelics to be transformative experiences. Whether it’s used recreationally for pleasure, performance enhancement—not in the physical sense of giving us enhanced stamina, but in the context of making us feel more attractive and more sociable which can be productive in building healthy relationships that aid in our personal growth and well-being, or for healing. Trauma impacts our ability to be present, grounded, and connected at this moment when it’s so crucial. Psychedelics are powerful mind-altering substances that must be used with care but are often consumed in contexts such as nightlife settings and music festivals, where there’s less control over the set and setting. Even in these spaces, there may be interventions available and steps that can be taken to mitigate challenging psychedelic experiences in these settings.

“Mohawk” Kellye Greene (DanceSafe) is a regional director for DanceSafe as well as the president of DanceSafe’s New York Chapter. As a long-standing, active member of various music communities, they organize and oversee harm reduction, health & safety outreach to members of these communities within New York as well as participates with DanceSafe nationally, and other global harm reduction agencies worldwide. Within the organization, they set up informational booths, gives college lectures, organizes public forums, distributes resources, and through MohawkTheEducator on social media, spreads awareness.

Ethics, Safety, and Consent in Psychedelic Experiences: Creating a Safe Container

JUNE 20, 2019
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Pacific Time

Communities of all kinds can take practical steps towards creating safer containers for psychedelic experiences. This talk will examine some best practices used by event producers and others to support a culture that addresses conflict and reduces risk. Protocols for examining consent violations and preventing overdose and accidental poisonings can be especially helpful. Some of the approaches that will be discussed are included in this collection of risk reduction measures for community organizers, this list of best practices, and this collection of thoughts about safety tips for those participating in ceremonies that use psychoactive substances. As these ideas reflect an evolving body of collective knowledge, participants are invited to offer their own thoughts about these measures which reflect the application of their community values.

Annie Oak (Women’s Visionary Congress) is a founder of Women’s Visionary Congress (WVC), which presents the work of women researchers, healers, activists and artists who examine non-ordinary states of consciousness. She created the Full Circle Tea House, a mobile tea service that provides a place for rest, hydration and support in social spaces. Annie is the co-editor of the Manual of Psychedelic Support, a guide to setting up and running compassionate care services for people who have challenging drug experiences. Together with two partners, Annie started Take 3 Presents, a production company which produces private, immersive art and music events. In her day job, Annie works with data analysts who document human rights violations in conflict zones.

Maria Carvalho, Ph.D., (Kosmicare) was born in Porto – Portugal in 1976. She received a Degree in Psychology from the University of Porto in 1999, finished an MSc in Psychology in the field of Addictions in 2004, and got her Ph.D. in Psychology also at the University of Porto in 2015. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Education and Psychology at the Catholic University of Porto where she’s been lecturing since 2005. She is a clinical psychologist accredited by the Portuguese Bar of Psychologists since 2016. She is Vice-President of the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education Research and Service (ICEERS), and she coordinates Project Kosmicare at Boom Festival since 2010. In 2016, alongside with her colleagues and parting from Boom Festival’s pioneer experience, she became a founding member of the Kosmicare Association – an NGO that advocates for full-spectrum evidence-based harm reduction and psycare in recreational environments. Annie has an M.S. in Science Journalism from Columbia University and has been a member of psychedelic communities for more than 40 years. She began organizing and producing events in the mid-1990s. She is currently developing research concerning nightlife and sexual violence, and the therapeutic potential of ayahuasca.

Integrating Psychedelic Experiences: What Happens Next?

JUNE 27, 2019
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Pacific Time

Dr. Ingmar Gorman and Marc Aixalà will discuss the theory and technique of psychedelic integration applicable in and outside of clinical settings. This presentation will orient the audience to practices for sustaining benefits and minimizing harms related to psychedelic use, while seeking to challenge some commonly held views within the psychedelic community.

Dr. Ingmar Gorman (Psychedelic Education and Continuing Care Program) is a psychologist who specializes in assisting populations who have had experiences with psychedelics and other psychoactive compounds. He is the Director of the Psychedelic Education and Continuing Care Program at the Center for Optimal Living, where he leads groups, workshops, and works with individual clients. Additionally, Dr. Gorman has extensive training in treating substance misuse, drawing upon mentorship by Dr. Andrew Tatarsky and Dr. Jen Talley, in Harm Reduction Psychotherapy and Mindfulness based approaches. Dr. Gorman received his PhD in clinical psychology from the New School for Social Research. He completed his internship at Bellevue Hospital Center and is currently an NIH funded postdoctoral fellow at New York University’s Behavioral Sciences Training in Drug Abuse Research Program (BST), which is NIDA’s largest and longest-standing training program. Dr. Gorman is also site co-principal investigator and therapist on a Phase 3 clinical trial studying the potential psychotherapeutic utility of MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Marc Aixalà (ICEERS) is a licensed psychologist and psychotherapist with post-degree studies in Integrative Psychotherapy, Masters in Strategic Therapy, and is trained in the therapeutic use of Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness, in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD, and in the use of psilocybin for depression treatment. He coordinates the integration services at International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research & Service (ICEERS) where he provides integration psychotherapy sessions for people in challenging situations after experiences with non-ordinary states of consciousness since 2013. Marc works as a psychotherapist in Barcelona, a Holotropic Breathwork facilitator, and is a staff member for Grof Transpersonal Training. He has facilitated Holotropic Breathwork workshops and trainings in Barcelona, Switzerland, Unites States, Romania, Israel, Poland, and Slovenia, and is conducting research into its therapeutic applications. He has also been a Team Leader and Trainer at the Kosmicare psychedelic harm reduction service at Boom Festival, and a trainer for psilocybin guides at the Imperial College London. He is currently engaged as a therapist in a psilocybin-assisted therapy trial for depression.

Thank you to Dr. Bronner’s for their company’s support of the MAPS webinars!