The Fundamentals of Psychedelics - Second Edition

Lia Mix, LMFT, CEO, is a licensed marriage and family therapist specializing in multicultural populations. She earned her Certificate in Psychedelic Therapies and Research (CPTR) from the California Institute for Integral Studies (CIIS) in 2016. Lia is a systems-thinker who has helped establish the core infrastructure for psychedelic-assisted therapy to be implemented into the US healthcare system on a trajectory towards achieving health insurance coverage post-FDA approval. Lia works directly with regulators and leadership in the psychedelic ecosystem to help ensure psychedelics are made available safely and affordably for all who can benefit from them. She is currently the CEO of Delphi, a consulting firm focused on this core mission. Lia is dedicated to a path of inner healing in service to the collective consciousness.

Dr. Alex Belser is a licensed psychologist and psychedelic researcher focused on clinical benefits of psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine and DMT therapies. At Yale, Dr. Belser is investigating a psychedelic treatment for OCD. He is the Chief Clinical Officer of Cybin, where he directs clinical programs in psychedelic therapies. He is the founding President of Nautilus Sanctuary, the first non-profit center for psychedelic medicine on the east coast. His research has been featured on the front page of the New York Times, in the Atlantic, the New Yorker, The Guardian, Rolling Stone Magazine, and in Michael Pollan's book, How to Change Your Mind. Dr. Belser has focused on psychedelic training and therapy; he teaches in multiple psychedelic clinical training programs. He is the co-creator a new model of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy called EMBARK. His recent edited book: Queering Psychedelics: From Oppression to Liberation, charts the intersection of LGBTQIA+ people and psychedelic consciousness. Dr. Belser studied at Georgetown University, the University of Cambridge, Columbia University, NYU, and Yale University. He is a student of somatic practices and is a licensed kundalini and hatha yoga teacher. His writing is available at http://alexbelser.com. His private practice site is http://centerforbreakthroughs.com.

Dr. Anthony Back is Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington. He was educated at Stanford University and Harvard Medical School, and did his postgraduate medical training at the University of Washington in Seattle and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. His research into patient-oncologist communication, which was funded by the National Cancer Institute and numerous other foundations, led to the founding of VitalTalk, a 501c3 with the mission of disseminating communication skill training to doctors and nurses who care for patients with a serious illness and their families. His work has been recognized by the American Cancer Society with the Pathfinder in Palliative Care Award and by the American Society of Clinical Oncology with the first Walther Cancer Foundation Palliative and Supportive Care Award. In 2018, Dr. Back turned his attention to psychedelic therapy, writing what remains the only first-person account by a physician of a guided psychedelic experience to be published in a medical journal (“What Psilocybin Taught Me About Dying”). He is now conducting the first clinical trial of psilocybin-assisted therapy for doctors and nurses with symptoms of depression and burnout associated with their frontline work in the COVID pandemic, funded by the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation.

Dr. Léla Mosemghvdlishvili is a transformative educator working at the intersection of academia, wisdom traditions, and embodied practices. Lela has served as a board member of the Amsterdam Psychedelic Research Association (APRA) since 2017. At the University of Amsterdam, they designed an interdisciplinary elective project called Critical Issues in Psychedelic Renaissance. A notable part of Lela's life is devoted to the ongoing study and practice of Maha and Ati Yoga, experiential dancing, and regular silent retreats for introspection. They are also an authorized Feeding Your Demons® facilitator and meditation teacher.

Dr. Stephanie Van Hope, RN, DNP is a registered nurse, certified nurse coach and doctor of nursing practice. She graduated with a DNP in the specialty of Integrative Health and Healing from the University of Minnesota in 2019. Stephanie has worked as a nurse for the last 12 years in the areas of oncology, hospice, health coaching, and education. In 2011 she served as a study guide for NYU’s Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety project, guiding cancer patients through psychedelic journeys with psilocybin. In 2021 she founded a continuing education course for nurses entitled Nursing & Sacred Medicine: Introduction to Psychedelic Therapy. She is a Reiki practitioner and a student of yoga, meditation, shamanic healing, astrology, plant medicine, music and dance, and the sacred traditions of many faiths. She currently resides with her husband and son in an intentional community in the Catskills region of New York

Simone Weit LPCC/LPC is a licensed psychotherapist specializing in both somatic and psychedelic-assisted therapy. Having received a master’s degree in counseling psychology with a specialization in somatic psychotherapy, Simone has served clients in juvenile justice, community behavioral health, crisis stabilization in a hospital setting, and private practice including running a Ketamine therapy practice. Simone has also developed and taught a trauma-informed yoga program for incarcerated girls and women, provided somatic therapies to clients at the Iboga Therapy House in British Columbia, and worked as a supervisor for the Zendo project. In addition to her professional work, Simone has also completed the MDMA Assisted Therapy training through MAPS and received training in Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy through the Polaris Insight Center. Additional experience includes 20 years of working with and learning from Maestros in Peruvian plant medicine traditions. Simone is also a recognized visionary artist and a member of the Tribe 13 artist’s collective.

Dr. Anja Loizaga-Velder is a German-Mexican clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, with a humanistic and transpersonal orientation. Parallel to her psychotherapeutic practice Anja has been collaborating with indigenous healers and investigating the therapeutic potential of the ritual use of psychedelic plants for over 25 years.

Julian Vayne is a British independent scholar and author with over three decades of experience within esoteric culture: from Druidry to Chaos Magic, from indigenous Shamanism through to Freemasonry and Witchcraft. Julian is the author of books, essays, journals, and articles in both the academic and esoteric press. He is a co-organizer of the psychedelic conference Breaking Convention, sits on the academic board of The Journal of Psychedelic Studies, and has been a visiting lecturer at several British universities. Julian facilitates psychedelic ceremony, as well as providing one-to-one psychedelic integration sessions and support. He is the author of the celebrated Getting Higher: The Manual of Psychedelic Ceremony. 

Rev. Konrad Ryushin Marchaj, is a Zen priest in the tradition of Zen Buddhism, and a Dharma heir of the late John Daido Loori, Roshi. Ryushin Sensei was the abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Born in Warsaw, Poland, he immigrated to the United States in 1967. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from Yale University in 1976 and his medical degree from Albany Medical College in 1980. He worked first as a pediatrician in Portland, Maine, later serving in the US Navy as a physician for three years. He then returned to Albany for postgraduate training in psychiatry. After completing his residency, he served as medical director for a community psychiatric outreach program, the Mobile Crisis Team, which served Albany County’s disenfranchised and homeless population. He entered full-time residential training at the Monastery in 1992. In addition to his roles as the Monastery’s abbot and director of operations, he explored contemplative practices in higher education, collaborating with several liberal arts educators and administrators in the Northeast to look at ways for college students to engage in religious practice as part of their education. He has been practicing Buddhism since 1983. Since 2014, he has been rigorously exploring and training in ayahuasca ceremonies in various traditions, guided by several teachers. Drawing on his background as a physician and psychiatrist, Ryushin’s infectious interest and thorough training in the workings of the mind and compassionate expression of unconditional love, combined with his skill at translating complex concepts into the accessible, everyday language, characterize his unique teaching style.