Meet Our Guest Faculty
Join internationally recognized leaders as they share inspiring and thought-provoking insights to strengthen the professional foundations of both current and aspiring psychedelic facilitators.
Dr. Rosalind Watts is a clinical psychologist, a mother, and a nature lover. She has become a leading voice in psychedelic research through her roles as Clinical Lead for Imperial College London's psilocybin trial and Clinical Director at Synthesis Institute. Noted among the “50 Most Influential People in Psychedelics” as well as one of the top “Top 16 Women Shaping the Future of Psychedelics”, her focus is on integration, harm reduction, and inclusion. She leads ACER Integration, an integration community that aims to provide experiential education around integrating singular experiences into the wider collective and connecting more deeply to the self, others, and nature.
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Xochitl Ashe (pronounced So-chil) is an Afro-Quechua Aymara medicine woman and visionary mentor who bridges sacred indigenous traditions with trauma-informed care. The first woman in five generations initiated into her Peruvian healing lineage, she has spent three decades studying with her family elders and respected teachers of Peruvian, Mexica, and Mazatec traditions. As founder of Magical Medicine Journeys, Xochitl guides purpose-driven leaders through ancestral practices that support deep transformation. Her work blends ceremonial plant medicine, Internal Family Systems, and conscious breathwork—offering a path that is both spiritually rooted and grounded in sustainable, conscious leadership.
Victor Cabral, MSW, LCSW is an Afro-Latiné therapist, advocate, and policy expert committed to increasing access to culturally attuned care. He serves as Assistant Director of Community Care at Naropa University, where he supports practitioner diversity, affinity-based mentorship, and ethical policy development in emerging psychedelic frameworks. A licensed social worker trained in MDMA-, ketamine-, and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy as well as Internal Family Systems, Victor brings a deep commitment to healing justice. He is featured in the documentary We Are The Medicine and was recognized as an emerging leader by both SSDP and the National Association of Social Workers in Pennsylvania.
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Anya Oleksiuk is a documentary filmmaker, educator, and community organizer dedicated to ethical psychedelic education and advocacy. She co-founded PsyAware and served as co-director of the Psychedelic Society UK (2018–2024), where she led strategic planning, harm reduction initiatives, and safe practice development. Anya has curated educational programs for events such as Anthropos Festival and advises several organizations, including the Polish Psychedelic Society and Global Psychedelic Society. Her film work explores psychedelics, mental health, and social justice, with her latest project, The Psychedelic Chronicles, documenting the modern psychedelic movement through the lens of tradition, healing, and systemic critique.
Rev. Norma Nakai Burton, M.Div., is a depth psychologist, ceremonial leader, and expert in trauma healing and shadow integration. Founder of Journey to Completion®, a somatic process for resolving deep-seated trauma, Norma bridges the realms of evolutionary consciousness, organizational transformation, and spiritual practice. With over 30 years of experience, she draws from Jungian analysis, Buddhist psychology, and systems change to guide leaders toward sustainable, purpose-driven growth. Norma has served as a senior minister, corporate consultant, and peace activist, and holds advanced degrees in world religions, neurobiology, and somatic psychology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute.
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Laura Mae Northrup, MFT is a somatic and psychedelic psychotherapist, author, and educator whose work centers on healing sexual trauma and cultivating spiritual integrity in therapeutic practice. She is the author of Radical Healership: How to Build a Values-Driven Healing Practice in a Profit-Driven World and the creator of Inside Eyes, a groundbreaking podcast exploring the use of psychedelics to heal from sexual violence. Laura speaks and consults internationally, supporting practitioners in developing meaningful, ethically grounded paths. Her work integrates political, spiritual, and relational frameworks to advance collective healing. She lives and practices in Oakland, California.
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Emma Knighton, MA, LMHC is a queer, non-binary somatic therapist, educator, and psychedelic practitioner committed to trauma-informed, liberation-centered care. With a background in queer, feminist, and consent-based theory, Emma’s work integrates mind, body, and spirit to support healing at both individual and collective levels. Their approach affirms all identities and is rooted in anti-oppression and pro-liberation values. Emma specializes in working with trauma, power dynamics, and the fluidity of human experience. Outside of their clinical practice, they are a parent, forest wanderer, and lover of play, dedicated to building just and embodied communities of care.
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Dr. Rosalind Watts
Anya Oleksiuk
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025
12 PM PT ❘ 3 PM ET ❘ 9 PM CET
Holding the Mirror — Power, Ego & Integrity in Psychedelic Practice
How do we stay humble and attuned when the work places us in roles that carry authority, influence, or reverence?
At the heart of psychedelic practice lies a subtle tension: we are here to serve—but in doing so, we may encounter parts of ourselves that seek recognition, control, or certainty. This session explores how power dynamics and ego can appear in healing spaces—sometimes subtly, sometimes obviously, and oftentimes introducing dynamics that compromise safety and relational trust.
Together, we’ll explore how practitioners can remain in right relationship with their role, how community-based structures can support integrity and accountability, and how humility becomes not just a virtue, but a form of care.
You’ll leave with:
- Strategies to identify and reflect on subtle power dynamics
- A deeper understanding of the ego's complex role in facilitation
- Insight into how authentic accountability builds community trust
Rosalind Watts, PhD
Clinical psychologist and former clinical lead of the Psilocybin for Depression trial at Imperial College London. Founder of ACER Integration, Dr. Watts, combines clinical expertise with a nature-based approach to psychedelic integration and healing.
Anya Oleksiuk
Filmmaker, educator, and co-founder of the Psychedelic Society UK. Anya focuses on cultivating ethical, inclusive psychedelic culture through media, community building, and personal development programs.
Victor Cabral, MSW, LCSW
Xochitl Ashe
Friday, September 5th, 2025
12 PM PT ❘ 3 PM ET ❘ 9 PM CET
Repairing Harm - Accountability, Healing, and Moving Forward
What becomes possible—for ourselves and our communities—when harm is met with accountability rather than avoidance?
No one enters this work intending to cause harm. And yet, in the vulnerable terrain of psychedelic-supported healing, harm can and does occur. This session invites a courageous and compassionate exploration of what it means to take responsibility when things go wrong—not as a punishment, but as a path toward repair, growth, and restored trust.
Drawing from restorative justice, trauma-informed care, and lived experience, we’ll reflect on how repair can become a generative process—one that honors those impacted, supports the integrity of the practitioner, and strengthens the fabric of community.
You’ll leave with:
- Greater clarity around identifying and naming harm
- Concrete practices for engaging in meaningful repair
- Tools for working with shame while staying rooted in integrity
Victor Cabral, MSW, LCSW
Therapist, speaker, and nationally recognized advocate for equity in psychedelic therapy. Victor’s work centers on community healing, restorative justice, and culturally attuned care.
Xochitl Ashe
Afro-Quechua Aymara medicine woman, entrepreneur, and mentor. Xochitl bridges indigenous healing traditions with trauma-informed care, guiding purpose-driven leaders through ancestral practices that support deep transformation and conscious leadership.
Rev. Norma Nakai Burton, MDiv
Tuesday, September 9th, 2025
12 PM PT ❘ 3 PM ET ❘ 9 PM CET
Tending the Inner Flame - The Spiritual Life of the Practitioner
How do we tend the inner flame connected to purpose, presence, and care over the long arc of this work?
To accompany others into the depths of transformation, we must remain connected to the deeper ground of our being. This session offers space to turn inward and reflect on the spiritual and emotional dimensions of ethical facilitation—the inner resources that sustain presence, attunement, and discernment across time.
What practices nourish your connection to Self or Source? What happens when that connection fades or frays? Together, we’ll explore the inner architecture that helps practitioners remain open-hearted, grounded, and ethically resourced in the face of complexity, intensity, and the unknown.
You’ll leave with:
- Reflections on spiritual vitality as a foundation for ethical practice
- Practices to support your inner life and reduce the risk of burnout
- Pathways for integrating personal and professional wholeness
Rev. Norma Nakai Burton, MDiv
Ordained minister, depth psychologist, and ceremonial leader. Norma weaves spiritual practice, trauma healing, and ancient wisdom to support practitioners in deepening their presence, vitality, and integrity.
Laura Mae Northrup, MFT
Emma Knighton, LMHC
Friday, September 12th, 2025
12 PM PT ❘ 3 PM ET ❘ 9 PM CET
Consent & Boundaries — Pillars of Ethical Psychedelic Practice
How can we hold consent as a sacred and responsive when the relational field is fluid, emotionally charged, or non-verbal?
In psychedelic care, consent is not a checkbox. It is a living, relational process—one that calls for presence, attunement, and embodied respect for the other’s inner world. This session invites reflection on how we uphold boundaries with clarity and care when ordinary communication, cognition, or relational cues are altered or intensified.
Together, we’ll explore how practitioners can navigate consent and rupture with humility, flexibility, and skill. How do we stay responsive when the moment is unclear? What supports the creation of containers that are both structured and spacious? And when lines have been blurred, how do we move toward repair in a way that honors connection and accountability?
You’ll leave with:
- A deeper understanding of informed and dynamic consent
- Tools for maintaining boundaries in relational and altered states
- Strategies for recognizing and addressing boundary ruptures with care
Laura Mae Northrup, MFT
Author of Radical Healership and host of the Inside Eyes podcast, Laura is a somatic psychotherapist known for her trauma-informed approach to psychedelics, boundaries, and practitioner integrity.
Emma Knighton, LMHC
Queer somatic therapist, educator, and psychedelic practitioner specializing in trauma-informed care and social justice. Emma is committed to building practitioner capacity for safe, consent-based, liberatory healing.
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