Is meditation dangerous? It might seem like a silly question. Many people would put meditation on the short list of practices that are essential for good mental and spiritual health. Indeed, we’ve recommended meditation many times on this show as a powerful tool to use in psychedelic-assisted therapy. In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers podcast we’re exploring the situations in which meditation could do more harm than good. We discuss different kinds of meditation, personal a...
Sep 03, 2024•51 min•Ep 169•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever felt conflicted about something–like there was a war going on in your head between parts of you with different agendas? Do you ever get frustrated with yourself for behaving in self-defeating ways only to find yourself repeating that same behavior over and over again? Well you, my friend, might have a mind comprised of many different parts, each with their own origin story, attachments, aversions, duties, and burdens. In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers podcast ...
Aug 27, 2024•58 min•Ep 168•Transcript available on Metacast On Aug 9th the FDA rejected the new drug application by Lykos (formerly MAPS PBC) for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD. This is disappointing news for those of us who were excited about the promising study results and eager to add MDMA-assisted therapy to the menu of treatment options for those suffering with PTSD. We discuss what appears to have influenced the FDA’s decision, the possible path forward for Lykos, how this ruling affects other companies trying to bring different psychedelic medicin...
Aug 20, 2024•43 min•Ep 167•Transcript available on Metacast Do you ever feel like the world is going crazy around you? War, political polarization, cultural clashes, exploitation, all fed to your brain through a steady stream of addictive social media posts. In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers podcast, we’re going to discuss this modern predicament and how one might maintain their sanity in this increasingly insane world we live in. Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers is brought to you by Numinus and is hosted by Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Re...
Aug 13, 2024•52 min•Ep 166•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers, the podcast, Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison focus on preparing for, navigating, and integrating psychedelic experiences. It serves as a comprehensive resource for those seeking healing, transformation, or exploration with psychedelic tools and for facilitators. *This episode originally aired 1/30/24 Learn more about our podcast at https://numinus.com/podcast/ Learn more about psychedelic therapy training opportunities at https://num...
Aug 06, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Ep 165•Transcript available on Metacast Can you change your personality? What even is a “personality” anyway? Is my boyfriend a narcissist? What’s borderline personality disorder? We human beings are complex creatures with a drive to understand ourselves. In that quest to understand ourselves, we’ve noticed some patterns. In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers podcast, we’re going to discuss these patterns through the lens of personality theory. Expect to learn what the term personality means, how personality differs ...
Jul 31, 2024•57 min•Ep 164•Transcript available on Metacast There is a lot of exciting research going on right now in the world of psychedelic medicine. So much, in fact, that it can be difficult to keep track of it all. Where do you go for reliable information? How do you interpret results? How is it that studies with similar hypotheses can have contradictory findings? In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers podcast, we’re going to discuss these questions while we walk you through a few studies that Reid and I found interesting. Expect t...
Jul 23, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep 163•Transcript available on Metacast Has there ever been a time when you didn’t feel like yourself? Maybe somebody did or said something to you and you overreacted in a way that left you feeling embarrassed or confused? Well, today we’re going to examine experiences like this through the lens of what Swiss psychotherapist, Carl Jung, called the shadow. You’re listening to Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers–the podcast devoted to exploring the frontiers of psychedelic medicine and what it takes to cultivate a healthy mind, body, and spir...
Jul 17, 2024•52 min•Ep 162•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers podcast Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison explore defense mechanisms. They discuss what defense mechanisms are, how they can be adaptive and/or maladaptive, the utility of understanding your defensive psychological patterns, the importance of a non-shaming interpretation of defense mechanisms, how to work with them in conventional and psychedelic-assisted therapy, and much more. Learn more about our podcast at https://numinus.com/podcas...
Jul 09, 2024•54 min•Ep 161•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers podcast Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison explore a few of their favorite tools and concepts for promoting and maintaining good mental hygiene. They discuss Dr. Phil Stutz’s book The Tools, top-down vs bottom-up strategies, psychological multiplicity, self-compassion, self-discipline, mindfulness, helpful metaphors, leaning into discomfort, the power of using the breath as a tool, how tools become traps, and much more. Learn more about ...
Jul 02, 2024•1 hr•Ep 160•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers podcast Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison talk about the recent FDA psychopharmacologic drugs advisory committee meeting that resulted in a majority vote against the approval of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD based on MAPS/Lykos study data. They discuss what the committee’s concerns were, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review’s (ICER) criticisms of the studies, the challenges of conducting psychedelic clinical trials, functiona...
Jun 25, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep 159•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers podcast Dr. Reid Robison is joined by Garyth Moxey. Garyth Moxey, a native of Canada based in Vancouver, is a leading figure in entheogen provision and harm reduction advocacy. Trained as a psychedelic therapist at the Synthesis Institute, he specializes in using Ibogaine for opiate addiction detoxification. Reid and Garyth discuss ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT for treating addiction and other conditions, as well as many other conversations on psy...
Jun 18, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep 158•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers podcast Dr. Reid Robison is joined by Austin Mao. Austin is a serial entrepreneur, author, poet, community builder, and keynote speaker, celebrated for blending science, spirituality, psychology, and shamanism into his work. As the visionary co-founder of Ceremonia , a legal non-profit spiritual sanctuary near Denver, Colorado, he has committed his career to guiding profound, transformative journeys with psilocybin and ayahuasca. https://ww...
Jun 11, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep 157•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers podcast Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison talk about how to integrate a challenging psychedelic experience. They discuss what the integration process typically entails, some recent research on integration, what can make a psychedelic experience challenging to integrate, how the preparation process affects the integration process, special tips for integrating challenging experiences, and much more. Learn more about our podcast at https:/...
Jun 04, 2024•55 min•Ep 156•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers podcast Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison are joined by Brittney Hartley. Britt is a religious trauma and deconstruction coach and atheist spiritual director. Drawing from her study of history and theology and her own experience with religious deconstruction, Britt helps thousands of people every day via her TikTok and Instagram content navigate the difficult waters of faith transition, existential crisis, and meaning-making. In this in...
May 28, 2024•1 hr 25 min•Ep 155•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers podcast Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison talk about dopamine. It’s pretty trendy right now to talk about things like optimizing dopamine levels or doing a dopamine detox or fast. In this episode they debunk some of the common misconceptions about dopamine; challenge the idea of a dopamine detox; explore the role of dopamine in motivation, habit formation, addiction, and psychological well being; discuss ways cultivating and maintaining...
May 21, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep 154•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers podcast Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison talk about the ego. They discuss what the ego is from a variety of philosophical, spiritual, and neuropsychological perspectives; the ego-dissolving properties of psychedelic and other non-ordinary states of consciousness; the value and dysfunction of the ego, transcending the ego, adult psychological and spiritual development, and much more. Learn more about our podcast at https://numinus.com/p...
May 14, 2024•58 min•Ep 153•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers podcast Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison talk about thoughts. Specifically, the idea that you shouldn’t believe everything you think. They discuss rumination, overthinking, the difference between productive and unproductive thinking, fear and courage, mindfulness, gratitude, the effect that psychedelics have on psychological flexibility, ancient wisdom from yoga and stoicism, and much more. Learn more about our podcast at https://numin...
May 07, 2024•59 min•Ep 152•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers, the podcast, Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison talk about getting out of your own way. They discuss why and how we humans defeat ourselves, cognitive biases, self-defeating narratives, self-compassion, accountability partners, goals, values, and much more. Learn more about our podcast at https://numinus.com/podcast/ Learn more about psychedelic therapy training opportunities at https://numinus.com/training/ Learn more about our clinica...
Apr 30, 2024•1 hr•Ep 151•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers, the podcast, Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison talk about embodiment. They discuss what embodiment means, how trauma gets stored in the body, the consequences of disembodiment, how chronic stress and emotional repression affect the body, strategies for getting in tune with your body, embodied psychedelic experiences, and much more. Learn more about our podcast at https://numinus.com/podcast/ Learn more about psychedelic therapy trainin...
Apr 23, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep 150•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers, the podcast, Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison deconstruct depression. They review recent research on psilocybin’s effects on depression, discuss their own experiences with depression, explain how depression is defined and diagnosed, explore what makes depression “treatment resistant”, review the famous (or infamous depending on who you ask) STAR*D study, explore recent research on what makes psychedelic therapy effective, and much mor...
Apr 16, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep 149•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers, the podcast, Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison are joined by Third Wave CEO and founder, Paul Austin. This is the second time Paul’s been on the show and if you haven’t been to Third Wave’s website yet, go check it out. It’s bursting with education and resources on how to use psychedelic tools intentionally, responsibly, and effectively. In today’s conversation they discuss Paul’s personal and entrepreneurial journey with psychedelics ...
Apr 09, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep 148•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers, the podcast, Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison are joined by Gillian Maxwell and Richard Kay. Gillian and Richard are the co-founders and CEOs of The Sentinel Retreat & Wellness Centre in British Columbia, Canada and are founding members of the Psychedelic Association of Canada. Richard has over 20 years of personal experience working with plant based medicines and focuses his coaching to give people the opportunity to experience t...
Apr 02, 2024•59 min•Ep 147•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers, the podcast, Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison discuss boundaries. They explore the importance and challenges of setting healthy boundaries, different categories of boundary-setting, clarifying personal values, protecting your time and energy, what leads to unhealthy boundaries, good professional boundaries for helping professionals, and much more. Learn more about our podcast at https://numinus.com/podcast/ Learn more about psychedeli...
Mar 26, 2024•47 min•Ep 146•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers, the podcast, Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison are joined by Rick Doblin, Ph.D. Rick is the Founder and President of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). His tireless efforts over almost 40 years in both clinical research and public policy reform have played a key role in bringing psychedelic medicine to the very exciting point that it is now. They discuss the origin story behind MAPS, the existential crisi...
Mar 19, 2024•1 hr 28 min•Ep 145•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers, the podcast, Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison discuss a topic near and dear to their hearts–Parenting. They explore the alarming trends in adolescent mental health, the unique neurophysiology of adolescent brain development, the challenges that today’s teens face and how they differ from challenges their parents faced at their age, what adolescents needs most from their parents, how to teach kids digital literacy and online safety, se...
Mar 12, 2024•1 hr 25 min•Ep 144•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers, the podcast, Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison discuss which therapeutic modalities and concepts seem to be especially relevant and potent when combined with psychedelics. They discuss common factors among the varied approaches to psychotherapy, some of their favorite therapeutic tools, psychological flexibility vs inflexibility, adaptive and maladaptive patterns, transference and countertransference, mindfulness, corrective emotional ...
Mar 05, 2024•51 min•Ep 143•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers, the podcast, Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison discuss why we use music in psychedelic-assisted therapy. They explore the evolutionary origins of music, the evocative and transcendent effects of music, how music shapes the psychedelic journey, what goes into constructing a playlist for therapy, what to do when a client doesn’t like the music, the opportunities and challenges of using silence in psychedelic therapy, contemporary and anc...
Feb 27, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep 142•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers, the podcast, Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison discuss the all-to-familiar feeling of shame. They define shame and contrast it with guilt, identify potential sources of internalized shame narratives, reveal how to create awareness around and edit those self-limiting narratives, explore how authentic expression and self-acceptance allows us to realize our full potential, and much more. Learn more about our podcast at https://numinus.com...
Feb 20, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep 141•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode of the Psychedelic Therapy Frontiers, the podcast, Dr. Steve Thayer and Dr. Reid Robison discuss the importance and challenges of focussing in a world filled with potent stimuli competing for your attention. They discuss techniques for maintaining focus, challenges specific to ADHD, mindfulness meditation, productivity and prioritization strategies, long-term focus relative to core values, and much more. Learn more about our podcast at https://numinus.com/podcast/ Learn more a...
Feb 13, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep 140•Transcript available on Metacast 
