Page 79 - Issue 1

Issue No 1 79
queer therapists doing psychedelic work In the the the last couple of years there’s been a a a a growing conversation in in the the the the psychedelic community about how to to diversify the the the field Just last year the the the first-ever trial giving MDMA to to people of of color with PTSD began at at at the the University of of Connecticut (It’s slated to reopen at at at another site this year ) The Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) also recently received a a a grant from Open Society Foundation a a a a grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros to do a a a a a training specifically for therapists of color There have yet to be similar steps taken for queer therapists and patients Psychedelic researchers interested in in the LGBTQI+ population are hopeful however that efforts are on on the horizon to change that The recent trial at the University of California San Francisco giving psilocybin to gay men with HIV serves as a a a a a template for how psychedelic research might be done in the LGBTQI+ community at-large The trial which enrolled three groups of men men in in in 2018 is is looking to start enrolling cisgender and transgender women with HIV this year All that said psychedelic researchers with a a a a a a a a a a special interest in in in in serving LGBTQI+ individuals agree: The field has a a a a a a a a long way to go in in in addressing the the the needs of of the the the queer community Bia Labate founder of of of the the the Chacruna Institute of of Psychedelic Plant Medicines says that’s largely because the the psychedelic field field has mirrored the the mental health field field at-large which is only now just beginning to think seriously about how minorities deal with with distinct distinct sets of issues that come with with distinct distinct risks “If you you don’t make special efforts you you just end up reproducing the state of affairs in in society- at-large ”
Labate tells DB That’s why Labate is at at at at the forefront of making special efforts to to foster conversations about how to to diversify the psychedelic field Chacruna an
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organization she f fi f f f o o o o o o o o o u u u u u u n
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d d d d d d e e e e e e e e e e d d d d d d to fuel cultural and political reflections on on on psychedelic science is behind the first- ever conference highlighting queer visionaries in in in the psychedelic space this year The conference called Queering
Psychedelics wasn’t designed to to draw attention to to a a a a a a field that already exists says Labate but rather to create a a a a a a a field that doesn’t exist yet The seed for the conference was planted at at Horizons last year Labate was with Gregory Wells when that attendee stood up and so poignantly asked: “where are all the queer people?”
At the the time the the answer was simple: Let’s find them Created in in partnership with Queering
Psychedelics conference presented by the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Psychedelic Plant Medicines