Psychedelic Horizons Beyond Psychotherapy
This workshop is made possible in part by the generous support of Sofia University.
Thursday, 18 April 2013, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Presented by Thomas B. Roberts, PhD and James Fadiman, PhD
In addition to their psychotherapeutic uses, experimental evidence shows that psychedelics deepen daily life and enrich most academic fields. As popular use still is 99% of all experiences, it is important to be aware of the effects of rising religious use, microdosing, problem–solving, self-help groups, effects on education and popular culture. Entheogenic uses promote spiritual growth including heightened senses of significance, meaningfulness, and sacredness. Personality growth promotes altruism and open mindedness. Future leads propose advances through microdosing, developing a Multistate Theory —even exploring previously unknown mindbody states that may contain unusual, rare and even undiscovered human abilities.
Workshop Program
Psychedelics, Medicine, and Science
- Roberts: An Idea to Fall in Love with — Multistate Theory
- Fadiman: Working beyond the medical model: secular and sacred uses. The role of intention and context. Non-medical guides: concerns and training
- Questions & Discussion
Psychedelics, Religion, and Current Uses
- Roberts: The New Era of Religion, Experience vs. Words
- Fadiman: From Vancouver to New Haven, From Mountain View to Santa Cruz. Who is using what and how and why. Survey results and implications. What are the 99% up to?
- Questions & Discussion
Microdoses, Cognition, and Intelligence
- Fadiman: Microdose use and users: How to become a subject and/or a researcher- protocols and data collection,
- Roberts: Uses of Psychedelics for Cognitive Enhancement
- Questions & Discussion
The Future of Psychedelics in Medicine, Science, and Culture
- Roberts: The Mindbody Explorer as Hero—Snow White, Fight Club and others
- Fadiman: Looking Forward: Microdose diffusion, University psychedelic education. On going legal-medical-theological concerns. Accelerating cultural shifts in use, research, media, and awareness.
- Questions & Discussion
Dr. Roberts’s major publication in the humanities and social sciences is The Psychedelic Future of the Mind: Enhancing Cognition, Boosting Intelligence, and Raising Values (2013), in religion Spiritual Growth with Entheogens: Psychoactive Sacramentals and Human Transformation (2012), in medicine Psychedelic Medicine: New Evidence for Hallucinogenic Substances as Treatments (2007), and in mind development and education Psychedelic Horizons: Snow White, Immune System, Multistate Mind, Enlarging Education (2006). He is a founding member of MAPS, co-founder of the Council on Spiritual Practices, creator of Rising Researcher sessions, and originated the celebration of Bicycle Day. He has taught Psychedelic Studies at Northern Illinois University since 1981. More info at: niu.academia.edu/ThomasRoberts
James Fadiman, PhD completed his dissertation at Stanford on the effectiveness of LSD-assisted therapy just as all research was shut down. During the subsequent 40 year lull, he has held a variety of teaching, consulting, training, counseling, and editorial positions. He has taught in psychology departments, design engineering, and for the past three decades at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology that he co-founded. He has published textbooks, professional books, a self-help book, a novel, and a series of videos (“Drugs:The Children are Choosing”) for National Public Television. His books have been published in eight languages. He was featured in a National Geographic documentary and had three solo shows of his nature photography. He sits on two non-profit boards and has been the president of several small natural resource companies. He has been involved in researching psychedelics for spiritual, therapeutic, and creative uses when it was legal and subsequently and recently published The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys and released a series of videos (with Kokyo Henkel), Buddhism and Psychedelics. He is doing surveys of psychedelic use and has pioneered researching micro-dosing of a number of substances for a host of conditions. More at http://jamesfadiman.com