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About Us
Psychedelic Lived Experiences is strengthening decision-making by bridging lived experience and clinical science.
We work to improve patient safety, treatment efficacy, and ethical standards across psychedelic research, care, and policy.
Bridging lived experience and clinical science
We believe bringing clinical, scientific, and firsthand perspectives together leads to a fuller understanding of psychedelic treatments and better decisions about safety, care, and outcomes.
Yet in systems that privilege what can be easily measured, the complexity and nuance of lived experience are often overlooked.
Our work addresses this gap by centering lived experience alongside clinical science to integrate actionable insights that lead to more patient-centered, ethical, and effective research and care.
Through cross-disciplinary collaboration, we create programs and resources that educate, connect, and empower communities. Our activities include advocacy, peer support, events, research collaboration, training, qualitative insight, consultation and policy engagement.
Our broader vision
While amplifying lived experience perspectives is at the heart of our work, our broader goal is to help reshape psychedelic research and care.
Too often, patients, trial participants, and caregivers are excluded from defining what safety, success, and meaningful outcomes should look like. We aim to make research and practice more human-centered, accountable, and responsive to the people they serve.
The Psychedelic Lived Experiences Summit and our broader initiative bring lived experience into direct dialogue with clinical and scientific expertise. By integrating these perspectives, we can build a fuller understanding of psychedelic care and help shape safer, more effective, and more inclusive approaches.
November 20–22, 2026
Psychedelic Lived Experiences Summit
Join a global, multi-stakeholder summit bringing patients, caregivers, clinicians, researchers, and organizations together to address safety, real-world outcomes, and support gaps after psychedelic treatment.
What we’re doing
Sparking more thoughtful, patient-informed dialogues and building a future where people with lived experience aren’t just included, they’re leading.
Recognizing lived experience as essential evidence in research, treatment design, training, and policy
Expanding our peer-led support circles, patient–provider communities, and resources library.
Live events, workshops, and educational offerings to connect with and learn from experts in psychedelic care.
Our vision
A future where psychedelic research and care are safer, more ethical, and responsive to patient needs, with lived experience recognized as essential evidence and lived experience expertise embedded in decision-making.
Our mission
To bridge lived experience and clinical science by capturing lived experience as evidence, developing lived experience expertise, and embedding both in decision-making across psychedelic research, care, and policy.
Our values
Lived experience is essential: Firsthand experience carries vital knowledge that must inform research, care, and policy.
Ethics and integrity: Psychedelic care must center safety, consent, transparency, and accountability at every level.
Grounded hope over hype: We prioritize nuance, responsibility, and real-world outcomes, not sensationalized narratives
Collaboration and community: True progress happens when scientific, clinical, and lived experience voices work together.
Our lived experience team
We're a team of former patients and clinical trials participants uniting for a common mission to strengthen decision-making in psychedelic research, care, and policy.
Pedram Dara
Founder, director, summit host, peer support group facilitator (Canada)
Becca Kacanda
Coordinator for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD clinical trials, peer support facilitator (U.S.)
Ona Praderas
Family and caregiver advisor, peer support facilitator, Art Therapy Student (Canada)
Sehrish Sayani
Communications and marketing advisor, mental health and patient advocate (U.S.)
Kathy Neustadt
Partnerships and media advisor, mental health and patient advocate (U.S.)
Kerrilee Barrett
Coordinator for patient safety in clinical trials, mental health counsellor and practitioner (UK)
Our advisory board
We are deeply grateful for the guidance and support of the clinical, scientific, and policy leaders serving on our Psychedelic Lived Experiences Advisory Board.
Devon Christie, MD
Family physician and therapeutic counsellor, investigator for Phase 3 MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD trials (Canada)
Joost Breeksema, PhD
Qualitative researcher in psychedelic trials and executive director of the OPEN Foundation (Netherlands)
Berra Yazar-Klosinski, PhD
Biotech leader, former Chief Scientific Officer at Lykos/MAPS PBC, founder & CEO at Yazar Lab (U.S.)
Simon Amar, MD
Psychiatrist, investigator for MDMA therapy for PTSD trials (Canada) and psilocybin for anxiety trials (Australia)
Chantelle Thomas, PhD
Psychologist, researcher, and clinical director at multi-level residential addiction treatment program (U.S.)
Manesh Girn, PhD
Neuroscientist, researcher at UCSF working with Robin Carhart-Harris, PhD on the impact of psychedelics on mental health (U.S.)
Shoshana Ward, RTC
Therapist specializing in medicine assisted therapy, clinic director & co-founder at Centre for Medicine Assisted Therapy (Canada)
Bill Brennan, PhD
Psychologist, clinical researcher, psychedelic educator, author, and supervisor to therapists on clinical trials (U.S.)
Sara Garcia Velazquez, MD
Research physician and former associate medical director at Lykos/MAPS PBC (U.S.)
Christopher Nicholas, PhD
Associate Professor in the department of Family Medicine at the University of Wisconsin (U.S.)
Corine de Boer, MD, PhD
Pediatrician, clinical researcher, former medical lead at Lykos/MAPS PBC, and founder & CEO at Tulip Medical Consulting (U.S.)
Tadeusz Hawrot
Founder & Executive Director of the Psychedelic Access and Research European Alliance (PAREA) and advocate (Belgium)
Julia King Olivier, MD
Psychiatrist, psychedelic therapist, and founder of the Compassionate Care Center in Geneva (Switzerland)
Jérémie Richard, PhD
Psychologist, researcher, and Assistant Professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Ottawa (Canada)
Mourad Wahba, MD
Consultant psychiatrist, psychedelic clinical researcher, medical director, and lecturer at the University of Exeter (UK)
Get involved
The future of psychedelic care must be built with those who experience it firsthand. Be part of the change by attending our summit or collaborating with us.
✓ Speak at the summit
✓ Collaborate with us
✓ Join our team
Stay informed, stay inspired
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