Episode 006:

Psychedelic Research with Tim Ferson

DIVE INTO TIM'S MIND...

If you ask most people about psychedelic research, they’ll probably think of Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (AKA Ram Dass) , the controversial Harvard professors who conducted psychedelic research in the 1960’s and influenced a huge countercultural movement. But after being criminalised for 40 years psychedelic research is making a big comeback with findings suggesting that psychedelic substances could be game changer for psychotherapy and the treatment of mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, PTSD and addiction.

Today we’re going to take a deep dive into the fascinating world of current psychedelic research with Tim Ferson, a counsellor, and psychedelic-assisted therapist* and the founder of the Australian charity OM Collective. 

In today’s episode we talk about… 

  • How psychedelic research is evolving today and the potential of psychedelic assisted therapy (2:29)

  • Future directions for psychedelic research (6:50)

  • Psychedelic assisted therapy for end of life anxiety for cancer patients (9:30)

  • The findings from a study into how psilocybin induces mystical experiences (11:00) 

  • The origins of psychedelic assisted therapy, why it became illegal and why we’re seeing a resurgence today (13:58)

  • Tim’s experience with ayahuasca and how it continues to impact his life today (19:58)

  • The importance of integrating psychedelic experiences (22:46)

  • The importance of intention and preparation for psychedelic experiences (28:15)

  • Tim’s duty of care when accompanying people on psychedelic journeys and how to create a safe experience (34:50)

  • The pros and cons of microdosing (42:50)

  •  Tim’s ideas for future trials and directions in psychedelic research (49:46)

And so much more!

Contact Tim

Instagram: @omcollective.therapy

Episode resources

Johns Hopkins Centre for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research

Teachings of Don Juan


*Although  psychedelic substances aren’t yet legal in Australia, Tim’s personal approach is that if a client chooses to take themselves on a journey and contacts him for support as a matter of safety and wellbeing, he may accompany them as part of his duty of care.

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