FREE Webinar: From Research to Practice: A Journey into Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Emerging Career Paths

Dr Lauren Macdonald is a psychiatry doctor and therapy guide at the Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London. She currently works on trials studying psilocybin-assisted therapy for anorexia nervosa and fibromyalgia, and DMT for treatment-resistant depression. Alongside her clinical work she is a retreat facilitator and co-founder at Essence Medicine, an organisation providing psycho-spiritual care to people facing life threatening illness. She has degrees in Medicine and Psychology, and has undertaken further training in Integrative Medicine, Compassionate Inquiry, Yoga, and Psychedelic-Assisted therapies (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies).

Clinical Director in Centre for Psychedelic Research & Clinical Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry at Imperial College London. Dr. David Erritzoe is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist. He holds a Clinical Senior Lectureship (i.e. Assistant Professorship) in General Psychiatry in the Centres for Neuropsychopharmacology and Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London and CNWL Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. Following training in neuroreceptor PET imaging at Columbia University in New York in 2002/03, he undertook a PhD at University Hospital Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen. Since moving to Imperial College in 2009 he has been conductingand overseeing clinical and neuroimaging trials (using PET, MRI, and EEG) into affective disorders and addiction. David is the Clinical Director of Imperial’s Centre for Psychedelic Research. Since early 2021 he has also headed up a new NHS-based research clinic at St Charles Hospital, the CIPPRes Clinic. He is topic lead in Psychiatry at Imperial College London’s Medical School, whilst also lecturing in MSc and BSc neuroscience programs. He has authored more than 110 peer-reviewed scientific papers and 4 book chapters.

Dr. Eli Kotler has been on the forefront of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) both in Australia and internationally, currently working at The Journey Clinic. He is the Australian Director of the Certificate of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (CPAT), run by Mind Medicine Australia. In 2021 he challenged the Victorian government in court to allow a patient to access PAT, and was the first psychiatrist in Australia to treat a patient with PAT.

Dr. Kotler is also an experienced psychodynamic therapist. He was the Medical Director of Malvern Private Hospital for many years, a trauma and addiction hospital in Melbourne. He has been invited as a keynote speaker on PAT, trauma and addiction, both internationally and nationally, for leading organisations such as the RANZCP and the IPA. Eli has also been an advisor for the Australian government for reviewing addiction guidelines, and has had extensive research experience in novel neuropsychiatric therapies.

Dr. Kotler has been involved with medical student teaching, psychiatric registrar training, and teaching other psychiatrists about PAT and trauma. He is a preferred provider for the AFL players association, has been an expert witness in over 100 historical abuse legal cases, and served on the Victorian Medical Panels for several years.

Scott has had a diverse career, working across a variety of fields. After originally training and working as a professional musician, he founded and bootstrapped a successful online music education company called Ear Training HQ at age 23. Ear Training HQ taught an innovative approach to skill development that he developed. He successfully taught this to thousands of students over 10 years. He has committed much of the last 10 years to introspective practice, with a central focus on Buddhist teachings. During this time he has trained and worked as a bodyworker, somatic therapist and meditation teacher.

Through his introspective practice and his somatic work, he has developed a deep interest in psychedelic and other altered state based therapies and the connection between these therapeutic approaches and the introspective process. Through the emergence of psychedelic-assisted therapies, he sees an opportunity for a deeper understanding of introspective practice emerge in our culture, with the potential to support greater happiness and wellbeing for all.