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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 Therapy (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies).

Eli is a consultant psychiatrist and psychodynamic psychotherapist. He is the Medical Director of Malvern Private Hospital, an addiction and trauma hospital in Melbourne. Eli completed the inaugural CPAT course, and has since been on its faculty. He was appointed as the course’s Australian Course Director in 2023.

As a psychiatric trainee, Eli was awarded the Royal College of Psychiatrists Trainee Prize for his Scholarly Project on Depression, as well as a Research Committee Trainee award for his work on Philosophy of Mind. As an adjunct lecturer at Monash University, he oversees medical students on their addiction medicine rotation. He has been invited as a key-note speaker to several conferences and meetings to discuss addictions, trauma and psychedelics. Eli sits on the Committee of the ANZMHA to help organise their yearly addiction conference. He also sits on the inaugural Clinical Advisory Group for the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation. Eli is an Associate Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators, and is a member of the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs. He also has extensive research experience with novel therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases.

Due to his interest in trauma, Eli has been appointed an Independent Medical Examiner by WorkSafe Victoria. He has been appointed by the Minister for Workplace Safety to sit on the Victorian Medical Panels, and is an expert witness in historical abuse cases.

Clinically, Eli works in a psychodynamic framework, and attempts to help his patients find freedom from their addictions and trauma through relational experiences, and experiential self-awareness. He is part of the AFL Player’s Association referral network for addiction issues, and his interests in depth-psychology and neuroscience led him to found the Melbourne Neuropsychoanalytic Group.

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 therapy, 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.