Psychedelic Studies

Groundbreaking clinic delivers affordable, clinically supervised psychedelic therapy while training the next generation of practitioners

The 20th century’s discovery of LSD and subsequent use of various psychedelics in both therapeutic practice and popular culture has been a deeply transformational event in modern civilization. It has carried the power of a collective initiatory rite of passage, yet often without an adequately containing ritual structure, indigenous wisdom tradition, or clinical knowledge to mediate that transformation.  

In this episode CIIS Professor Emeritus and cultural historian Richard Tarnas examines the larger historical and evolutionary context that brought forth the psychedelic awakening of the 1950s and 1960s. He explores the work of therapists and researchers Stanislav Grof and C.G. Jung, and discusses the larger impact that psychedelics have had and continue to have on our civilization in crisis. 

This episode was recorded during a live online event on February 5th 2026. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Dr. Janis Phelps founded the world's first academically approved psychedelic therapy training program, preparing clinicians for a transforming field of mental health.

The Wall Street Journal spotlights the growing field of integration therapy—and features Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research Director Dr. Janis Phelps discussing why the work that happens after a psychedelic experience is just as important as the experience itself.

As psychedelic use expands beyond clinical settings, CIIS' Dr. Janis Phelps and Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research graduates emphasize why rigorous training and ethical practices matter—wherever psychedelics are administered.

Explore CIIS’ groundbreaking Bachelor’s program and the bold vision behind its creation.

Multiple major news outlets covered CIIS’ new Bachelor of Science in Psychedelic Studies and the University’s tradition of excellence in consciousness research.

The Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research Certificate — the nation's first program of its kind — expands eligibility to nonclinical applicants.

CIIS to launch the first-ever undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Psychedelic Studies offering, planned to begin in fall 2025.

CIIS plans to expand its community health services with the launch of a new psychedelics clinic that will provide patients with ketamine-assisted treatments, the first of its kind to be associated with a university in the United States.

The New York Times travels to CIIS to learn more about the Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research and the science behind holotropic breathwork. 

Coverage of our work healing individuals, communities, and the earth

A Center for Psychedelic Therapies & Research faculty member and student explore the role chaplains are embracing as they provide patients with psychedelic-assisted treatments.

CIIS Professor Jason Butler discusses his new book on the potential, pitfalls, and guidelines for psychedelic medicine and care in treating mental illness.

With the rise of psychedelic therapies, NBC news explores who and how will people get trained; CIIS' Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research is at the forefront.

The New York Times showcases how psilocybin combined with therapy is emerging as the most effective "Next Big Addiction Treatment."

The U.S. may approve therapies using MDMA and psilocybin; CIIS is training the psychedelic researchers of the future.

The field of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has been growing rapidly in recent years with decriminalization efforts moving forward on local, state, and federal levels. Ketamine was first developed in the 1960s as a surgical anesthetic for humans. In recent years, it was discovered that ketamine also has rapid acting anti-depressant and anti-obsessional properties.

In this episode, clinician Gisele Fernandes-Osterhold has a conversation with psychologist Raquel Bennett about her experience working as a ketamine specialist over the past 19 years and the exploding field of therapeutic ketamine.

Learn more about Raquel's personal experience using Ketamine in an interview.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on March 4, 2021. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

MDMA is currently in phase three of clinical trial research studies for the treatment of trauma in the United States, Canada, and Israel.

In this episode, clinician and CIIS professor Gisele Fernandes-Osterhold has a conversation with Israel-based MAPS clinician-researcher Keren Tzarfaty on the benefits and therapeutic applications of MDMA assisted psychotherapy. Keren and Gisele go deep into the nature of the psychedelic experience, the principles that guide the therapeutic work, and the new paradigm this study offers to treatment of PTSD and to psychotherapy in general.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on April 6, 2021. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Psilocybin has been decriminalized in many cities in the United States and most recently has been approved for use in psychotherapy in the state of Oregon. In the latest studies, psilocybin has shown efficacy for patients suffering from depression, addiction, and end-of-life distress.

In this episode, clinician and CIIS professor Gisele Fernandes-Osterhold has an illuminating conversation with UCSF psychiatrist Brian Anderson on the benefits, risks, and therapeutic applications of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on May 6, 2021. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

With the second renaissance and re-emergence of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, the general public and therapists alike are confronted with new areas of exploration, but with few systematic frameworks available.

With questions surrounding legal access to care, ongoing criminalization, and medical restrictions to care limiting the therapies available, the immediate future of psychedelic-assisted therapy remains shrouded in uncertainty, even in the face of expanding interest. On the cusp of this new era—one of excitement but also uncertainty—one of many ways to explore this emerging landscape is through the lens of the psychospiritual and the therapeutic uses of psychedelics.

In this episode, clinical psychologist, founder of the Center for Existential Exploration, and author Kile Ortigo is joined by licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist, and social justice advocate Mary Sanders for a conversation on Dr. Ortigo's latest book, Beyond the Narrow Life, an exploration of the psychospiritual and therapeutic use of psychedelics, which includes the process of psychedelic integration.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on August 26th, 2021. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Rick Doblin, founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), has been a relentless advocate for developing legal contexts for the beneficial uses of psychedelics paired with psychotherapy for decades. He is also a teacher for the Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research.

In this episode, licensed psychotherapist Gisele Fernandes has a fascinating conversation with Rick about the future of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Diving into his vast knowledge of the science of psychedelics, Rick discusses how drugs such as LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA affect your brain. He shares how, when paired with psychotherapy, psychedelics could change the way we treat PTSD, depression, substance abuse, and more.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on October 23, 2020. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

CONTENT ADVISORY: This episode contains references to the existence of traumatic events such as assault, rape, and suicide.

President Brock Blomberg announces that CIIS will double-down on its efforts to make health and safety paramount in the field. 

Over the past 17 years, queer autistic author and educator Nick Walker has played a key role in the emergence of the neurodiversity paradigm—a framework for scholarship, practice, and social justice work where treating human neurocognitive variations such as autism, dyslexia, and ADHD as medical disorders is understood to be a form of systemic oppression along the same lines as the pathologizing of homosexuality in the 19th and 20th centuries.

In this episode, Dr. Walker is joined by writer Dan Glenn in an uplifting conversation exploring her newest book, Neuroqueer Heresies: Notes on the Neurodiversity Paradigm, Autistic Empowerment, and Postnormal Possibilities. They also discuss the edges and intersections of neurodiversity, gender, Queer Theory, embodiment, creativity, somatic psychology, and the human capacity for transformation.

This episode contains explicit language. It was recorded during a live online event on February 16th, 2022. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Psilocybin mushrooms have been used for hundreds, likely thousands of years. Currently, more than 65 universities in North America and Europe have been approved for clinical studies ranging from treating depression and Alzheimer’s to addiction. Psilocybin has clearly risen to the forefront of medical research.

In this episode, renowned mycologist and medical researcher Paul Stamets provides an illuminating talk covering the psilocybin movement through history into the current modern moment as well as an overview of the most clinically significant studies, the newest research on psilocybin analogues, micro-dosing, and the implications for creating a paradigm shift in the ecology of consciousness.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on December 3rd, 2021. Access the transcript below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

CIIS was awarded a $1.0 Million Grant for Psychedelic Therapy Training from Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation to support the Psychedelic Therapies program.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to more fully reveal injustices, inequities, and imbalances that contribute to climate change, ecological degradation, and economic instability that threaten our individual and collective well-being. This potent time invites us to consider questions like: How can we cultivate individual, collective, and ecological resilience in this unstable new reality? What lessons does the pandemic offer for addressing climate change and human health?

This episode features Natalie Metz, licensed Naturopathic Doctor, herbalist, faculty member and mentor in the Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research, and Elizabeth Allison, Professor of Ecology, Spirituality, and Religion, in a conversation exploring connections between human health and the health of the planet. They discuss the current global narratives in medicine and climate change, and how each narrative relates to human and planetary health. Natalie and Elizabeth explore the microcosm and macrocosm of embodied health and the emergence of a new consciousness that embraces collective well-being.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on June 18, 2020. You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Author and psychedelic explorer Chris Bache’s book, LSD and the Mind of the Universe chronicles his experiences and insights from 73 high-dose LSD sessions conducted between 1979 and 1999. This became the philosophical adventure of a lifetime, but one Chris had to keep largely hidden from his colleagues and society.

In this episode, licensed psychotherapist Gisele Fernandes talks with Chris about his 20-year journey into the depths and heights of consciousness.

This episode was recorded during an event on April 16, 2020 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

New scholarships will help students from underrepresented communities attend our innovative certificate program

The FDA approved large-scale studies using MDMA-assisted therapy and positive results found in psilocybin research.

Implementation of the largest collaborative program focusing on psychedelic studies

Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness alum Scott Hill, Ph.D. lectured at San Francisco Jung Institute on psychedelic experience

New Certificate from Our Center for Psychedelic Therapies & Research