Join us for a fascinating evening as we course the neural networks of psychedelic pharmacology, review the latest research in clinical trials, and explore the therapeutic potential of working with entheogens!

We are delighted to host this special evening for the 4th annual gathering of the Entheo-Health and Wellness Forum.

We look forward to hearing the following exciting presentations:


Relationships in Neural Plasticity and Psychedelic Pharmacology

by Andrew Kornfeld

The human brain is arguably one of the most mysterious, complex, and foundational structures in the known universe. Its physical and chemical states are somehow deeply connected with the multi-faceted spectrum of the human psyche. While modern neuroscience has established that the brain’s properties are susceptible to significant change over time, in just the last half decade, there is emerging evidence that one pharmacological class of compounds has a more profound and unique influence on these properties than possibly any other: psychedelics.

Andrew is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he earned degrees in both Neuroscience and Psychology. At UCSC, he founded the Brain, Mind and Consciousness (BMC) Society, whose mission is to explore human cognition, behavior and experience through student-led and -directed education. Under his leadership, the BMC has attracted thousands of students and remains a vital force on the Santa Cruz campus, hosting an annual conference and one hundred person undergraduate class. Andrew received the Award for Special Achievement from the Department of Psychology and the Dean’s Award in Undergraduate Education. Currently, Andrew is the founder and CEO of Practitioner Plus, LLC, a consulting company serving health professionals in the Bay Area. Andrew plans to attend a medical or doctoral program, “one of these days, when [he] stops having such a good time with his life.”

Publications:

Kornfeld, A., & Fadiman, J. (2013). Psychedelic Induced Experiences. In Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Transpersonal Psychology.

Kornfeld, A. (2013). Maladaptive and Adaptive Neuroplasticity in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as Respective outcomes of Traumatic Experience(s) and 3,4-Methylenedioxy-N-Methylamphetamine (MDMA) – Assisted Psychotherapy. UC Santa Cruz Undergraduate Thesis.

Kornfeld, A., Kornfeld, H., & Eberhardt, C. (2014). New and Emerging Drugs of Abuse. Marin Medicine.

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Healing People, Healing Policies: Political Implications of Psychedelic Research

by Natalie Ginsberg

Natalie earned her Master’s in Social Work from Columbia University in 2014, and her Bachelor's in History from Yale University in 2011. At Columbia, Natalie served as a Policy Fellow at the Drug Policy Alliance, where she helped legalize medical marijuana in her home state of New York, and worked to end New York’s racist marijuana arrests. Natalie has also worked as a court-mandated therapist for individuals arrested for prostitution and drug-related offenses, and as a middle school guidance counselor in the Bronx. Natalie’s clinical work with trauma survivors inspired her interest in psychedelic-assisted therapy, which she believes can ease a wide variety of both mental and physical ailments by addressing the root cause of individuals’ difficulties, rather than their symptoms. Through her work at MAPS, Natalie advocates for unbiased research to help undermine both the war on drugs and the current mental health paradigm.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/natalie-ginsberg/what-psychedelics-research-mental-health_b_4988635.html


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The Ghost in the Machine? Examining Change Mechanisms in Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy

by Andrew Penn

Recent clinical studies into the use of psychedelics for the treatment of conditions such as PTSD, depression, substance dependencies, and anxiety at the end of life are beginning to confirm something that native cultures have known for - that these powerful compounds have the potential to heal. Traditionally, the psychedelic healing process has historically been described as a kind of hero's journey, and it is through this process that these changes take place. Contemporary neuroscience seeks to understand mechanisms of action of drugs and the changes that take place in the brain.

This brief session will pose the question: "Is the 'trip' essential to arrive at the destination of healing? Does one have to experience the change of consciousness created by a psychedelic to experience the clinical benefit? What if the improvement conferred by psychedelics could be created without the profound changes of consciousness? What implications would this have?"

I have worked in mental health for over 20 years and trained at UC San Francisco. I am a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner with Kaiser Permanente in Redwood City and work in outpatient psychiatry. I am an assistant clinical professor at UCSF, School of Nursing. I am also on the steering committee for the US Psychiatry and Mental Health Congress, a large continuing medical education conference, where I have presented on the risks and benefits of cannabis and on psychedelic assisted psychotherapy. I have been going to Burning Man since 1998, and for the last 2 years, have been honored to work with the Zendo Project on psychedelic harm reduction.


Here's a recent blog series on psychedelics: http://www.psychcongress.com/blog/92082

My Kaiser page: https://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/ncal/provider/andrewpenn

and a piece I wrote for the MAPS journal a few years ago: https://www.maps.org/news-letters/v23n1/v23n1_p4-5.pdf



More information coming soon...