Finnish Association for Psychedelic Research

At least in the popular culture of the 1950s and 1960s, LSD was almost synonymous with “psychedelic drugs”. In the current second major wave of psychedelic research, psilocybin has received much more attention than LSD. Two relevant reasons for this are the shorter effects of psilocybin and the negative stigma attached to LSD. But as psychedelic research has become more mainstream, increasing attention has also gradually been given to the study of LSD.

One of the things LSD has recently been researched for is as an aid for the treatment of depression, about which the Finnish Association for Psychedelic Research will organize a webinar lecture on Tuesday April 7th, 2025, at 6PM UTC+3. In the webinar, psychopharmacology PhD student Anna Becker from the University of Basel, Switzerland, will present her research on the topic. Her work covers both research on the physiological processes related to psychedelics and the psychotherapeutic applications of psychedelics. 

In addition to her depression research, Becker will also present her research investigating how SSRI medication, often used for the treatment of depression, and ketanserin, a potent 5-HT2a serotonin receptor antagonist, affect the subjective effects of psychedelics like psilocybin and LSD.

We offer this webinar as a pay what you can event: you can participate without paying, but by paying, you can help us produce more events like this and ensure that we can keep offering them to people regardless of their financial circumstances.

0 € – register here
5 € – buy ticket here
10 € – buy ticket here
20 € – buy ticket here

The event contains a Q&A section and the total length is 2 hours. Please note that while the event will be recorded, this time the recording will only be available to our full members. More about membership types here. 

You can also support us by paying our membership fee for 2025. You’ll find our membership products on the main page of our web store. We also accept donations. 

About the speaker:

Anna Becker studied Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Basel. Since 2020 she has been a PhD candidate in the psychopharmacology research group of Prof. Matthias Liechti at the University Hospital Basel where she investigates the role of 5-HT2A receptor down-regulation and antagonism in the acute effects of psilocybin and LSD. In this function, she has accompanied over 200 psychedelic experiences. She is interested in the basic physiological processes of psychedelics as well as their psychotherapeutic applications. She started psychotherapy training in 2021 and has been working clinically since. Hence, she was able to conduct LSD assisted therapy sessions within the “LSD against depression” phase II study in Basel.

Can ayahuasca be helpful for dealing with grief? This question will be explored in a webinar lecture organized by the Finnish Association for Psychedelic Research (Psykedeelitutkimusyhdistys) on Tue March 18, 2025, at 6PM UTC+2. Drawing from a clinical study with 82 participants, psychologist Débora González will share the principal outcomes of the study. We will explore key insights about how ayahuasca, within a meaning-reconstruction therapy framework, can help find acceptance of death, promote continuing bonds with the deceased, and foster post-traumatic growth.

Dr. González will highlight the mechanisms of sense-making and meaning-making as key therapeutic agents of change in psychedelic therapy. She will also delve into the role of community and nature, offering some reflection on how these elements are relevant in consolidating change in the process of grief within Western culture. 

The event contains a Q&A section and the total length is 2 hours. The event is free of charge – you can register here. You can support us in organizing such free events by paying our membership fee for 2025. You’ll find our membership products on the main page of our web store. We also accept donations. 

About the speaker:

Débora González is a psychologist and holds a PhD in pharmacology. She currently combines her role as a researcher at the Sant Joan de Déu Foundation (Barcelona) with her position as a professor at Isabel I University (Spain) and as a clinician at Clínica Synaptica (Barcelona). In recent years, she has been dedicated to researching the therapeutic potential of ayahuasca in the grieving process following the loss of a loved one.

We are excited to announce the launch of Acta Psychedelica, a fully open-access, peer-reviewed, and non-profit journal dedicated to interdisciplinary psychedelic research. Run by researchers in the field, the journal aims to foster rigorous and open scientific discourse on psychedelics. The journal is published by the Finnish Association for Psychedelic Research (Psykedeelitutkimusyhdistys ry).

We now invite submissions for our first issues:

1. Special Issue: “What is (a) psychedelic?”

   This special issue explores fundamental questions about the definition and scope of psychedelics. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• What qualifies as a psychedelic substance, activity, or experience?
• How should the term “psychedelic” be conceptualized?
• In what ways do psychedelic experiences compare to other transformative states, such as meditation, near-death experiences, or spontaneous awakenings?
2. General Call for Papers

   We also welcome submissions on any topic related to psychedelic substances and experiences, spanning all fields of research.

Acta Psychedelica is an interdisciplinary journal and accepts submissions from psychology, psychiatry, philosophy, pharmacology, neuroscience, anthropology, sociology, religious studies, theology, and related disciplines. The journal is published on the journal.fi platform used by the majority of Finnish scientific journals, and there are no publication fees.

Manuscripts should be submitted via our online system: https://actapsychedelica.journal.fi/about/submissions

Submission deadline for the special issue “What is (a) psychedelic?” is August 31, 2025. Other submissions are considered continuously, and all accepted submissions are published online ahead of inclusion in issues.

For further inquiries, please contact the inaugural editors-in-chief Jussi Jylkkä (jussi.jylkka@abo.fi) or Aila Mustamo (aila.mustamo@utu.fi).

Attachment theory investigates the role of early relationships in shaping an individual’s later emotional bonds and behaviour. What are its implications for the effects of psychedelics? In a webinar lecture organized by the Finnish Association for Psychedelic Research on Thursday Feb 27th, 6–8PM UTC+2, interdisciplinary researcher Esenia Cassidy will present a talk that delves into the exciting intersections between psychedelics and attachment theory, exploring both the foundational aspects and the novel implications of their convergence.

We will begin by unpacking the fundamental concepts of attachment theory and its key terminology, laying the grounds for a deeper dive into the talk’s topic. From there, we will pivot into attachment-and-psychedelic research up to date, its promise and implications. Next, we’ll focus on a few ongoing innovative theoretical and empirical research projects pertinent to the topic at hand. We will conclude with clinical and real-life applications, followed by an extensive discussion.

This session is designed for both seasoned researchers and newcomers to the field, providing a comprehensive overview of where psychedelic-and-attachment research stands today and where it might head in the future.

The total length of the event is 2 hours. The event is free of charge – you can register here. You can support us in organizing such free events by paying our membership fee for 2025. You’ll find our membership products on the main page of our web store. We also accept donations. 

About the speaker:

Esenia Cassidy is an interdisciplinary psychedelic researcher with focus on attachment, gender, trauma, and harm reduction. Esenia is a co-founder of The Psychedelic Humanities Lab at The New School for Social Research and a project lead at the SexTech Lab (NSSR) and the Granqvist Attachment & Psychedelics Lab (Stockholm University). Currently, Esenia is pursuing a doctoral degree in Social Work at the Ohio State University’s College of Social Work. Esenia is an active member of the Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education at CSW/OSU and works on the projects that involve gender identity and its relation to psychedelic use, passions for substance use, and challenging psychedelic experiences, among other topics.

Stemming from a background in social justice, education, and media, Esenia’s interdisciplinary approach is rooted in commitment to addressing complex societal issues through diverse innovative research and clinical practice. Esenia earned a Master’s degree in Psychology with a Concentration in Substance Abuse Counseling from The New School for Social Research.

Esenia’s scholarly contributions include Psychedelics, Attachment and Enculturation Dynamics: Premise and Promise (in review), Childhood Trauma, Challenging Experiences, and Posttraumatic Growth in Ayahuasca Use (Cassidy et al., 2023), Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration: A Transtheoretical Model for Clinical Practice (Gorman et al., 2021).

To practice psychedelic therapy safely and effectively, practitioners need a broad range of competences. Many of these overlap with what is needed from regular psychotherapy practices, but there are also psychedelic-specific areas. Psychologist and psychotherapist Max Wolff, who leads MIND Foundation’s Augmented Psychotherapy Training (APT) program, will present on the topic on Monday Dec 9th 2024 at 6PM (UTC+2) in a free webinar lecture organized by the Finnish Association for Psychedelic Research. 

The presentation introduces 12 essential competencies of psychedelic therapists that form the basis of the MIND Foundation’s Augmented Psychotherapy Training (APT). 

The basic competences include:

1. the application of psychotherapeutic concepts, methods and attitudes, 
2. understanding the scientific and medical foundations as well as 
3. the cultural and medical history of psychedelic therapy, 
4. complying with legal requirements and addressing ethical challenges as well as 
5. existential aspects of psychedelic therapy, and not least 
6. a learning-oriented attitude toward psychedelic self-experience. 

Practical competences include:

7. professional communication and cooperation in multi-professional teams and 
8. the prevention and treatment of harmful effects of psychedelics
9. screening and treatment planning, 
10. psychotherapeutic preparation for psychedelic experiences, 
11. inducing and accompanying psychedelic experiences in appropriate settings, and 
12. supporting patients in the integration process and transition to the post-treatment phase. 

The importance of these competences will be illustrated with case examples from treatment practice.

The event contains a Q&A section and the total length is 2 hours. The event is free of charge – you can register here. You can support us in organizing such free events by paying our membership fee for 2024. You’ll find our membership products on the main page of our web store. We also accept donations. 

About the speaker:

Dr. rer. nat. Max Wolff is a psychologist and psychotherapist. As Director of Research and Training and a board member of the MIND Foundation, he directs its Augmented Psychotherapy Training (APT) program. As a psychotherapist at the OVID Clinic, the MIND Foundation’s clinical partner, he uses an integrative approach with cognitive-behavioral, acceptance-based and emotion-focused elements. As a therapist and researcher, he is involved in clinical studies such as the EPIsoDE study testing the safety and efficacy of psilocybin in treatment-resistant depression at the Central Institute of Mental Health (CIMH) Mannheim and Charité Berlin. His research focuses on the psychological mechanisms and contextual conditions of psychological changes associated with psychedelic experiences, and aims to make knowledge established by psychotherapy research applicable to the practice of psychedelic therapy.

One of the key challenges related to researching psychedelics is the high cost involved. One way to get around this challenge is by citizen science which involves the active participation of the public in the scientific process. Psychedelic science stands to benefit significantly from this approach due to the widespread use of these substances. Millions of individuals use psychedelics recreationally, and capturing scientifically meaningful data from even a fraction of these experiences could greatly enhance our understanding of these drugs.

On Monday Nov 18th, 6PM UTC+2, psychedelic citizen science pioneer Balázs Szigeti will present his work in a webinar organized by the Finnish Association for Psychedelic Research. In his own words:

“In the first part of the talk, we will discuss the ‘self-blinding microdose trial’ as an example of a complex psychedelic citizen science project. This project used a novel ‘self-blinding’ paradigm, where voluntary citizen scientists implemented their own placebo control without clinical supervision. This trial, costing approximately 0.1% of a traditional clinical trial, recruited 191 participants, making it one of the largest placebo-controlled studies ever conducted on psychedelics. The combination of low costs and large sample size underscore the potential of psychedelic citizen science.

In the second half of this talk, I will focus on PsyDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization designed to support psychedelic citizen science. PsyDAO is part of the broader decentralized science movement, which seeks to leverage blockchain technology to modernize the scientific enterprise, which includes incentivizing psychedelic citizen scientists to capture and share data from their psychedelic experiences.”

The event contains a Q&A section and the total length is 2 hours. The event is free of charge – you can register here. You can support us in organizing such free events by paying your membership fee for this year or, if you’re not already a member, becoming one. You’ll find our membership products on the main page of our web store. We also accept donations. 

About the speaker:

Balázs studied physics at Imperial College and then earned a PhD in data science from the University of Edinburgh. After graduating, he worked as a biomedical software engineer before starting to research psychedelics. Balázs invented ‘self-blinding’, a novel method to enable self-experimenters to implement their own placebo control, and using this methodology he led the largest placebo-controlled study on psychedelic microdosing to-date. Later, Balázs joined Imperial College’s Center for Psychedelic Research as a postdoctoral research associate. Currently, he works at UCSF’s Translational Psychedelic Research Program as a clinical data scientist while he continues his research into expectancy and placebo effects in psychedelic medicine.

Is it possible to have a psychedelic experience from a placebo? The past decade has seen a surge of interest in psychedelics across the world, but there are growing concerns about study methodology. One of those concerns relates to blinding: because participants generally know whether they have taken a psychedelic drug, maintaining experimental blinding is challenging. However, people in placebo groups occasionally also report significant consciousness-altering experiences. This deserves more research. Furthering our understanding of placebo effects might prove useful for both research and clinical applications of psychedelics.

Some of the most intriguing research mapping the relationship between psychedelics and placebo has been conducted by Jay Olson, a postdoc researcher in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto. On Monday, October 7th at 6PM UTC+3, he will present his work in a webinar organized by the Finnish Association for Psychedelic Research. In his talk, he will argue that some of the benefits of psychedelics may be due to placebo-related factors such as positive expectations rather than the drug itself. 

His research paper Tripping on Nothing: The hidden role of placebo effects in psychedelic drugs describes an elaborate deception that Olson and his colleagues utilized to convince participants that the placebo they consumed was actually a psychedelic drug, which led to the largest placebo effects on consciousness documented in the literature. Research participants described visual alterations, waves of intoxication and strong physiological effects. The results align with clinical trials that find striking improvements in both psychedelic and placebo groups.

Please note that, respecting the wish of our lecturer, this lecture will not be recorded, so if you want to hear it, be sure to attend! 

The event contains a Q&A section and the total length is 2 hours. The event is free of charge – you can register here. Also, if you want to support our work on high-quality scientific discussions on all things psychedelic, you can pay your membership fee for this year or, if you’re not already a member, become one. You’ll find our membership products on the main page of our web store.

About the speaker:

Dr. Jay Olson is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto. He studies a range of topics across psychology and medicine including placebo effects, smartphone addiction, sleep, creativity, and psychedelic drugs. He did his previous graduate and postdoctoral training at McGill University and Harvard University.

Based on discussions of psychedelics in scientific journals and the media, you might get an impression that they are pretty much safe and almost risk-free, at least in clinical settings and for carefully screened participants. There are, however, estimates that perhaps 10 % of people who’ve taken psychedelics have experienced difficulties that last longer than the acute effects, and such difficulties also occur in research settings. 

An ever-increasing abundance of scientific work is investigating the beneficial potential of psychedelics, but the new wave of psychedelic research in the 2000s hasn’t thus far paid too much attention towards understanding the darker and risky, even dangerous aspects of these substances. Several study participants have expressed a need for longer-term support structures, and many groups aiming to support in the integration of difficult processes have sprung up. Additional research is necessary both to get a clearer picture of the diverse range of effects that psychedelics induce, and to better help and support people who experience challenges related to psychedelics.

Jules Evans is one of the key figures in expanding both the research field and general public discussions towards these neglected sides of psychedelics. He is a philosopher, historian and director of the Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project. On Monday April 29th, at 6:00PM (UTC+3), Jules will give a talk on the project in a free webinar organized by the Finnish Association for Psychedelic Research. His talk will cover extended difficulties after psychedelic experiences, focusing particularly on the most common types of such difficulties, such as increased anxiety, social disconnection, derealisation and existential confusion. We will also explore what the data suggests people find helpful in dealing with these difficulties. In the Q&A section, we can also discuss the project’s work related to ethical harms and abuses in the psychedelic space via its newsletter, Ecstatic Integration (which we most warmly recommend). 

The event contains a Q&A section and the total length is 2 hours. Because of how important and overlooked this topic is, we decided to make the event free of charge – you can register here. If you want to support us in organizing our work on high-quality scientific discussions on all things psychedelic, you can pay your membership fee for this year or, if you’re not already a member, become one. You’ll find our membership products on the main page of our web store.

About the speaker:

Jules Evans is the director of the Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project, a non-profit which researches post-psychedelic difficulties and what helps people cope with them. He is also the editor of Ecstatic Integration, a popular substack exploring psychedelic and ecstatic integration. He is an honorary research fellow at the Centre for the History of the Emotions at Queen Mary, University of London. He’s the author / co-author of four books, including Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations (2012), The Art of Losing Control (2017) and Breaking Through: Finding a Way Through Spiritual Emergency (2020). He has written and presented for publications including The Times, Economist, Spectator, Financial Times, BBC Radio 4, Audible and Aeon, and he was a BBC New Generation Thinker.

Psychedelics are gaining increased attention in both clinical research and popular culture as they represent novel treatments for a host of difficult-to-treat mental health conditions (e.g., PTSD, depression). Much of this interest has been driven by a number of groundbreaking clinical trials that have demonstrated the possible therapeutic efficacy of these substances in carefully controlled treatment settings. However, these trials have two key limitations. First, they have limited ecological validity (i.e., these findings might not generalize to real-world settings). Second, they feature a severe dearth of participants of color.

Psychology researcher Grant Jones is presenting in a webinar by the Finnish Association for Psychedelic Research on April 10th, 6PM UTC+3. The talk addresses his research that aims to address the limitations of existing research, providing an overview of his research findings in the field of naturalistic (i.e., non-clinical, real world) psychedelic use and health in communities of color. Additionally, this talk addresses the key next steps inspired by this existing research.

Deviating from our typical webinars, the length of the event is one hour, and the lecture segment will be shorter than normal. Following Jones’s introduction, our host, psychology professor Markus Jokela, will present his initial reflections on the presented research, which will then be followed by an audience discussion segment.

Tickets are available from our web store. The event is free for charge for members who’ve paid their membership fee for 2024. If you want to pay your membership fee for this year or become a member, you’ll find our membership products on the main page of our web store. If you’ve already paid your membership fee, you’ll find your free registration link in the email about this event or the web store receipt.

About the speaker:

Grant Jones is a contemplative, musician, and a researcher writing his PhD thesis in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Harvard University. His research is focused on better understanding how altered states of consciousness play a role in the flourishing of underserved communities. Currently, his research focuses on three core areas – meditation, music, and substance use – and investigating the relationships that these domains share with the well-being of individuals with diverse identities. His substance use research has particularly focused on psychedelic substances like psilocybin (the active compound in “magic mushrooms”) and understanding whether naturalistic (i.e., non-clinical) use of these substances is associated with lowered odds of adverse mental health and behavioral outcomes.

His research uses a number of approaches to study altered states, including epidemiological survey studies and intervention trials. His research has been funded by grants from the Harvard Culture Lab Innovation Fund, the Source Research Foundation, the Harvard Psychology Department, the Mind & Life Institute, and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Additionally, his research has been recognized through awards from the Ford Foundation, the Society for Research in Psychopathology, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Addictive Behaviors Special Interest Group (SIG).

About the host:

Markus Jokela is a professor of mental health research at the University of Helsinki. His educational background is in psychology, sociology, and public health. In his research, Jokela has explored how individual psychological differences are associated with social behaviors that influence population dynamics, e.g., health inequalities, selective residential mobility, and family formation. This research is based on longitudinal studies collected in many different countries. Jokela wants to promote a broader understanding of mental health that considers not only the diagnostic approach but also wider themes of humanity, such as humanistic, existential, and spiritual perspectives. In 2024, he also serves as a board member of the Finnish Association for Psychedelic Research.

The Finnish Association for Psychedelic Research is once again organizing a competition for the best psychedelic-themed thesis. The competition is held biennially, this year marking its fourth occurrence. This round includes works completed in 2022 and 2023.

If you’ve written an academic thesis (bachelor’s thesis, master’s thesis, licentiate thesis, diploma thesis, or a comparable university of applied sciences thesis) that was approved in a Finnish higher education institution (or if you’re a Finn and did your thesis abroad) in 2022 or 2023, and deals with psychedelics, you can participate in the competition by sending your work to psyty@psyty.fi by February 28, 2024. The competition is open to works from all disciplines.

A multidisciplinary jury, consisting of members of the association’s board, will evaluate the theses and select the winner by the association’s spring meeting in 2024. The winning thesis will be presented on Psyty’s website and social media channels, and the author will be awarded a 200 euro scholarship.

A freely distributable link to the competition and information about our previous thesis competitions can be found here (in Finnish, but you can use automatic translation tools).