Sep
18
9:50am
Psychedelic Connectedness: The Good, the Bad, and the Reality with Dr Rosalind Watts and Adam Aronovich
By PsyAware
In 2017, Adam Aronovich, famous as host and content creator of Healing from Healing, and Dr Rosalind Watts, founder of ACER Integration, were both studying how psychedelics could increase connectedness. Adam at the Temple of Light in Peru, and Ros at Imperial College London. They started a conversation full of optimism and idealism about how psychedelics could change the world.
Over 7 years later, they will be re-opening their conversation to cringe at their naivety, share what they have learnt about psychedelics and connectedness in the intervening years full of rude awakenings, the shadow side of psychedelic connectedness, the importance of grounded community, the mistakes they have personally made, the lessons learned, the importance of being able to laugh at themselves, and why they still do actually think that psychedelics are amazing if we can just not be idiots about how we use them.
Join us on 17 September, 7-8 pm UK time, for a conversation: "Psychedelic Connectedness: The Good, the Bad, and the Reality" — an honest and insightful exploration of the promises, pitfalls, and profound lessons learned on the journey of psychedelic connection.
The discussion will be moderated by the Founder and Director of PsyAware, Anya Oleksiuk.
SPEAKERS
Adam Aronovich is a doctoral candidate in Anthropology and Communications and an active member of the Medical Anthropology Research Center (MARC-URV). A long-term student and researcher of various magico-medical systems around the world, he has facilitated workshops and retreats in the Amazon rainforest and the Mexican coast for almost a decade.
Adam is the co-founder of Hidden Hand Media, a creative agency at the intersection of psychedelia, technology, and society, and the creator of Healing from Healing, a social media platform that casts a critical, skeptical, and humorous gaze at Healing and Transformation Culture.
Adam is also a founder, host, content creator and curator at famous Healing from Healing.
Dr Rosalind Watts is a clinical psychologist and an influential voice in the psychedelic field. Her research focuses on how psychedelic therapy can increase ‘Connectedness to Self, Others and World’. Her 2017 Ted talk about psychedelic therapy had more than a million views but she has critiqued her earlier ideas, realising that these ways of working cannot be safe or effective until we create community infrastructure of care around them.
In order to start building a web of connectedness for people after psychedelic sessions, she co-founded a global online integration community, ACER (‘Accept, Connect, Embody, Restore’) which takes a collective approach to personal growth, and encourages re-alignment to the wisdom of nature.
After years of focusing on the importance of Psychedelic Integration, Dr Watts is now also developing infrastructure for ‘Psychedelic Outegration’, and exploring this within the ACER community. Some members become Elders who are supported to share some of the ACER practices free of charge in their local ecosystem. You can find out more about ACER and how to join the community at acerintegration.com .
For free open access to therapy and research tools, such as the ACE manual, ‘pearl dive’ audio for psychedelic preparation, and the WCS psychometric tool for measuring Connectedness, please visit drrosalindwatts.com
Anya Oleksiuk is a documentary filmmaker, event organiser, and educator. She is a co-founder and co-director of PsyAware, a not-for-profit organisation providing essential education and support systems in the psychedelic space.
From 2018 to 2024, she co-directed the Psychedelic Society UK, leading education and harm reduction initiatives. She managed strategic planning, administration, and finances, and as a safeguarding officer, she played a crucial role in handling reports and establishing safe practice guidelines.
She is a consultant for the Polish Psychedelic Society and an official advisor to the Global Psychedelic Society. She is also a director and producer of the Psychedelic Chronicles documentary.
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