Psychedelics as Radical Healing for Racism, Intergenerational and COVID-Related Trauma

Featuring NiCole Buchanan, Ph.D in conversation with Bia Labate, Ph.D

At this moment in time, the United States is engulfed in protests and citizen uprisings against police brutalization of Black and Brown people and long-standing historical racial injustices. COVID-19’s attack on Black and brown communities means that there will also be disproportionate pain, suffering, and trauma among those left in its wake.  There is no better time for the therapeutic effects of psychedelics for healing the trauma and suffering that so many are experiencing, particularly in Black and Brown communities. We need to be ready to address these needs by increasing the number of those trained to offer psychedelic-assisted therapy, ensuring people of color are a focus of our research, and increasing information on the healing effects of these medicines in our communities of color.

Toward these goals, this interactive discussion will examine the presence and influence of People of Color in the Psychedelic Revolution and what can be done to  overcome barriers to access to psychedelics in Black and Brown communities and the uniquely healing effects of psychedelics for addressing racism-, intergenerational-, and COVID-related trauma.

NiCole T. Buchanan, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University and Clinical Director and Founder of Alliance Psychological Associates, PLLC in East Lansing, MI. She is a member of Chacruna’s Racial Equity and Access Committee and a trainee in the MAPS MDMA-assisted psychotherapy training for communities of color and anticipates offering MDMA-assisted psychotherapy when clinical trials are completed. Dr. Buchanan is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, four separate divisions of the American Psychological Association, and has received numerous national and international awards for her research, teaching, clinical work, and professional service. She is an accomplished speaker, writer, and scholar with more than 70 journal articles, book chapters, and research reports, and her work has been highlighted in hundreds of media outlets, including CBS News, the Huffington Post, and Essence Magazine, and she has been a featured speaker for several programs, including TEDx and National Public Radio (NPR).

Dr. Beatriz Caiuby Labate (Bia Labate) is a queer Brazilian anthropologist. She has a Ph.D. in social anthropology from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil. Her main areas of interest are the study of plant medicines, drug policy, shamanism, ritual, and religion. She is Executive Director of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines (https://chacruna.net). She is also Public Education and Culture Specialist at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), and Adjunct Faculty at the East-West Psychology Program at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). She is author, co-author, and co-editor of twenty-one books, two special-edition journals, and several peer-reviewed articles (http://bialabate.net).

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