Queering Psychedelics

Alex Belser is a psychologist and psychedelic researcher in clinical trials at NYU and Yale University. He is also the co-co-founder of the psychedelic research group at NYU. He studied at Georgetown University, the University of Cambridge, Columbia University, NYU, and Yale University. He is the Chief Clinical Officer of Cybin, and served as Chief Clinical Officer at Adelia Therapeutics. Additionally, he is a member of Chacruna Institute’s Women, Gender Diversity, and Sexual Minorities Working Group. He has investigated psilocybin and MDMA to treat depression, anxiety, substance use, OCD, PTSD, and end-of-life distress. He is co-author of EMBARK, a psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy model, and was a contributor to Psychedelic Justice: Toward a Diverse and Equitable Psychedelic Culture, (Synergetic Press, 2021). Clancy Cavnar is a clinical psychologist, artist, and researcher based in San Francisco. She has a doctorate in clinical psychology from John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, CA and is Co-Founder and a member  of the Board of Directors of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines. Additionally, she is a research associate of the Interdisciplinary Group for Psychoactive Studies (NEIP). She has a master of fine arts in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute, a master’s in counseling from San Francisco State University, and a certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). She is author and co-author of articles in several peer-reviewed journals and co-editor, with Beatriz C. Labate, of ten books, including Psychedelic Justice: Toward a Diverse and Equitable Psychedelic Culture (Synergetic Press, 2021). Beatriz C. Labate is a queer Brazilian anthropologist based in San Francisco. She has a Ph.D. in social anthropology from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil. Her research focuses on the study of plant medicines, drug policy, shamanism, ritual, religion, and social justice. She is the Executive Director of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines. Additionally, she serves as the 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-four books including Psychedelic Justice: Toward a Diverse and Equitable Psychedelic Culture  (Synergetic Press, 2021), two special-edition journals, and several peer-reviewed articles.

• TABLE OF CONTENTSQueering Psychedelics: An Introduction xiSection 1: From Oppression to Liberation: Organizing for Change-       A Queer Vision for Psychedelic Research: Past Reckonings,Current Reforms, and Future Transformations 3o   Alex Belser, PhD, and Ava Keating-       Where Is the Love? Queerness and the State of Psychedelic Research 13o   Amy Bartlett, LLB, LLM, Challian Christ, Stéphanie Manoni-Millar, Terence H. W. Ching, PhD-       A Queer Response to Psychedelic Privilege 21o   Ariel Vegosen-       A Consensual Discourse Dialogue 29o   Courtney Watson and Emma Knighton-       Community Care: The Heart of Queer Psychedelic Liberation 35o   Diana Quinn, NDSection 2: Psychedelic Conversion Therapy-       LSD and Mescaline Psychedelic Conversion Therapies inPostwar North America 45o   Andrea Ens -       Psyched Straight: The Early Life of LSD as a ConversionTherapy Drug 53o   Tal Davidson-       High Dose Psychedelic Shock Therapy with LSD and Mescaline: The Conversion Treatment of a French Doctor on Two Homosexual Adolescents in the 1960s 59o   Zoë Dubus Section 3: Queering the Clinic: Psychedelic Treatment -       Queer Rejection, Isolation, and the Promise of Psychedelics 67o   Matthew D. Skinta, PhD, ABPP-       Unicorns and Stardust: A Case Report of Queering MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy 75o   Chris Stauffer, MD, and Andrea Rosati, MD, PhD -       Everything but the Kitchen Sink: Prescribing Psychedelics asHarm Reduction to Help Gay Men Quit Crystal Meth 81o   John Haupert, NP -       The Quest for Queer Liberation: Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapyand Shame 89o   Shanna Butler, PhD, and Laura Mae Northrup  -       Widening the Lens: Set and Setting in Queer Psychedelia  97o   Jeanna Eichenbaum  -       Best Practices for Assessing Sexual Orientation and Gender Identityin Psychedelic Clinical Trials: A Proposed Assessment 103o   Scott McKernan, MA, and Alex Belser, PhD  Section 4: Transgender and Gender-Diverse Psychedelic Experience -       Transcending Dysphoria: Exploring the Novel Counter-Dysphoricand Lifesaving Effects of Psychedelics in the TransgenderCommunity  111o   Sam Claude Carmel -       Gender Rituals and Gendered Ritual: Reflections of aTransgender Activist in the Psychedelic Community 121o   Taylor Dahlia Bolinger -       A Patient’s Perspective on the Healing Potential of Psilocybin 129o   PatientNB-       Integrate with Me: A Story of Queer and Trans Liberationthrough Entheogenic Therapy 133o   Tristan Angieri Section 5: Race, Intersectionality, and Psychedelics as Liberatory Tools for LGBTQIA+ folks-       火 + 木:  An Intersectional Experience of MDMA-AssistedPsychotherapy 143o   Terence H. W. Ching, PhD-       Queer Identity, African Diasporic Spirituality, andIntersectional Healing through Psychedelic Medicine 149o   Kaston D. Anderson-Carpenter, PhD-       A New Standard: The Urban Heroic Dose of 10g 155o   Behike Sensei Kevon SimpsonSection 6: Psychedelics and LGBTQIA+ Self-Acceptance-       Out of All the Boxes: How Psychedelic Experiences Empower andAffirm Queer Worldviews 169o   Kate Kincaid-       Can Psychedelics Queer You Up? How They Helped MeEmbrace Fluidity 177o   Valentin Somma, PhD -       How Psychedelics Can Guide the Transformative Journeyof Polyamory 185o   Justin Natoli, JD, LMFTSection 7: Ayahuasca, Santo Daime, and Queer Psychedelic Spirituality -       A Two-Spirit Approach to Psychedelics: Honoring IndigenousIdentities and Decolonizing Gender and Sexuality 195o   Marca Cassity and Katherine A. Costello, PhD -       Reflections on Spirituality, Gender, and Power in my Experiencewith Santo Daime  205o   Clancy Cavnar, PsyD -       Ayahuasca and Gender in Brazil: An Interview With SociologistDr. Pietro Benedito—Are Homophobia and Transphobia Sacred? 213o   Beatriz C. Labate -       Sacred-Species-Social Reproduction 221o   Zach Levine  Section 8: Sexuality, Psychedelics, and Queer Pleasure  -       Reclaiming Ecstasy: A Radical Queer Perspective on the Powerof Pleasure in Psychedelic Healing 231o   Dee Dee Goldpaugh  -       Queering Psychedelic Erotics: Deconstructing Sex andEmbodiment with LSD 239o   Alex Dymock, PhD  -       Dungeons of Perception: How the Psychedelic and Kink CommunityCan Learn from Each Other to the Benefit of the Queer Community 245o   Denise Renye, PsyD   Section 9: Expansive Queer Psychedelic Phenomenology  -       Mushrooms, Magick, and Wilderness: Radical Queer Group Psilocybin Rituals 255o   joie wolfw-m-n   -       Connecting to Queer-Inclusive Mythologies for PsychedelicIntegration 263o   Kile M. Ortigo, PhD, and Daan Keiman-       The Psychonaut, the Rapist, and the Rainbow 273o   Ayesha Hussain   Contributor Biographies 279Editor Biographies 289References 291Index 311