Exploring Psychedelic Benefits for Chronic Illness with Christina P. Kantzavelos, LCSW, MSW, MLIS
Psychedelic Medicine Podcast with Dr. Lynn Marie Morski
Release Date: 04/16/2025
Psychedelics and Neurodiversity with Dr. WaiFung Tsang, DClinPsy
Psychedelic Medicine Podcast with Dr. Lynn Marie Morski
In this episode, Dr. WaiFung Tsang, DClinPsy joins to discuss the intersection of psychedelics and neurodiversity. Dr. Tsang is a clinical research psychologist from Hong Kong, musician, and student of Shipibo curanderismo. He is the co-founder of Onaya, an organisation dedicated to bridging Indigenous tradition and Western science, and research advisor for psychedelic veteran charity Heroic Hearts Project. In this conversation, Dr. Tsang explores the emerging intersection of psychedelics and neurodiversity, reframing neurodivergence as a context-dependent spectrum shaped by biology, culture,...
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Spravato: The Accessible Psychedelic Medicine with Amy Della Rocca, PMHNP
Psychedelic Medicine Podcast with Dr. Lynn Marie Morski
In this episode Amy Della Rocca, PMHNP joins to discuss Spravato, the FDA-approved prescription esketamine nasal spray, and its place in the field of psychedelic medicine. Amy is a psychiatric nurse practitioner and the Clinical Director of Marpa, a Spravato treatment center in New York. In this conversation, Amy offers a grounded and practical look at Spravato as one of the most accessible forms of psychedelic medicine currently available, especially for patients with treatment-resistant depression who may be priced out of intravenous or intramuscular ketamine treatments. She explains how...
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Low-Dose Ketamine for Chronic Pain: A Biopsychosocial Approach with Michelle Weiner, DO, MPH
Psychedelic Medicine Podcast with Dr. Lynn Marie Morski
In this episode, Michelle Weiner, DO, MPH returns to share her expertise on low-dose ketamine for chronic pain. Dr. Weiner is double board-certified in Interventional Pain Medicine, Physical Medicine, and Rehabilitation. She is founder of Neuropain Health delivering personalized integrative care treating the root cause of pain and suffering, both physical and emotional, using a multidisciplinary biopsychosocial approach with many years of clinical experience with ketamine-assisted therapy. In this conversation, Dr. Weiner reframes chronic pain as more than a symptom of tissue damage,...
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Ayahuasca for PTSD with Dr. Simon Ruffell MBChB, MRCPsych, PhD
Psychedelic Medicine Podcast with Dr. Lynn Marie Morski
In this episode Dr. Simon Ruffell joins to discuss the research on ayahuasca for PTSD. Dr. Ruffell is a psychiatrist, researcher, and student of curanderismo (Amazonian shamanism) working at the intersection of Western psychiatry, traditional plant medicine, and Indigenous knowledge systems. He is Executive Director of Onaya, Lecturer in Psychology and Psychedelics at the University of Exeter, and Chief Medical Officer of MINDS, with a focus on integrative and relational approaches to healing and consciousness. In this conversation, Dr. Ruffell explores the emerging research on ayahuasca as a...
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Impacts of Social Inequality on Psychedelic Healing with Sean Viña, PhD
Psychedelic Medicine Podcast with Dr. Lynn Marie Morski
In this episode, Dr. Sean M. Viña joins to discuss the ways that social inequality can impact psychedelic healing. Dr. Viña is a sociologist with a PhD from Indiana University whose research focuses on psychedelics and mental health, and social inequality. In this conversation, Dr. Viña explains that while psychedelics are often framed as transformative treatments, their benefits appear unevenly distributed and frequently constrained by structural factors such as income inequality, education, stigma, caregiving burden, segregation, and social isolation. The discussion highlights how...
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Psychedelics and Religion with Hunt Priest, MDiv
Psychedelic Medicine Podcast with Dr. Lynn Marie Morski
In this episode, Hunt Priest joins to discuss the intersection of psychedelic experiences and religion. Hunt is the founder of Ligare: A Christian Psychedelic Society and was a participant in the Johns Hopkins/NYU Psilocybin Study for Religious Leaders in 2016. The epiphanies he had at Hopkins forever changed the trajectory of his work and led him to start Ligare in 2021. In this conversation, Hunt Priest reflects on how participating in the Johns Hopkins study reshaped his understanding of Christianity, embodiment, and spiritual experience. Drawing on his background as an Episcopal priest, he...
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Encore Episode: How Psychedelics Affect the Brain with Manesh Girn, PhD
Psychedelic Medicine Podcast with Dr. Lynn Marie Morski
In this encore episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, psychedelic science researcher and educator Dr. Manesh Girn discusses his studies investigating psychedelic brain action. Manesh earned PhD in neuroscience at McGill University and is an author on over a dozen peer-reviewed articles on psychedelics and related topics. He is also chief research officer at EntheoTech Bioscience and runs the YouTube channel the Psychedelic Scientist. In this conversation, Manesh discusses his recent article in Trends in Cognitive Sciences titled He explains the complexity science approach used...
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Which Psychedelic for Which Condition? with Will Van Derveer, MD
Psychedelic Medicine Podcast with Dr. Lynn Marie Morski
In this episode, Will Van Derveer, MD joins to unpack what we know about which psychedelic medicines are best suited to particular mental health conditions. Dr. Van Derveer has trained several thousand mental health professionals in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, provided ketamine assisted therapy to hundreds of people, and has staffed MDMA therapy trials with MAPS. His book, Psychedelic Therapy: A Revolutionary Approach to Restoring Your Mental Health and Reclaiming Your Life, will be published by Shambala in the spring of 2026. In this conversation, Dr. Van Derveer offers a...
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Psychedelics for the Menopause Transition with Alicia Bigelow, ND
Psychedelic Medicine Podcast with Dr. Lynn Marie Morski
In this episode, Alicia Bigelow, ND joins to discuss the potential of psychedelic medicine to support the menopause transition. Dr. Ali Bigelow is a naturopathic physician, ketamine provider and licensed psilocybin facilitator in Portland, OR. She leads individual and group retreats, enjoys incorporating live music into her sessions when desired, and is passionate about supporting those navigating life transitions, such as end of life and menopause, through her low dose group, Menomorphosis. Dr. Bigelow will be doing retreats in 2026 with Rise Up Journeys at In this conversation, Dr. Bigelow...
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Psychedelics as Catalysts for Human Agency with Matthew W. Johnson, PhD
Psychedelic Medicine Podcast with Dr. Lynn Marie Morski
In this episode, Matthew W. Johnson, PhD returns to discuss how psychedelics can be leveraged to catalyze human agency. Dr. Johnson has been at the forefront of psychedelic research for 21 years, having conducted seminal research on the effects of psilocybin on mystical experience, personality, and treatment of cancer distress, major depressive disorder, and tobacco addiction. His work with tobacco addiction received the first federal funding for a classic psychedelic in the modern era of research. In this conversation, Dr. Johnson explores psychedelics as powerful enhancers of human...
info_outlineIn this episode, Christina P. Kantzavelos, LCSW, MSW, MLIS joins to discuss the use of psychedelics to address chronic illness. Christina is an international psychotherapist, coach, writer and artist, who specializes in treating clients with chronic illness, and complex trauma utilizing various modalities, including psychedelic assisted therapy.
In this conversation, Christina overviews the complex mental and physical health impacts of chronic pain conditions and shares her expertise on psychedelic and non-psychedelic treatments for these conditions. Christina mentions that chronic pain can put one’s body in a state that encourages fight, flight, freeze, and fawn responses which can disempower the patient’s efforts to address their condition. She also explores the intersection of identity and chronic pain conditions, discussing how that while receiving a particular diagnosis can be helpful and affirming, taking this as a core part of one’s identity can also be a major roadblock to healing. In closing, Christina emphasizes that pain starts in the brain, so leveraging neuroplasticity through psychedelics and other means can be a particularly powerful way to address both physical and mental health aspects of chronic pain conditions.
In this episode you'll hear:
How Christina got involved in working with patients with chronic pain
The common mental health presentations in those with chronic pain
The importance of addressing physical health and mental health concurrently
Why psychedelics may be helpful for addressing chronic pain conditions
The immunomodulating effects of psychedelics
The power of neuroplasticity for addressing chronic pain
Utilizing neural retraining and microdosing in conjunction to prepare for more successful higher dose psychedelic experiences
Quotes:
“I use all kinds of modalities and I don’t just treat someone’s depression or anxiety or complex trauma—I see it as everything is interwoven and related to each other. And it’s important that we look at the entirely mosaic piece rather than just focusing on one area.” [5:20]
“There is a state of empowerment versus disempowerment in identifying with our chronic illness. I’m not saying that it is not real and it's not happening to you but it definitely is not you. It’s something you are experiencing. Even if it’s chronic and lifelong, it’s still something you are experiencing—it’s not you as a whole.” [17:48]
“I’ve noticed that any of my clients who have gone through neural retraining have had little to no bad [psychedelic] trips which is amazing and I feel like that’s partly because they worked so hard to resource themselves in advance.” [25:19]
Links:
When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress by Gabor Maté
PMA CME/CE accredited course: Managing Medical Risk in Patients Seeking Psilocybin Therapy
Search for providers on the Psychology Today website
Psychedelic Medicine Association