Addressing Racial Trauma through Psychedelic Therapy with Monnica T. Williams, PhD, ABPP

In this episode, Monnica T. Williams, PhD, ABPP joins to discuss how psychedelics may help alleviate mental health impacts of racial trauma. Dr. Williams is a licensed clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Ottawa in the School of Psychology, where she is the Canada Research Chair in Mental Health Disparities.

In this conversation, Dr. Williams begins by highlighting the daily stress and trauma experienced by people of color, likening it to PTSD. She discusses a survey her team conducted which revealed that many people of color use psychedelics to manage racial trauma, showing significant reductions in stress, depression, and anxiety. Additionally, Dr. Williams emphasizes the importance of a safe environment and culturally competent therapists. In closing, she discusses ongoing research at this intersection and the need for more funding and awareness in this field.

 

In this episode, you'll hear:

• How racial trauma manifests as conditions like PTSD, depression, and anxiety
• The importance of an intersectional perspective
• Current treatments for mental health struggles stemming from racial trauma
• Results from Dr. Williams’ research into psychedelic use amongst people of color
• The importance of safe and supportive settings for psychedelic experiences
• How shared life experiences between a therapist and client can strength the therapeutic alliance and improve outcomes
• Why bias training is particularly important in the context of psychedelic therapy

 

Quotes:

“People of color who live in these white dominated Western contexts are continually bombarded by subtle —and not so subtle—messages about their worth, about their standing in society, about their intelligence, their character, on and on and on and on. And so really the daily onslaught just wears and wears away at people, and the stress of that can actually become traumatizing.” [1:49]

“People heal from trauma when someone witnesses their pain, right? When people can compassionately witness your pain and join in it with you—this is the basis behind all therapeutic approaches for trauma treatment.” [10:13]

“We saw [from our survey study] that many, many people of color are using psychedelics to manage racism, often very quietly. But it seems for many people to be quite effective and quite helpful.” [11:53]

“We looked at some separate psychedelics where we had enough people who described a specific one like psilocybin or LSD or peyote in some cases. And so we were able to look at those psychedelics separately and we didn't actually find a difference. It didn't seem to matter which psychedelic it was. It seemed that they were all, more or less equally effective.” [15:20]

 

Links:

Dr. Williams’ website

Dr. Williams on X

Dr. Williams on Instagram

Dr. Williams on LinkedIn

Dr. Williams’ study “Investigating the associations of acute psychedelic experiences and changes in racial trauma symptoms, psychological flexibility, and substance use among People with Racial and Ethnic Minoritized Identities in the United States and Canada”

Behavioral Wellness Clinic - Connecticut

Behavioural Wellness Clinic - Ottawa 

Masters Program in Psychedelics and Consciousness Studies at University of Ottawa

Psychedelic Medicine Association

Porangui