PT 642 - Michael Sapiro PhD - Truth Medicine, Psychedelics, and Living Your Truth
Release Date: 11/28/2025
PT 653 - Dr. Michael Alpert and Peter Alberding - ALS, Existential Distress, and Ketamine Therapy
Psychedelics Today
ALS and ketamine therapy are at the center of this conversation with psychiatrist and , who was diagnosed with in late 2023. Alpert is a Boston-area psychiatrist with experience in MDMA-assisted therapy research for PTSD and a private practice that includes . Alberding shares what it has been like to face a fatal neurodegenerative illness while working with ketamine in a structured clinical setting. Alberding explains that he was not looking for a casual psychedelic experience. He wanted help facing fear, grief, loss of function, and the reality of death. Over time, ketamine-assisted...
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PT 652 - Esme Dark - Psychedelics, Somatics and the Shadow
Psychedelics Today
Dr. Esme Dark joins Kyle Buller for a conversation on psychedelic therapy, somatic psychotherapy, and shadow work. Based in Australia, Dark is a clinical psychologist, somatic psychotherapist, and psychedelic therapist. She shares her perspective on Australia’s authorized prescriber model, the role of psychotherapy in psychedelic care, and what it means to work with the body before, during, and after a psychedelic experience. The discussion stays practical. Dark draws on her work in research settings, including psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for generalized anxiety disorder at Monash...
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PT 651 - Betty Aldworth & Ismail Ali: MAPS Co-Executive Directors on Leadership, Research, and the Future of Psychedelics
Psychedelics Today
MAPS co-executive directors Betty Aldworth and Ismail Ali join Psychedelics Today to talk about leading one of the most visible organizations in the psychedelic field during a period of transition. The conversation covers their move into permanent leadership, how they work together, and how MAPS is thinking about research, education, policy, and movement strategy after a difficult period for the organization and the broader field.
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PT 650 - Joe Moore Psychedelics Today on Leadership, Integration, and the Psychedelic Landscape
Psychedelics Today
Jen Davenport joins Psychedelics Today to interview co-founder Joe Moore about the growth of Psychedelics Today, the broader psychedelic ecosystem, and how professionals are beginning to engage with psychedelic ideas. Davenport is the founder of Iron Thread Partners and a graduate of the Vital psychedelic training program. Her work focuses on executive leadership, decision making, and organizational development. In this conversation she asks Moore about the evolution of Psychedelics Today and the changes he has witnessed across the psychedelic field over the past decade. Moore explains that...
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PT 649 - Melissa Lavasani and Jay Kopelman
Psychedelics Today
& join our podcast to discuss how psychedelic policy is actually moving in Washington, DC. Lavasani leads , a DC-based advocacy organization focused on educating federal officials and advancing legislation around psychedelic medicine. Kopelman is CEO of , which provides scholarships for veterans and first responders seeking psychedelic-assisted therapy retreats, . The conversation centers on veterans, the , and why that system may be the first realistic federal pathway for psychedelic care. Early Themes Lavasani describes PMC’s work on , including hosting events that bring...
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PT 648 - Enamory - Couples Therapy with Ketamine
Psychedelics Today
Enamory is a clinical practice, training institute, and nonprofit research organization focused on psychedelic assisted couples therapy. In this episode, clinical psychologists Chandra Kian and Kayla Knopp discuss their work integrating ketamine assisted psychotherapy with evidence based couples therapy models. Both guests trained as academic researchers at the University of California San Diego Veterans Affairs system, where they worked on large scale couples based PTSD trials. They later co founded Enamory to continue clinical work, train therapists, and conduct research focused...
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PT 647 - Joshua White: Fireside Project and Lucy, an AI Training Simulator for Psychedelic Support
Psychedelics Today
is a nonprofit that helps reduce the risks of psychedelic experiences through a free support line, coaching, education, and research. In this episode, Joshua White speaks with Psychedelics Today about why real-time support matters, what it takes to run a national hotline, and what Fireside learned after more than 30,000 conversations since launch. White shares how his background as a lawyer and his early hotline volunteering shaped Fireside’s model. He also describes how festival harm reduction work, including lessons from Zendo-style support spaces, revealed a major gap: people often...
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PT 646 - Manvir Singh: Shamanism the Timeless Religion
Psychedelics Today
Manvir Singh joins Psychedelics Today to unpack what shamanism means and why the term matters now. Singh is an anthropologist and author of Shamanism: The Timeless Religion. He argues that shamanism is not limited to “remote” societies or the past. Instead, it reliably reappears because it helps humans manage uncertainty, illness, and the unknown. This episode is relevant for the psychedelic community because “shaman” often gets used loosely, or avoided entirely. Singh offers a clear framework for talking about shamanic practice without leaning on romantic myths, drug-centered...
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PT 645 - Oli Genn-Bash: Functional Mushrooms, Hype Cycles, and Mycelial Thinking
Psychedelics Today
(Brighton, UK) joins Joe Moore for a grounded conversation on the boom in functional mushrooms and why the category may be moving too quickly. As the founder of , Oli works with consumers and brands to demystify functional mushrooms, with a focus on education, traceability, and realistic expectations. The conversation begins with a critique of wellness hype cycles. Oli explains how consumer desperation for help with anxiety, sleep, stress, and cognition can create an opening for a rapid wave of products that are not always grounded in careful sourcing or clear science. Using as a case...
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PT 644 - Tricia Eastman: Seeding Consciousness, Ancestral Wisdom, and Psychedelic Initiation
Psychedelics Today
In this live episode, joins to discuss . She explains why many Indigenous initiatory systems begin with consultation and careful assessment of the person, often using divination and lineage-based diagnostic methods before anyone enters ceremony. Eastman contrasts that with modern frameworks that can move fast, rely on short trainings, or treat the medicine as a stand-alone intervention. Early Themes: Ritual, Preparation, and the Loss of Container Eastman describes her background, including ancestral roots in Mexico and her later work at Crossroads Ibogaine in Mexico, where she supported...
info_outlineIn this episode, Michael Sapiro joins Kyle Buller to explore truth, healing, and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy through the lens of his new book, Truth Medicine. A clinical psychologist, ordained Zen Buddhist monk, retreat leader, and fellow at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, he blends Buddhist psychology, trauma work, and consciousness studies. The discussion focuses on how people discover and live their truth, and why that truth becomes the core medicine in healing.
Early in the Podcast with Michael Sapiro
Michael describes how years of clinical work and retreat facilitation shaped his understanding of healing. Real transformation happens when people speak truths they have never allowed themselves to say out loud. These truths often relate to childhood experiences, identity, and how people learned to stay safe.
Key early themes include insight into:
• Truth as a physical and emotional “ring” in the body
• Personas formed in childhood to avoid rejection
• Depression and anxiety caused by living from those personas
The conversation explores how frightening it can be to challenge old roles and family narratives, yet how necessary it is for authentic healing.
Core Insights from Michael Sapiro
Michael outlines his model of preparation, psychedelic sessions, and integration, especially in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. Preparation often includes discovering what he calls the “heart of the hurt” and building trust for the internal process.
Core insights include:
• Tracing patterns back to their origins in early experience
• Using guided imagery, breathwork, and somatic awareness to practice surrender
• Understanding healing as applying love to wounded parts
• Understanding growth as becoming who you would be without old limits
Additional points:
• Medicine sessions create real practice in letting go
• Defenses should be engaged with, not fought
• Sensations in the body offer essential guidance
Later Discussion and Takeaways with Michael Sapiro
Michael compares one-on-one psychotherapy with retreat work. In group settings he holds space and supports safety, while in individual sessions he uses a blend of silence and active therapeutic guidance.
He also shares personal truth work, including embracing his own “bigness,” understanding ethics as part of spirituality, and learning to endure anxiety without falling into shame. Listeners gain practical guidance for nurturing wounded parts, developing the ability to endure challenging states, and allowing their strengths to emerge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Michael Sapiro?
Michael Sapiro is a clinical psychologist, ordained Zen Buddhist monk, psychedelic psychotherapist, retreat leader, and research fellow at the Institute of Noetic Sciences.
What is the main idea of Truth Medicine by Michael Sapiro?
Truth Medicine teaches that discovering and living one’s personal truth is the core of healing, with psychedelics serving as a tool that helps reveal and embody that truth.
How does Michael Sapiro use ketamine in therapy?
He uses ketamine within a structured model involving preparation, supportive dosing sessions, and integration focused on compassion, endurance, and meaningful change.
Does he only work in group settings?
No. He leads retreats, but much of his work is individual psychedelic psychotherapy focused on trauma, personal truth, and growth.
What can clinicians learn from his approach?
Clinicians can learn how to balance guided intervention with open space, work directly with defenses, and support healing as both love and action.
Closing Thoughts
This conversation with Michael Sapiro offers a grounded, practical view of how truth, compassion, and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy can support real change in the current psychedelic resurgence. By blending body awareness, ethical clarity, and personal growth, this episode provides useful guidance for therapists, guides, and seekers who want to bring more truth medicine into their lives and communities.