Marc Aixalà

Marc Aixalà is a telecommunications engineer, psychologist, psychotherapist and certified Holotropic Breathwork facilitator specializing in supporting people who face challenging experiences with expanded states of consciousness. Since 2013, in collaboration with the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Service (ICEERS), Aixalàhas offered integration psychotherapy sessions for those seeking support after psychedelic experiences. At ICEERS, Aixalà also works to develop theoretical models of intervention and trains and supervises therapists.

Aixalà has served as a team leader and trainer in emergency psychological assistance at Boom Festival through the Kosmicare harm reduction program. He also worked on the first-ever medical trial on the use of psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, a study chronicled in the 2018 documentary, “Magic Medicine.” He continues to work as a therapist in clinical trials researching psychedelic substances.

Aixalà is trained in the therapeutic use of Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness as well as in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Aixalà works as a psychologist in his private practice in Barcelona, Spain and offers trainings, lectures, and talks related to psychedelic psychotherapy, Holotropic Breathwork and integration.

Sabrina Akhtar

Dr. Sabrina Akhtar, MD, MSc (Bioethics), CCFP, is a family physician with a special interest in psychedelic assisted psychotherapy. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, Department of Family and Community medicine and started her academic career at UHN's Toronto Western Hospital in 2009. In addition to psychedelic psychotherapy and comprehensive primary care, Dr. Akhtar practices home-based care of the elderly, palliative care, rural emergency medicine, and obstetrical care. Through her broad scope of practice, her experience with conditions such as end of life existential angst, treatment resistant anxiety and depression, and complex PTSD is grounded in the context of patient- and family-centered complex care across the lifespan. In the spring of 2023, Dr. Akhtar joined the UHN Psychedelic Psychotherapy Research Group to support the Special Access Program Clinic in the role of medical lead. 

Shawna Alvis

Shawna is a Registered Psychotherapist and a member of the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. Holding an honours double major in psychology and sociology from York University, she further specialized in spiritual psychotherapy through a post-graduate program at the Transformational Arts College of Spiritual and Holistic Training. With 8 years in private practice, she uses a transpersonal and psychodynamic approach in her work. She has completed advanced training in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy with MAPS, psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy with TheraPsil, and the Foundations of Psychedelic Psychotherapy program with the University Health Network (UHN), where she also served as a teaching assistant. Passionate about the transformative potential of this work, she has supported patients with psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy through the Special Access Program.

Mary Cosimano

Mary Cosimano, LMSW, Psychedelic Support and Integration LLC. Services include Psychedelic Integration Coaching; teaching; training and mentoring for Psychedelic- Assisted Therapy; Death Awareness/Death with Psychedelics Workshop. Mary was employed at Johns Hopkins University in the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research from 2000-2024. She served as Director of Clinical Services, Psychedelic Session Facilitator and as a Research Program Coordinator. She was involved with multiple psilocybin clinical trials and conducted over 500 study sessions including Club Drug studies with Salvia Divinorum and Dextromethorphan. Mary has trained postdoctoral fellows, faculty, clinicians, and research assistants as guides and taught individual and group meditation to breast cancer patients in a Johns Hopkins research study. In 2017 she completed the MAPS MDMA/PTSD therapy training program and in 2024 completed PRATI’s KAP foundational training. She is a teacher and mentor at California Institute to Integral Studies for their Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research (CPTR) certificate program and conducts training for therapists in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. She presents a Death Awareness/Death and Psychedelics workshop. She initiated and facilitated a meditation group for Johns Hopkins employees from 2003-2020. She also has 15 years of experience with direct patient care as a hospice volunteer.

Shannon Dames

Shannon Dames (maiden Magnus) is a third-generation immigrant with mixed ancestry from Britain, Norway, and Germany. She serves as a mother of two, a Health Professional Investigator and Professor of Nursing and Psychedelic-assisted Therapy (PaT) on Vancouver Island. Dr. Dames was the spearheading founder and current team member of the Roots to Thrive program, Vancouver Island University's (VIUs) PaT Graduate Certificate education program, and VIUs Naut sa Mawt Centre for Psychedelic Research. She is a published author with expertise in nursing practice, resilience development, and PaT service delivery, research and education. Her work acknowledges multiple ways of knowing, with a specific interest in collaborating to understand how Western and Indigenous ways of knowing might be shared for the healing benefit of all.

Francine Douglas

Stó:lō from Sts’ailes Nation and Tsimshian from Metlakatla Nation, Francine values the cultural teachings that she has learned from her xwelmexw family. Francine works with Sacred Circle, supporting their vision for a healthcare system that centers Indigenous knowledge and ancestral traditional medicine. She is on the board for Thélá:ylexw awtxw, an organization focused on strengthening the collective voice of Stó:lō womxn.

Francine’s desire to support First Nation communities through colonialism and displacement from their traditional territory has brought her to a diverse career in mental health and business. Francine holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Anthropology from the University of British Columbia and was the valedictorian of the Ch’nook Indigenous Business Program from the UBC Sauder School of Business.

John Gilchrist

John is the Communications Manager at TheraPsil, a grassroots non-profit organization working to legalize psychedelic therapy in Canada. An ardent supporter of drug policy reform, John believes the growing acceptance of psychedelics and psychedelic therapy marks a paradigm shift in the treatment of mental health. He has played an integral role in TheraPsil’s advocacy work, contributing to national and international campaigns, media coverage and has led key lobbying initiatives in Ottawa to advance psychedelic therapy legalization. John was aware of the healing powers of psilocybin and other psychedelics before joining TheraPsil but was truly blown away by a personal story from a patient in 2021. Since then, he has been dedicated to supporting the legalization of psychedelic therapy and changing public perception towards it. John feels honoured and privileged to contribute to TheraPsil’s mission, assisting patients and bringing about positive change in Canada alongside such a professional and dedicated team.

Manesh Girn

Dr. Manesh Girn is a postdoctoral neuroscientist specializing in psychedelic drugs at the University of California, San Francisco. Working closely with psychedelic research pioneer Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, he conducts research on the neural mechanisms underlying the psychedelic experience and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. He has been lead or co-author of over 20 peer-reviewed publications to date on topics related to psychedelics, brain networks, cognition, and mental health. Manesh also runs a popular digital platform on Instagram and YouTube called "The Psychedelic Scientist”, where he disseminates the latest findings and developments in psychedelic science in a layperson friendly manner. His latest course, The Psychedelic Medicine Masterclass, offers an expertly-curated one-stop shop for learning all the essential topics in psychedelic medicine and is available at maneshgirn.com/masterclass.

Emma Hapke

Dr. Emma Hapke, MD, FRCPC, is a psychiatrist, psychotherapist and psychedelic researcher at the University Health Network in Toronto. She is the co-founder and associate director of the UHN Psychedelic Psychotherapy Research Group. She is also an assistant profesor at the University of Toronto. She has expertise in women’s mental health, the treatment of trauma, psychosocial oncology and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Dr. Hapke worked with MAPS as the principal investigator and study therapist for the Montreal site of the phase 3 trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD. She is also the co-founder and co-director of the Michener Foundations of Psychedelic Psychotherapy program. She is currently leading research projects on psilocybin therapy for end-of-life distress, psilocybin therapy for caregiver distress, experiential training of psychedelic therapists and surveys of psychedelic use in the community.

Andrea Harris

Andrea Harris, 35, was born and raised in Toronto and lives near Peterborough with her two sons, Eric (7) and Joshua (6). Andrea has extensive experience in medical administration and currently works with the Outpatient Mental Health & Eating Disorders program at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre. Andrea enjoys golfing, hiking, and cycling with her children. In 2016, her husband Edward lost both of his legs below the knees in a catastrophic motorcycle accident. After extensive rehabilitation, he trained for the Paralympics with Andrea and their children supporting him. Tragically, Edward passed away suddenly in July 2021. As a young widow and single mother, Andrea sought support from her primary care provider and explored psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. She shares her healing journey as a successful participant in Canada's Special Access Program.

Kim Haxton

Kim Haxton (Potowatomi) is from the Wasauksing First Nation in Ontario. She has worked across Turtle Island and abroad in various capacities but always with a focus on local leadership.

Her deep understanding of the need for genuine restoration has far-reaching implications as leaders seek vision and all people seek direction to address the mounting pressure of a system incongruous with the values of the natural world. Kim has developed and facilitated programs in land-based education and leadership for the past 20 years, including as co-founder of Indigeneyez.

She takes her place among thought leaders in decolonization, particularly as it applies to language, art, economics and gender. She encourages the “lateral liberation” of consciousness by drawing from the embodied knowledge of Indigenous peoples. In multi-day workshops, she moves people through a personal process of questioning what is the truth and what is simply constructed – effectively rupturing what we “know.” True expression of respect, harmony, inclusion, equity can come from this place.

Monique Moller

Dr. Monique Moller is an Addiction Medicine specialist, educator, and new researcher at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and University Health Network (UHN), and an Assistant Professor in the Division of Mental Health and Addiction and the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology. She has held many academic roles in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, including Deputy Program Director for the Enhanced Skills Program in Addiction Medicine. In May 2021, she established the Addiction Consult Service at CAMH, which has become a critical resource for emergency addiction care within the institution. Dr. Moller has a special interest in utilizing psychedelic-assisted therapy to treat substance use disorders and is currently in the process of developing research protocols to investigate this. She has completed several training programs in psychedelic-assisted and general psychotherapy and worked with Field Trip Health for 1 year, gaining hands-on clinical experience with ketamine-assisted therapy before returning exclusively to her academic institutions. Dr. Moller is dedicated to advancing education, research, and clinical initiatives in the fields of psychedelic and addiction medicine, with the overarching goals of improving treatment access and outcomes.

Daniel Rosenbaum

Daniel is an attending psychiatrist and Clinician Investigator at the University Health Network as well as the Inner-City Health Associates in Toronto. He is a clinical lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. He works on the IMPACT Assertive Community Treatment team at UHN, as well as the Palliative Education and Care for the Homeless (PEACH) team through ICHA. Daniel is a certified CALM therapist (Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully) and has received training in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. He has also completed the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies MDMA Therapy Training Program. Daniel is a co-founder and faculty member at the UHN Psychedelic Psychotherapy Research Group.

Together with Drs. Sarah Hales and Emma Hapke, he is co-Principal Investigator with the Psilocybin-assisted Existential, Attachment, and RelationaL (PEARL) therapy research program; PEARL is a novel psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for patients with advanced disease and their caregivers. Daniel is also interested in the mental health impacts of the climate crisis and is co-author of the Canadian Psychiatric Association’s 2023 position statement entitled “Mental Health and the Climate Crisis: A Call to Action for Canadian Psychiatrists.

Brian Rush

Brian has worked for over 45 years as a substance use/mental health services researcher with CAMH), where he is currently appointed as Scientist Emeritus. Brian is a Full Professor at the University of Toronto in the DLSPH. He has led major treatment system reviews in Canada and internationally and prepared several syntheses of research evidence, including concurrent disorders, collaborative care, rapid access to mental health and Addiction services and psychedelic-assisted interventions. Brian is currently the Project Leader for the multi-site study known as the Ayahusaca Treatment Outcome Project (ATOP) and the more recent Entheogen Treatment Outcome Project, integrating cross-cultural exchange of traditional medicines between Canada and Mexico. He is also active in facilitating the collaboration among Canadian researchers, students and policy makers interested in psychedelic science, including traditional plant-based medicine.

Prachi Soneji

Dr. Prachi Soneji, a dedicated Toronto-based family physician with 18 years of experience in comprehensive family medicine, has passionately transitioned her practice towards focusing on more holistic bio-psycho-spiritual aspects of health optimization. She firmly believes in the integration of Eastern and Western paradigms of understanding the self and wellness.

She obtained her medical degree from McMaster University and completed her residency training at the University of Toronto's , Toronto Western Hospital.

She has embraced the emerging field of psychedelic assisted psychotherapy, viewing it through her psycho-spiritual lens to help patients navigate mental health challenges and existential questions.  Dr. Soneji is passionate about patient led care and believes in the therapeutic relationship, compassion and vulnerability as core components of her medical practice. 

Anne Wagner

Dr. Anne Wagner, C.Psych. (she/her) is a clinical psychologist and psychedelic researcher and the founder of Remedy and Remedy Institute – an ecosystem for the practice, research, accessible access to and community surrounding heart-led, innovative mental health practices. Anne has developed an understanding of herself as a bridge between worlds – between research and practice, community and academia, non-ordinary states and our daily lives, and different modalities of therapy. A vision for seeding a field of wildflowers, creating opportunities for everyone to thrive and pursue their ideas at Remedy Institute, has been a guiding force. Anne is the principal investigator of the pilot trial of Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD + MDMA, and the randomized controlled trial of Cognitive Behavioral Conjoint Therapy (CBCT) for PTSD + MDMA. Anne collaborates on numerous projects with other researchers, spanning across the fields of psychedelics, trauma, couples’ therapy, HIV, and the experiences of women. Anne trains and supervises students, and provides consultation and training to peers. She is a founding member of the International Alliance of MDMA Practitioners, has sat on the board of Casey House, is the past-Chair of the Traumatic Stress Section of the Canadian Psychological Association, and has served as a Global Ambassador for the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.