Conversation - What Every Therapist Should Know about Psychedelics: Reflections from the Psychedelics Science Conference 2025

In this episode of The Makaranda Podcast, therapist Eleanor Evans Medina sits down with friend and apprentice Lindsay Lynch to reflect on their time at the 2025 Psychedelic Science Conference in Denver, hosted by MAPS, [the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies.]

Eleanor and Lindsay explore the intersection of science and spirit, and what it means to work with psychedelics with reverence and integrity. Through personal stories and thoughtful reflections, they offer an holistic take on the evolving world of psychedelics in the U.S., therapeutic healing, neuroscience and ancestral knowledge about how to work with non-ordinary states of consciousness.

Tune in for a nourishing and honest dialogue about trauma-informed care, the future of healing, and the courage it takes to stay present in a chaotic world.

Mentions & Gratitude:

• MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) and the 2025 Psychedelic Science Conference
• Reflections on trauma-informed facilitation, regulation, and spiritual bypassing
• Deep gratitude to our teachers, mentors, and elders who walk this path with integrity
• Honoring the lineages and traditional knowledge that inform sacred plant medicine work
• Dr. Manesh Girn – UCSF neuroscientist, known as @thepsychedelicscientist, specializing in psychedelic brain imaging and cognitive neuroscience.
• Dr. Lindsey Cameron – Neurobiologist at Stanford/UC Davis studying neuroplasticity through rodent models of psilocybin and DMT.
• Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris – Pioneer in psychedelic science; developed the REBUS model and Default Mode Network research; now at UCSF in Neurology & Psychiatry. He also led the groundbreaking research on music as a “hidden therapist” in psychedelic-assisted therapy.
• East Forest (Trevor Oswalt) – Musician and ceremony guide blending sound and mindfulness to support psychedelic and emotional healing.
• Paul Stamets – Mycologist and author known for mycelial intelligence research, including how thunder’s vibration (40–80 Hz) accelerates mushroom growth.
• Dr. Barry Walker – Expert on vagus nerve activation, trauma healing, and the co-regulating power of group singing and rhythm.

Thanks for listening! To stay connected, follow us on Instagram @themakarandamethod and @eleanor.evans.medina

Visit our website: www.themakarandamethod.com

About Eleanor Evans Medina:
Eleanor is a spiritual teacher, formally trained marriage & family therapist, death doula, bee keeper and daughter of the Earth. She founded her private practice, The Makaranda Method in 2018. She guides her students towards self-discovery and healing by reconnecting them with love for our Mother Earth. Through one-on-one, group coaching and retreats, Eleanor helps her students release energetic blockages to connect with their intuition for greater peace, freedom, and authenticity.