Conference CONVENERS:

Associate Professor Vanessa Beesley
Associate Professor Vanessa Beesley is a distinguished behavioural scientist and Team Head of the Psychedelic Medicine and Supportive Care Group at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. She leads the Psilocybin-Assisted suppoRtive Therapy IN the treatment of prolonged Grief (PARTING) Trial and is a Chief Investigator on the HEAling climate Related Trauma (HEART) randomised controlled trial that involves group-based MDMA-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant disaster-related PTSD. With a career spanning two decades in psycho-oncology, Vanessa is committed to person-centred care, addressing supportive care needs for patients and caregivers. She has led numerous counselling and exercise trials, published over 70 scientific articles and provided recommendations to government through multiple Cancer Australia contracts. Vanessa is also a founding member of the Queensland Collaborative for Cancer Survivorship, focusing on health innovations.

Professor Murat Yücel 
Professor Murat Yücel is the Program Director of Mental Health and Neuroscience and Group Leader of the Cognitive Fitness Laboratory at QIMR Berghofer. He is an AHPRA registered Clinical Neuropsychologist. Professor Murat Yücel brings three decades of experience at the forefront of mental health and neuroscience research, with a particular focus on addiction and mental health. His work has resulted in: i) the creation of BrainPark®, a one-of-a-kind translational research facility dedicated to innovative approaches to benchmark, improve, and optimise brain health, ii) the development of a gamified digital tools for assessing cognitive and brain function, iii) a virtual reality platform for delivering exposure/response prevention for OCD and addictive behaviours, iv) clinical trials in Lifestyle Medicine that focus on the neural and cognitive effects of physical exercise and mindfulness meditation, and v) clinical trials of Psychedelic Medicine that focus on the cognitive and mental health effects of psilocybin and MDMA.

Featured Keynote Speakers:

Dr Margaret Ross 
Dr Margaret Ross is a Clinical Psychologist, and the Chief Principal Investigator/Clinical lead for Australia’s first psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy study treating depression and anxiety in the terminally ill. Her study is a world first investigating psilocybin assisted therapy for all palliative conditions, and sees Dr Ross pioneering a new frontier in psychedelic medicine. Dr Ross combines oversight of this ground-breaking trial with palliative medicine clinical work in her role as Senior Clinical Psychologist and Researcher at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne and trains clinicians in emerging psychedelic assisted therapy drug trials. She regularly lectures medical students and specialist clinicians in psychosocial aspects of palliative medicine and cancer care. 

Dr Paul Liknaitzky
Dr Paul Liknaitzky is Head of the Clinical Psychedelic Lab, and Senior Research Fellow within the Dept of Psychiatry at Monash University. He has played a central role in establishing the field of clinical psychedelic research in Australia, and is the Principal Investigator on a program of psychedelic trials. Liknaitzky leads the country’s largest and most experienced group of psychedelic researchers and clinicians, and collaborates with numerous psychedelic groups nationally and internationally. In Australia, Liknaitzky established the first psychedelic lab, coordinated the first applied psychedelic therapist training program, obtained the first industry funding for psychedelic research, and co-convenes the Australasian Research Group on Psychedelic Science. His work is focused on investigating novel applications for psychedelic therapies, translating evidence into best clinical practice, exploring under-examined risks, delivering next-generation therapist training, and improving access and affordability.

Sessional Speakers:

Professor James Bennett-Levy
Professor James Bennett-Levy is a clinical psychologist, researcher and trainer of psychotherapists. He is employed at Southern Cross University and is passionate about helping people make important changes in their lives. He is involved in several psychedelic-assisted trials in Australia. James was one of the therapists on the Psilocybin-Assisted suppoRtive Therapy IN the treatment of prolonged Grief Trial and is now leading the HEAling climate Related Trauma (HEART) stepped care trial for people with PTSD related to the Northern Rivers Floods. This trial involves nature and art-based compassion groups as a first step followed by MDMA-assisted therapy for participants who continue to experience PTSD.

Dr Lena Oestreich 
Lena is a Group Leader at the Centre for Advanced Imaging within the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology and holds a joint appointment as Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland. Her primary research interest lies at the intersection of clinical neuroimaging and computational neuroscience. Lena is particularly interested in studying mental illness using big data and advanced, multimodal neuroimaging methods. More recently, one of her research areas focuses on the neural mechanisms underpinning psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, to improve our understanding of their profound potential to offer rapid and long-lasting relief from severe psychiatric symptoms.

Associate Professor Stephen Parker 
Associate Professor Stephen Parker is the Director of Research at Metro North Mental Health (MNMH). He also works clinically as the Clinical Lead (Psychiatrist) at the Early Psychosis service of MNMH. He has completed a PhD considering the evidence for residential rehabilitation services for people experiencing severe and persistent mental illness in Australia, and has been the Trial Psychiatrist on the QIMR Berghofer PARTING Trial which is considering psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy as a potential treatment for people experiencing prolonged grief disorder.

Associate Professor Shanthi Sarma 
Shanthi Sarma is the Conjoint Associate Professor of Mental Health (Research) at Bond University and a Consultant Psychiatrist and Director of Neurostimulation and Mood Disorders at the Gold Coast Health. She is a Queensland Health Clinical Research Fellow and a RANZCP Fellow of Psychiatry of Old Age. Shanthi has a clinical and academic interest in neurostimulation and novel treatments for depression and has established an ECT service at the Gold Coast University Hospital, and one of the first public TMS, tDCS, and ketamine services. She is actively involved in ECT, TMS, and ketamine research and is a CI on multiple NHMRC-funded, multi-site clinical trials. She is currently setting up a psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy trial for depression at Gold Coast University Hospital.

Tom Kennedy 
Tom Kennedy holds a Bachelor of Psychological Science with Honours from the University of Queensland and joined the Psychedelic Medicine and Supportive Care Lab at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in early 2024 as a PhD student. This followed early experience as a research intern with the Psychae Institute (Melbourne) in 2022. Tom’s research is embedded within the Psilocybin-Assisted suppoRtive Therapy IN the treatment of prolonged Grief (PARTING) trial where he has had the privilege of conducting evaluative interviews with participants and their therapists to explore their experiences in the intervention, assess its safety, feasibility, and acceptability, and investigate its potential impact as a treatment for prolonged grief.

Dr Tony Barnett
Dr Tony Barnett is a Research Fellow in the School of Psychology and National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research at The University of Queensland. Tony's research explores the social, cultural and (neuro)ethical contexts of alcohol and other drug use, treatment (including novel therapeutics) and policy change. His work draws on social science methods to provide in-depth accounts of consumers, carers and clinicians’ experiences of addiction treatment, care and recovery. One of his new projects entitled “The psychedelic revival in addiction science: A social and policy analysis”, will provide an international comparison of the societal and clinical impact of translating psychedelics to practice in Australia and the UK, and what it all means for responsible research and innovation.

Dr Ruben Laukkonen 
Dr Ruben Laukkonen is a Researcher and Senior Lecturer at Southern Cross University, where his research uncovers empirically grounded and experientially authentic models of meditation, insight, psychedelics, and consciousness. Using a combination of methods including neuroimaging, machine learning, and phenomenology, he is investigating some of the rarest states of consciousness available to human beings. Ruben has won multiple awards for both his research and teaching, and his work has been featured widely in popular media, including The New York Times, TIME, TEDx, Vice, ABC, Aeon, VOX, New Scientist, and in the Nature collection. Ruben is also a chief investigator on Australia’s largest psychedelic clinical trial, the HEAling climate Related Trauma (HEART) Trial.

Natalie Roset 
Natalie Roset is a holistic psychotherapist and a registered nurse with over 20 years of experience in palliative care and oncology. For the past two years, she has been a nurse-counsellor in the Psychedelic Medicine & Supportive Care Lab at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, where she supports family carers of pancreatic cancer patients through structured counselling and provides psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for individuals with prolonged grief disorder. In addition to her work at QIMR Berghofer, Natalie runs a private practice, offering compassionate care to those affected by serious illness, grief, and loss. 

Dr Nikola Ognyenovits
Dr Nikola Ognyenovits is a Hungarian born psychedelic therapist and addiction medicine specialist physician living and working in Brisbane, Australia. Dr Nikola has been using ketamine in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy in his community private practice since 2020. He has trained in Grof Transpersonal Training, transpersonal psychotherapy and other therapeutic modalities. He completed training in ketamine, MDMA (MAPS) and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapies. Dr Nikola is currently engaged in psychedelic research projects and training therapists in this field in Australia.

Dr Prash Puspanathan  
Dr Prash Puspanathan is a Consultant Psychiatrist in Melbourne who develops and works with novel therapeutic modalities as well as the Co-Founder of 2 companies at the forefront of disruptive innovation. One of them, Enosis Therapeutics, has developed a patent pending, novel therapeutic methodology of Spatial Therapeutics (STx), a means of remote mental health care delivery built for Spatial Computing, to keep pace with a 3-dimensional technological future. Enosis is pioneering the academic field of the synergistic effect of Virtual Reality and Psychedelic Therapy, a concept which Enosis first pioneered in 2021. For a decade, Prash has been one of Australia's longest standing advocates for Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy and is one of the founding members of Psychedelic Institute Australia, providing the gold standard of psychedelic therapist training to meet an unmet need in Australia. 

Professor Susan Rossell   
Susan Rossell is a Professor of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry and Director of Clinical Trials at Swinburne University, Melbourne; she is also Co-Chair of MAGNET - the Australian mental health clinical trial network. She trained at the University of Manchester and King’s College London in the UK, holding a lectureship at the University of Oxford prior to moving to Australia. She has published over 450 peer reviewed articles and book chapters. She sits on the National Institute of Mental Health International Body Dysmorphic Disorder Scientific Advisory Group and is the Secretary for the steering committee of International Consortium of Hallucination Research (ICHR). She is leading Psilocybin Assisted Psychotherapy trials for treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, and anorexia nervosa and treatment resistant depression. 

Dr Mike Millard  
Dr Mike Millard is the Director of the Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression (CRUfAD) at St Vincent's Hospital and the University of NSW. He is a psychiatrist who specialises in youth and adult mood and anxiety conditions, including sub-speciality skills in psychotherapy, innovative pharmacological treatments (psychedelics) and the application of health technology. In 2021 Mike co-founded one of Australia’s first psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy research labs at St Vincent’s Public Hospital, Sydney. As a Senior Lecturer with the University of NSW he teaches regularly at UNSW, Sydney University and the Health Education and Training Institute. His research interests include current trials in application of pharmacogenomics, psilocybin assisted psychotherapy, local and international based internet based CBT, ketamine and is a member of the MAGNET clinical trials network. 

Dr Tram Nguyen 
Dr Tram Nguyen is a psychedelic therapist with Swinburne University of Technology. In her other roles, she is a Consultant Psychiatrist with Royal Children’s Hospital Gender Service, the Cabrini Asylum Seeker and Refugee Health Hub and also with the Royal Women’s Hospital Alcohol and Drug Service. She is passionate about equity in healthcare provision and is dedicated to helping those, who face marginalisation due to various forms of discrimination, minority stress, and the complex interplay of intersectional identities. She prioritises supporting those negatively affected by the cultural hegemony resulting from Western post-colonial influences, within the social model of health framework.

Agnieszka Sekula 
Agnieszka Sekula is a scientist with a background in biomedical engineering and medical imaging who introduces novel practices using cutting edge biotech tools, such as customised imaging robots, 3D modelling and VR, into medical research all over the world, including forensic medicine in Switzerland, space medicine in Austria and translational science in Singapore. As a researcher at the Clinical Psychedelic Lab At Monash University, she investigates mechanisms of novel therapeutics, including immersive technology and psychedelics. As a co-founder of Enosis Therapeutics she developed a novel method of leveraging immersive technology to create an insight-focused approach to mental health treatment, well-being and human optimisation. Agnieszka’s research in experience design and altered states led her to conduct the world’s first study on the use of immersive therapeutic frameworks in combination with psychedelics to sustain psycho-emotional change and ensure scalability of treatment.

Ariana Elias 
Ariana Elias is a clinical psychologist and worked within the field of body image and eatingdisorders since 2002. In 2015, Ariana developed Raising Body-Confident Kids, a body imageprevention program for parents and primary school aged children. In 2021, Ariana foundedTikvah Clinic with the hope of creating a specialised eating disorder multidisciplinaryoutpatient clinic. Tikvah Clinic provides patients and their families supportive, holistic,individualised and innovative treatments. In 2023, Ariana completed her training with theKetamine Training Centre and offers Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) to individualswith difficult to treat depression and eating disorders. She also completed MDMA trainingwith Monash University- Clinical Psychedelic Lab and has received specialist training inPsilocybin. Ariana is a trauma informed therapist and has completed clinical training inCognitive Behaviour Therapy, Trauma-Focused CBT, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, SpecialistSupportive Clinical Management, Family Based Treatment, and Internal Family Systems.

Daniel Zalcberg  
Daniel Zalcberg is psychotherapist and provisional psychologist with over a decade of experience in mental health treatment. He is currently completing his Masters of Clinical Psychology, with his focused on the intersection of anger, frustration, and depression and exploring the functional role of anger in the healing process. Daniel utilises evidence-based practices including EMDR, clinical hypnosis and Resource Therapy (RT), while integrating holistic approaches to mental health treatment. His therapeutic framework combines traditional clinical methods with mindfulness-based interventions and somatic practices. He has trained in various breathwork and somatic approaches and regularly incorporates these modalities into his practice. Daniel's unique approach bridges contemporary psychological theory with traditional healing practices, informed by his ongoing study of Buddhist Psychology and travelling annually to work with Indigenous Maestros of the Cocama and Asháninka people in Peru.

Dr Jon Hart 
Dr Jon Hart has developed an interest in human peak experiences and has worked for 20 years within professional sport, alongside athletes wanting to utilise flow states to enhance their performance. Over the past 10 years, he has transitioned across to offering trauma informed psychotherapy and utilises a combination of IFS (Level 1 Accredited), Transpersonal Psychology, Somatic Processing and EMDR (Level 1 Advanced) based modalities to assist his clients. In terms of altered states of consciousness, he has gained experiences as one of the therapists on the QIMR Psilocybin-Assisted suppoRtive Therapy IN the treatment of prolonged Grief trial (PARTING Trial) and has completed several Australian and International Psychedelic trainings including the MAPS MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy course. Jon offers integration services within his private practice and assists clients to make meaning from their experiences. He believes that successful integration is an ongoing process involving embodiment of these experiences as well as learning how to embed this new knowledge into everyday existence. Jon is also employed to work on an upcoming Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy trial for Treatment Resistant Depression with Swinburne University.

Dr David Spektor 
Dr David Spektor is a Senior Clinical Psychologist with 20 years of experience working in mental health in the UK, New Zealand, and Australia. Much of his career has been in the public sector, addressing severe and challenging mental health issues. Disheartened by the medicalisation of misery prevalent within the mental health system, he established his own private practice. In 2022, David joined the Clinical Psychedelic Lab at Monash University, where he underwent intensive Psilocybin-assisted Psychotherapy training and completed MDMAassisted Psychotherapy training with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). He has been a core therapist in Australia’s largest psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy trial, conducted by the Clinical Psychedelic Lab at Monash University, and serves as a lead therapist and clinical supervisor in the Lab’s MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD trial. Additionally, David has contributed as a training assistant in the first MDMA assisted therapist training by MAPS held in Australia and is a tutor for the MIND (Berlin) 2-year psychedelic therapist training program.

Dr Amber Domberelli
Dr Amber Domberelli is a Clinical Pharmacist who is currently employed as the Research Manager for the Drug and Alcohol Service on the Mid North Coast of NSW. Amber’s PhD explored the use of microdosing with psychedelics as a form of treatment for mental health concerns, and how this treatment modality compared to the use of pharmaceutical medicines. Amber is passionate about harm reduction, and is a Director of Bluelight Communities, a harm reduction not for profit organisation. Amber has been recognised for her expertise as a pharmacist specialising in Addiction Medicine and Research, having achieved the highest level of recognition as a Pharmacist Consultant/Fellow (FANZCAP) by the Australian and New Zealand College of Advanced Pharmacy.

Dr Julian Georges 
Dr Julian Georges is a Melbourne-based Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Advanced Trainee completing a Masters of Mental Health Science Research Project with the Monash University ClinicalPsychedelic Lab, supervised by Dr Paul Liknaitzky and Professor Suresh Sundram. Julian has experience working across a wide scope of mental health services during his psychiatry training atMonash Health in the last five years, including acute adult psychiatry, addiction medicine, the adult gender clinic, the perinatal and infant mental health clinic and the Oasis under 12s neuropsychiatry unit. Julian is due to complete his Advanced Certificate in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in early 2025. He has a deep interest in psychedelic-assisted therapy and its potential utility in alleviating mental suffering and fostering healing in young people and their families, ultimately helping to break cycles of intergenerational trauma.

Dr Sarah Catchlove
Dr Sarah Catchlove has a research background in psychopharmacology, cognitive neuroscience, sleep medicine, psychophysiology and neuroimaging. At Turning Point, Sarah is overseeing clinical trials investigating a variety of novel substances in the treatment of substance use disorders and comorbidities with mental health diagnoses. Prior to this, an industry-funded post-doc at the Centre for Human Psychopharmacology (CHP) at Swinburne University, was focussed on commercialisation opportunities for medicinal cannabis. Collaborative studies include the behavioural and neurophysiological effects of cannabinoids in children with autism spectrum disorder; cannabidiol for exercise-induced muscle inflammation, and a large-scale project investigating gut microbiota, stress resilience and cognitive performance in Army recruits with the Australian Defence Science and Technology group. Research interests include psychedelics, regulatory affairs, drug discovery, and the mechanisms of novel pharmaceuticals in enhancing health and well-being, as well as direct effects on brain function.

Aloysius Lau
Aloysius Lau (Amos) is a penultimate-year medical student who recently completed his Biomedical Science Honours degree at the Monash University Clinical Psychedelic Lab under the supervision ofDr. Paul Liknaitzky. Awarded a summer research scholarship with Turning Point in 2023, he contributed to the ongoing MPATHY trial (MDMA for PTSD and comorbid Alcohol Use Disorder).With a deep interest in psychedelics as tools for improving well-being and mental health, Amos is particularly keen on the community-building aspects these therapies offer. He passionately advocates for advancing psychedelic research and actively engages in developments within the scientific psychedelic field. Committed to cultural attunement in healthcare, he aims to explore how psychedelic treatments can benefit underrepresented Asian populations, especially in communities where mental health stigma is prevalent. Amos aspires to bridge the gap between innovative therapies and culturally sensitive care, ultimately enhancing mental health outcomes in underserved communities.

Peta Blaisdell
Peta Blaisdell is a senior psychotherapist, supervisor and educator in private practice in the inner west of Melbourne. She began her trauma and somatic therapy training at The Massachusetts Trauma Center and the California Institute of Integral Studies in the early noughties. Returning to Melbourne she completed an intensive three year diploma in psychodynamic and somatic psychotherapy, providing a strong clinical model for intersubjective psychotherapy and a bottom up processing approach. Peta brought these skills into roles within the health sector, developing trauma and attachment informed counselling teams and providing professional development and training in the health sector for policymakers and senior management. Her interest in psychedelic medicine began with her connection to the coastal Salish communities in Western Canada. Peta joined the Clinical Psychedelic Lab in 2021. Currently Peta is a trial therapist at Monash University for MDMA for PTSD, and BPL-003 using novel synthetic 5-MeO for Treatment Resistant Depression.  

Dr Emily Tunks 
Dr Emily Tunks is a Melbourne-based Health Psychologist and Somatic Psychotherapist who integrates relational, depth, ecotherapy and systems theory approaches with her postgraduate training in Hakomi Mindful Somatic and ISITTA Trauma Therapy. Emily is also a therapist for Australia’s early clinical psychedelic trials utilising MDMA for PTSD with first responders at Monash University and two studies investigating psilocybin for depression at Swinburne University (2021 and ongoing). Emily is Co-Chair of the PAP Interest Group within the Australian Association of Psychologists Incorporated (AAPi). Her academic and professional interest in trauma and consciousness studies formalised during her novel doctoral qualitative research, which explored Australian ICU specialists' interpretations and practices related to brain and cardiac death determination, end-of-life care, and organ donation (2010); and in her Psychophysiology and Psychology co-major degree, where she earned First Class Honours for her research contrasting EEG coherence patterns in individuals with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and age-matched healthy controls.

Joshua Kugel 
Joshua Kugel is PhD (Clinical Psychology) Candidate, Provisional Psychologist and Research Officer in the Clinical Psychedelic Lab at Monash University. Building on a background in meditation and attention research and active inference theories of neurodevelopmental conditions, his work explores the intersection of acute psychedelic phenomenology, and cognition and therapeutic change. Joshua’s doctoral research investigates psychedelic-catalysed insight and its clinical relevance.

Rachel Ham 
Rachel Ham is a PhD candidate (Clinical Psychology) and Research Officer at Monash University's Clinical Psychedelic Lab. Rachel's research explores the psychotherapeutic dimension of PAT, focussing on how clinicians can adapt traditional therapeutic practice to safely and effectively accommodate the unique complexities of psychedelics. As a developing clinician, Rachel is passionate about attachment-based therapeutic work, an approach that also informs her research. Rachel has acted as an assistant trial therapist in a PAT clinical trial, and also has experience providing support to people using psychedelics through her volunteer work in harm reduction spaces. 

Hanna Beebe
Hanna Beebe is a registered nurse with over 20 years of experience in oncology. For the past six years, she has been a nurse-counsellor in the Psychedelic Medicine & Supportive Care Lab at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, where she has supported family carers of pancreatic cancer patients through structured counselling and is a project manager and nurse on the Psilocybin-Assisted suppoRtive Therapy IN the treatment of prolonged Grief (PARTING) trial. Hanna has been involved in screening, data management, day to day management of the PARTING Trial and provided psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for individuals with prolonged grief disorder.

Ashkan Agahi 
Ashkan Agahi is a Psychology Honours graduate and volunteer at the Clinical Psychedelic Lab at Monash University. He completed his thesis on the Reliable Experiences Scale and is beginning his Masters of Clinical Psychology in 2025. His interests include how psychedelic-assisted therapies can benefit underserved communities, therapeutic mechanisms of change, and the connections between flow states, peak performance, and psychedelic phenomenology.

Hannah Adler
Hannah Adler is a Lecturer of Communication and member of the Centre for Social and Cultural Research at Griffith University. Her research is interdisciplinary across communication and sociology and focused on conditions and treatments related to pain and suffering. Her doctoral thesis which was submitted late-2024 investigated the framings of medicinal cannabis in Australian news media, and the impact such framings have for doctors and patients. Since then, Hannah has published research on the topics of medicinal cannabis and endometriosis. Recently, she was awarded the AANZCA Christopher Newell Prize for her research on inclusive language and endometriosis. Hannah is now part of a large, interdisciplinary study focusing on the use of psilocybin for existential distress in people with cancer. This project aims to investigate the opinions of healthcare professionals, people with cancer, and researchers to better understand the potential role of psilocybin as an effective treatment option for this population.

Claire Finkelstein 
Claire Finkelstein is a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist and supervisor with a particular interest in working with individuals and families across the lifespan who grapple with eating disorders and body image concerns. Claire engages from a trauma-informed, systemic and emotion-focused framework, anchored in reverence for the wisdom of our bodies.  She is committed to honouring diversity of body, gender, sexuality, ethnicity and spirituality with authenticity, compassion, and a little well-placed humour. An effort to seek better treatment outcomes for eating disorders drove Claire to pursue a PhD candidate at Swinburne University, where she is currently the trial coordinator and lead therapist for emBodIeD, a world-first clinical trial investigating psilocybin-assisted therapy for body image disturbance in women with partially recovered anorexia nervosa. 

Workshop Presenters:

Dr Bianca Sebben
Dr Bianca Sebben is a Clinical Psychologist with an interest in complex trauma and dissociative disorders. She earned a PhD in Indigenous Psychology in Mexico, exploring the incorporation of traditional healing methods into the western medical paradigm to increase safety and accessibility. She is also co-founder of Indigenous Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies (IPAT). Bianca was one of the therapists on the Psilocybin-Assisted suppoRtive Therapy IN the treatment of prolonged Grief Trial and provides training and supervision to therapists in adverse events in psychedelic integration.

Kirt Mallie 
Kirt Mallie is a Mualgal man, Indigenous therapist, cultural educator, and spiritual teacher. He is the co-founder of IPAT (Indigenous Psychedelic Assisted Therapies) and has spent over a decade working with natural substances, co-developing a culturally safe model for psychedelic-assisted therapy. A We-Al-Li facilitator specialising in Culturally Informed Trauma Integrated Healing, Kirt was also one of the therapists involved in the Psilocybin-Assisted Supportive Therapy in the treatment of prolonged grief trial. Additionally, he leads yoga and meditation trainings and offers spiritual counselling, breathwork, Wayapa Wuurrk (earth connection), and sound therapy sessions.

Jem Stone
Jem Stone is a First Nations Woman with mixed heritage, Cultural Educator, Wellness Practitioner and Trainer who is passionately integrating original knowledge systems into education and wellness spaces through connection and decolonised learning methods. Working and training in the wellness industry for over twenty years, Jem Stone dedicates much of her time learning from Elders and other cultural teachers and works as a consultant using a Culturally Informed Trauma Integrated Healing Approach. Jem is trained as a Psychedelic Assisted Therapist, Wayapa Wuurrk Practitioner and Trainer, We Al-li Facilitator, Rebirthing Breathwork Therapist and Educator, Meditation and Yoga instructor who is passionate about creating safe, inclusive, decolonised spaces for healing. Jem is a cofounder of IPAT- Indigenous Psychedelic Assisted Therapies and Rebirthing Breathwork Australia. Jem Stone is a proud mother of 3 adult children and is based on Wurundjeri lands in Melbourne and travels gently throughout Australia to share this work.  

Campbell Townsend
Campbell Townsend is a Clinical Psychologist contributing to psychedelic-assisted therapy research in Australia. He was involved in the Psilocybin for Generalized Anxiety Disorder trial at Monash University's Clinical Psychedelic Research Lab as a Trial Therapist, and now works as a Senior Research Consultant. He currently serves as a lead therapist at Clarion, a private psychedelic clinic.Based in the Central Victorian Goldfields, Campbell co-directs a private practice. As a board approved Clinical Supervisor, he takes great pleasure in nurturing the professional development of early-career psychologists in rural areas. Campbell is committed to deep, authentic somatic-based therapy, fostering profound resonance with his clients. His approach integrates various modalities including ACT, EMDR, and IFS. For couples, he utilizes the Gottman Method, as a certified GottmanTherapist and Trainer, and offers intensive ‘Marathon’ sessions.

Dr Esme Dark
Dr Esme Dark has over 15 years of experience as a Clinical Psychologist, specializing in supporting individuals navigating psychological distress. She currently serves as a lead therapist at Clarion, a private psychedelic clinic, and contributes to the Clinical Psychedelic Research Lab at Monash University as a Trial Therapist. Her research experience includes investigating Psilocybin-assisted Psychotherapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder and currently, MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD in first responders. She also extends her expertise through training and consultation for psychedelic research trials and therapists internationally. Dr Dark is the founder of a Melbourne-based private psychology practice where she offers individual therapy for adults, provides clinical supervision, and facilitates psychotherapeutic group programs. Her therapeutic approach integrates Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems, and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy. Additionally, she hosts "Beyond the Trip," a podcast dedicated to exploring psychedelic therapy.

Sarah Pant
Sarah Pant is a Clinical Psychotherapist with nearly two decades of experience in mental health across Australia and the UK. She joined the Clinical Psychedelic Lab at Monash University in 2020, and was a core therapist in the world’s first Psilocybin for Generalized Anxiety trial. Currently, Sarah serves as a clinical supervisor and therapist on the lab’s MDMA therapy for PTSD trial. As the founding Director of Being Found, Sarah offers long-term integration services for individuals post-psychedelic treatment, and integration training and supervision for therapists. She is also a therapist supervisor at Clarion Clinics, a psychedelic-assisted therapy clinic in Melbourne. With a holistic approach to health and well-being, Sarah is deeply interested in fostering human connection, exploring altered state experiences, enhancing our connection with the living world, and navigating the unique challenges of our time.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

Shevaun Russell
Shevaun Russell has over 10 years of experience in the creative industries as an educator, author, and artisan. Passionate about connecting people with nature, Shevaun has led many workshops combining eco-awareness, art, and well-being. She also specialises in creating inspiring spaces that integrate natural elements with artistic expression. A member of the Albert Valley Wilderness Society and a Hands on Learning educator in a primary school, Shevaun has developed content that allows students to step outside the classroom and engage in slow crafts and trade-based skills. She also organises an annual Eco Festival, offering workshops and immersive environments that reconnect children and adults alike with the natural world.