Welcome to the Psychedelic Conversations Podcast!

Episode 177:
In this episode, we speak with returning guest David Drapkin about the evolving relationship between psychedelics, mental health, and artificial intelligence. David shares how his background in social work, psychotherapy, addiction treatment, and psychedelic education now informs his work designing AI conversations for wellness support. We explore AI’s potential as a therapeutic co-pilot, alongside vital questions about consent, privacy, regulation, and the irreplaceable value of human presence. We also discuss the shadow side of the psychedelic field, practitioner accountability, medicalisation, safe access, and the need for transparent standards and peer support. David reflects on low-dose approaches, inner healing intelligence, and the importance of moving slowly when someone is psychologically destabilised. Together, we consider why lasting healing requires community, careful preparation, and a reliable “landing container” for integration.

Watch our previous conversation here:
https://youtu.be/ePWwr_iaNWk?si=b9SXIf3ZlXR9rkI0

About David:
David Drapkin is a psychotherapist trained in England, Australia, and the United States, with 12 years of clinical experience. He specialises in addiction, depression, anxiety, trauma, men’s health, OCD, PTSD, and psychedelic- and cannabis-assisted therapy. Drawing from psychodynamic therapy, CBT, psychoanalysis, Internal Family Systems, somatic-informed practices, and mindfulness, David takes a humanistic, strengths-based approach that honours each client’s complexity and innate capacity for healing. His work helps people look beyond diagnostic labels, identify the deeper roots of unhealthy patterns, and reconnect with their values, intuition, and authentic selves. By encouraging curiosity, mindful self-awareness, emotional honesty, and a willingness to embrace change, David supports clients in developing the insight, skills, and resolve needed to create meaningful and lasting transformation.

Connect with David:

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daviddrapkin/
- Website: https://www.davedrapkin.com/

Thank you so much for joining us!

Psychedelic Conversations Podcast is designed to educate, inform, and expand awareness.

For more information, please head over to https://www.psychedelicconversations.com

Please share with your friends or leave a review so that we can reach more people and feel free to join us in our private Facebook group to keep the conversation going. https://www.facebook.com/groups/psychedelicconversations

This show is for information purposes only,
and is not intended to provide mental health or medical advice.

About Susan Guner:
Susan Guner is a holistic psychotherapist with a mindfulness-based approach grounded in Transpersonal Psychology, focusing on trauma-informed, community-centric processes that offer a broader understanding of human potential and well-being.

Connect with Susan:
Website: https://www.psychedelicconversations.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/susan.guner
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-guner/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/susanguner
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/susanguner
Blog: https://susanguner.medium.com/
Podcast: https://anchor.fm/susan-guner

#PsychedelicConversations #SusanGuner #DavidDrapkin

Welcome to the Psychedelic Conversations Podcast!

Episode 176:
In this episode, we speak with returning guest Matt Zemon about ordinary mysticism, psychedelic spirituality, and the healing power of human connection. Matt shares how his first guided psychedelic experience reshaped his worldview and inspired his studies in neuroscience, psychology, ministry, and spiritual practice. We discuss his book "Ordinary Mystics" and the idea that mystical experiences are available to everyone, not only saints, prophets, or spiritual authorities. Together, we explore community as a container for integration, the risks of spiritual grandiosity, religious harm, and the tension between medical and spiritual models of psychedelic use. We also consider how psychedelics may help us remember our interconnectedness, deepen family relationships, and rediscover childlike wonder. Finally, Matt explains his work supporting entheogenic communities and reducing risk across medical, recreational, and spiritual contexts.

Watch our previous conversation here:
https://youtu.be/4Jr3awHkvXg?si=rkLqF508QgJ4M1HQ

About Matt:
Matt Zemon is Executive Director of the Council on Spiritual Practices, an organization that for over three decades has been dedicated to making experiences of the Sacred more available to more people. He holds a Doctor of Ministry from Pacific School of Religion, specializing in psychedelics in religious practice, and a Master of Science in Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health from King's College London. The author of six books on psychedelics, religion, and healing, he serves an entheogenic faith community and views direct spiritual experience as rooted in religious tradition and deserving of legal protection. Matt is grounded in the conviction that personal healing contributes to collective healing. He writes and speaks as a fellow traveler who does not promote psychedelics as shortcuts or cures. Matt speaks regularly at conferences, universities, and religious communities on the intersection of psychedelics, spirituality, science, and law.

Connect with Matt:

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattzemon/
- Website: https://www.mattzemon.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matt.zemon/?hl=en

Thank you so much for joining us!

Psychedelic Conversations Podcast is designed to educate, inform, and expand awareness.

For more information, please head over to https://www.psychedelicconversations.com

Please share with your friends or leave a review so that we can reach more people and feel free to join us in our private Facebook group to keep the conversation going. https://www.facebook.com/groups/psychedelicconversations

This show is for information purposes only,
and is not intended to provide mental health or medical advice.

About Susan Guner:
Susan Guner is a holistic psychotherapist with a mindfulness-based approach grounded in Transpersonal Psychology, focusing on trauma-informed, community-centric processes that offer a broader understanding of human potential and well-being.

Connect with Susan:
Website: https://www.psychedelicconversations.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/susan.guner
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-guner/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/susanguner
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/susanguner
Blog: https://susanguner.medium.com/
Podcast: https://anchor.fm/susan-guner

#PsychedelicConversations #SusanGuner #MattZemon

Welcome to the Psychedelic Conversations Podcast!

Episode 175:
In this episode of Psychedelic Conversations, we speak with Vermont-based addiction recovery advocate and author Rory Van Tuinen to explore his deeply personal journey through grief, opioid addiction, relapse, and recovery. Rory shares how the loss of his best friend, a serious car accident, and prescribed opioids led to years of heroin and methadone dependence. We discuss the transformative roles ayahuasca, ibogaine, peer support, family connection, and intentional integration played in helping him reclaim his identity. Rory also introduces his book, Awakening the Heart: Reclaiming Identity After Addiction, and reflects on sensitivity, acceptance, and storytelling as tools for healing. Together, we examine harm reduction, psychedelic safety, cultural respect, and the need to build thoughtful bridges between Indigenous traditions and Western models of care.

Find Rory's book here:
https://a.co/d/09dZtUXK

About Rory:
Rory Van Tuinen is a Vermont-based advocate for addiction recovery, author, and co-creator of Candid Conversations by Cultivating Connections. Drawing from his lived experience of opioid addiction, relapse, and recovery, he supports initiatives that foster resilience, connection, harm reduction, and personal transformation. His book, Awakening the Heart: Reclaiming Identity After Addiction, explores the experiences that shaped his journey and the roles of psychedelic medicines, peer support, family, and integration in his healing. Rory believes that sharing honest stories within our communities can challenge stigma, deepen acceptance, and become a powerful mechanism for both individual and collective revolution.

Connect with Rory:

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roryvantuinen/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roryvantuinen/
- Website: https://roryvantuinen.com/

Thank you so much for joining us!

Psychedelic Conversations Podcast is designed to educate, inform, and expand awareness.

For more information, please head over to https://www.psychedelicconversations.com

Please share with your friends or leave a review so that we can reach more people and feel free to join us in our private Facebook group to keep the conversation going. https://www.facebook.com/groups/psychedelicconversations

This show is for information purposes only,
and is not intended to provide mental health or medical advice.

About Susan Guner:
Susan Guner is a holistic psychotherapist with a mindfulness-based approach grounded in Transpersonal Psychology, focusing on trauma-informed, community-centric processes that offer a broader understanding of human potential and well-being.

Connect with Susan:
Website: https://www.psychedelicconversations.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/susan.guner
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-guner/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/susanguner
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/susanguner
Blog: https://susanguner.medium.com/
Podcast: https://anchor.fm/susan-guner

#PsychedelicConversations #SusanGuner #RoryVanTuinen