How to be Psychedelically Aware

Conversation & Q&A with:

Sianna-Rose Miller (Pixie), president of Psychedelically Aware (The PATCH)
&
Symon Beck, Psychedelically Aware (The PATCH) and Australian Psychedelic Society (APS)

About: This discussion walks through the psychedelic experience from preparation to integration. With increasing media attention and clinical research, there are a lot more people experimenting with psychedelics. Some are seeking to self-treat conditions, while others are curious to explore themselves in new ways. An honest dialogue around the potential and actual harms reported and ways to reduce them.

Covering how to make a plan if you are consuming psychedelics within group settings or with a trip sitter, including preparation, contraindications, and understanding of group etiquette. Challenges of tripping with intimate partners or friends, along with the complexities of consent and sex under the influence. How to care for yourself after a psychedelic experience. Questions to ask and how to spot red flags that may mean a particular facilitator is not a good fit for you. The need for trauma-informed practices and harm minimisation to be incorporated into underground practices. The problem with guruism and why there is a need for our community to address this culture.

Biographies

Dr Symon Beck is a mushroom enthusiast with over ten years of experience foraging and eating many different species of fungi on Australia’s East Coast. He has a particular interest in Psilocybe and other psychoactive species, and helps run the PMANZ group on Facebook. He is the secretary of the Australian Psychedelic Society. He is interested in the potential benefits of psychedelics and has a passion for harm reduction and advocacy. Symon’s academic background is in medicine and psychiatry.

Sianna-Rose (Pixie) – is the founder of the Psychedelically Aware harm minimisation network and The PATCH – The Psychedelically Aware Talking Circle Hub. Having studied psychology and health science, while pursuing postgraduate neuroscience, she has a broad understanding of how entheogens affect both the body and mind. Sianna-Rose is passionate about research and how entheogens could be used in therapeutic models. Sianna-Rose is also a volunteer and supporter of Entheogenesis Australis.

MardiGrass is also all about sensible law reform for ALL drugs, so this year we will partner with Entheogenesis Australis [EGA] to present a program dedicated to other medicinal plants. Don’t miss it! 10am – 10pm Saturday 4 May in the Town Hall Garden.