Last month, the Journey Clinical team traveled to Denver, Colorado for MAPS’ largest and most inspiring conference yet: Psychedelic Science 2023. This momentous event brought together over 12,000 attendees driven by their passion for psychedelic sciences, from world-class researchers, practitioners, activists, investors, advocates and artists to enthusiasts of all walks of life dedicated to advancing the psychedelics industry.
As part of the conference, our team proudly hosted a conference hall booth, two panel discussions, and a community afterparty. Below is a recap and some key insights gathered from all of our MAPS Psychedelic Science Conference activations.
Panel: Telemedicine Models for Supporting Psychedelic Therapy
We are incredibly proud of our CEO and Co-Founder, Jonathan Sabbagh, for representing Journey Clinical on the panel titled “Telemedicine Models for Supporting Psychedelic Therapy.” Moderated by our esteemed clinical advisor, Lauren Taus, LCSW, the panel delved into the innovative ways telemedicine can enhance accessibility for psychedelic-assisted treatments. Jonathan shared insights on the role of technology in expanding the reach of mental healthcare, emphasizing the importance of responsible implementation, such as Journey Clinical’s collaborative care model that places treatment within a container of the therapeutic alliance. Our biggest message from this panel is that telemedicine is here to stay. If delivered skillfully, we believe that tech-enabled care unlocks a tremendous amount of possibility, accessibility and cost savings for patients at a higher standard of care. We do not believe in a telemedicine first approach, but a patient-first approach: our model at Journey Clinical enables patients to access a KAP-trained medical team for eligibility, prescriptions and outcome monitoring via telemedicine while working with their psychotherapist in their office in-person and remotely, depending on their unique treatment plan, needs and preferences. ICYMI at the conference, you can watch the full replay of the panel recording below.
Panel: Journey Clinical Advisors at Community Afterparty
We were thrilled to host a community afterparty that brought together members, investors, advisors, and thought leaders in our network. During this gathering, we hosted a short panel discussion featuring some of our incredible advisors. Ingmar Gorman, Journey Clinical’s Scientific Advisor, provided valuable insights into the MAPS phase 3 trials for MDMA:
“We will be very early and on the cutting edge in terms of training for MDMA therapy. The phase 3 data that MAPS has been gathering through its clinical trials has been completed. That data will be submitted to the FDA soon for review, then after that, the DEA would hopefully reschedule that compound, then the first patient would be treated after that. We are very, very close. The mission for Fluence and also for Journey Clinical is to make psychedelic-therapy available to the world. You all are the pioneer practitioners. You all are on the cutting edge as well. There are going to be many people who follow.”
Ingmar Gorman, PhD
Lauren Taus, Clinical Advisor, shared her inspiring perspective on the importance of relationship in the therapeutic process:
“We hurt and we heal in relationship. The reality is that we are all intimately connected. When we heal, it’s philanthropy. Journey Clinical is offering a relational framework and allowing for providers to be sovereign, supported, cared for, and educated in their work. Clinicians should not do this work alone.”
Lauren Taus, LCSW
We were also fortunate to have Sunny Strasburg, an expert in IFS (Internal Family Systems) and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), who frequently hosts sessions for our member community share her perspective on being a Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy practitioner:
“IFS is an amazing modality to combine with psychedelic therapy because it’s so intuitive, this idea that we all have parts of us, and we meet these parts of us when we’re in psychedelic journeys. It’s about thinking about how to metabolize the content that we see and experience in our psychedelic journeys and make sense of it and integrate it into our psyche with meaning.”
Sunny Strasburg, LMFT
Journey Clinical Booth
With our community now stretching across 8 states (CA, CO, FL, MA, NJ, NY, OH, and TX) it was particularly special to connect in person at the conference with our member practitioners and hear about the incredible work they’re doing bringing KAP to their communities, as well as their experiences as Journey Clinical members.
“Journey Clinical has made it very accessible for me as a therapist to be able to educate myself around psychedelic practice and then be able to offer KAP to my clients so they can access the evaluation they need to get the medicine.”
Sarah Murray LCSW, Heartwild Therapy
“I’ve been super impressed with the level of services Journey Clinical provides. Their trainings are amazing, they’re quick to respond to you, and lot of good communication and support. I can’t say enough good things about them.”
Gianna Gariglietti LPC, Golden Wellness Center
“I really appreciate Journey Clinical’s support with education, consultation groups, training, and prescribers, in a way that can help us better serve our clients. I love that Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, and Psychedelic therapy in general, is moving the needle forward so we can have people feel at home with themselves and living the life that they should.”
Julianne Schroeder MS, LPC
As we return and integrate our learnings from this conference, we carry a renewed sense of purpose, passion and dedication to our mission: to expand access to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy by empowering licensed mental health professionals in their own practice. We look forward collaborating, learning from one-another, and continuing to build our incredible community of KAP providers across the country.
