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The Integration Session

The Centre for Psychedelics Health and Research

The Integration Session is for staying up-to-date on all things psychedelic science, with the experts themselves. This podcast takes an integrative approach—sharing research findings, their clinical relevance, and reaching towards solutions to key challenges in the field today. Hosted by Dr. Elena Koning, this show is where scientists connect to discuss anything from mechanisms and study design to ethics and policy. If you’re a scientist, trainee, or simply someone who wants to dig deeper, tune in for engaging discussions about psychedelics and their promising future in healthcare and beyond.

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  • 25 episodes
  • fortnightly
  • Avg 40 min
  • English

Episodes 25

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  • January 8 · 30 min

    Psychedelics, Cultural Healing, and Advocacy with Podcaster Osheen Dayal

    How does one pivot from running a successful construction business in India to becoming a leading voice in psychedelic advocacy and mental health in Canada? In this episode of The Integration Session, host Elena is joined by Osheen Dayal–a University of British Columbia Psychology alumna, former co-president of the Women Empowerment Club, and current Master’s student in Counselling Psychology at Adler University. As the YouTube Committee Lead and Podcast Host at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) Canada, Osheen is at the heart of psychedelic science communication, advocacy, and story-telling. Together, Elena and Osheen discuss Osheen’s unique journey to psychedelic therapy training, her perspectives on cultural healing, spirituality, social justice and equity, as well as shared interests in science communication across the psychedelic field.

  • Dec 22, 2025 · 40 min

    2025 Highlights in Psychedelic Science with CPHR Director Dr. Claudio Soares

    2025 was a pivotal year for psychedelic research at the Centre for Psychedelics Health & Research (CPHR) and across Canada. In this year-end finale of The Integration Session, host Dr. Elena Koning sits down with CPHR Director Dr. Claudio Soares for a reflective conversation on progress, breakthroughs, and the road ahead. Dr. Soares shares his professional journey in psychiatry, the evolution of CPHR into one of Canada’s leading multidisciplinary hubs for psychedelic science, education, and clinical innovation, and the centre’s key milestones to date. Major highlights include the launch of the first Health Canada-approved Phase 2 clinical trial of at-home, low-dose (non-hallucinogenic) psilocybin for generalized anxiety disorder, and a Phase 2, multi-center clinical trial of a rapid-acting DMT formulation (VLS-01 Buccal Film) for treatment-resistant depression. Looking to 2026, Dr. Soares shares CPHR’s exciting plans, including expanded research priorities, enhanced knowledge translation efforts, and strengthened national and international partnerships to responsibly advance psychedelic medicine. Dr. Claudio Soares is a physician, researcher, and educator with over 25 years of experience in mental health and women’s health. He is a Professor of Psychiatry at Queen’s University and Director of the Centre for Psychedelics Health and Research, leading innovative clinical research and knowledge dissemination initiatives. He also serves as Regional Clinical Co-Lead for Mental Health and Addictions at Ontario Health East and is President of The Menopause Society, a global organization dedicated to advancing women’s health at midlife and beyond. His expertise spans mood disorders, reproductive psychiatry, menopause, clinical trials, mobile health technologies, psychedelics research, and health innovation.

  • Dec 11, 2025 · 33 min

    Chronic Pain & Psychedelics: A Women-First Approach with Dr. Sinziana Pop

    Chronic pain impacts over 1.5 billion people worldwide, with the majority of affected individuals being women. As conventional treatments don’t always help, there’s an emerging interest in the potential of psychedelic therapies. In this episode of The Integration Session, we explore the current state of the science on psychedelics as an approach to alleviating pain and improving quality of life in women with chronic pain. Dr. Sinziana Pop from the Francis Crick Institute shares her diverse expertise on the topic, future research plans, and why it’s so crucial to take a women-centered approach to psychedelic chronic pain research. This is an especially important topic for psychedelic scientists considering that, in existing clinical trials, most participants are males and sex is not often accounted for in analyses. Dr. Sinziana Pop is a neuroscientist with over a decade of experience researching brain function and evolution. In recent years, her focus has shifted from curiosity-driven "blue sky" neuroscience to exploring unconventional approaches for treating chronic pain in women. Recognizing that individual experiences are central to effective treatment, she is now pursuing psychedelic research, with the aim of designing clinical trials informed by women with lived experience of chronic pain.

  • Nov 27, 2025 · 35 min

    Hypnosis, Trauma & Tips for Psychedelic Guides with Denise Rue

    Have you ever wondered what it’s like to sit with someone having one of the most profound experiences of their life? In this deeply candid conversation, psychedelic therapist Denise Rue brings a wealth of experience to our discussion about facilitating psychedelic therapy. We discuss her journey to the field, the nuances of guiding individuals through psychedelic therapy, the surprising ways clinical hypnosis and psychedelics intersect, comparisons between group retreats and 1:1 therapy, advice for aspiring therapists (e.g., informed consent, boundaries, harm reduction), the role of poetry in psychedelic therapy, and questions that every prospective client should ask before trusting someone with their psychedelic experience. Denise Rue, MA, MFA, MSW, is a licensed Clinical Social Worker, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Psychedelic-Assisted Therapist, and founder of the New Jersey Psychedelic Therapy Association. From 2019-2022 Denise worked as a retreat leader and lead therapist at a legal psilocybin retreat center in Jamaica, and continues to lead retreats in Portugal, Mexico, and Colorado. Denise has had the privilege of facilitating over 1,750 psilocybin sessions, and as many group integration sessions. She has a profound respect for the healing potential of this medicine, as well as a deep sense of the responsibility practitioners hold in shepherding people on their journeys. Denise has a private psychotherapy practice in New Jersey, specializing in individuals with complex trauma, especially adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. She utilizes a variety of modalities in her work, including ketamine-assisted therapy, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), somatic therapy and clinical hypnosis. Denise will soon be launching her psychedelic education, integration, and harm reduction business, Interweave Healing, with her colleague, Jessalyn Maguire, LSW.

  • Nov 13, 2025 · 39 min

    The Economics of Psychedelics with Dr. Elliot Marseille

    Which psychedelic therapy is the most cost-effective? How can we determine the value of a psychedelic treatment? In this episode of The Integration Session, we discuss the crucial economic landscape of psychedelic therapies with Dr. Elliot Marseille, a health economist and founding director of the Collaborative for the Economics of Psychedelics at UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco. As a leading expert and author of several recent scientific publications on the topic, we explore the economic viability of psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, the economic potential of group therapy models for conflict zones and low-income countries, and the crucial study design approaches to enhance affordability, feasibility, and regulatory impact.

Showing 21–25 of 25 episodes