THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2023, 5:30 PM EST
Queering Psychedelics Author Talk at Bluestockings Cooperative NYC
Come out for the east coast book launch event of Queering Psychedelics: From Oppression to Liberation in Psychedelic Medicine. Join fellow lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer folx and allies in New York City to celebrate, featuring short talks from local experts on LGBTQIA+ issues in psychedelic practice: Alex Belser, PhD, Dee Dee Goldpaugh, LCSW, and Behike Sensei Kevon Simpson. Dr. Julie Holland says: “These shining stars and psychonauts are taking down heteronorms, homophobia, transphobia and plain old sexism. Here’s to liberation for all!”
In its 38 essays, covering topics of consent, privilege, intersectionality and identity, Queering Psychedelics grapples with how modern psychedelic research might address the unique needs and traumas of sexual and gender minorities—people that often suffer from challenging mental health conditions brought on by social exclusion, pathologization, criminalization, and stigmatization. This book delves into the dark history of psychedelic conversion therapy, illuminates promising psychedelic research in queer communities, and looks toward the queer contributions and leadership in psychedelic practice. This book interrogates the continuing radical potential of queer psychedelia in today’s era of assimilation, paving the way for an inclusive and intersectional world.
The event will take place at 116 Suffolk Street at Bluestockings Cooperative. The space is wheelchair accessible. Masks are required to enter the bookstore and during the entirety of the event.
Income-based sliding scale ticketing: If you are someone who identifies as having little to no income, please feel free to RSVP to our event for free. If you are someone who identifies as having disposable or generational income, please pay as close to full price for our event as you can.
About the Panelists
Dr. Alex Belser is a licensed psychologist and researcher focused on psilocybin, MDMA, and DMT therapies. At Yale, Dr. Belser is investigating a psychedelic treatment for OCD. He is the Chief Clinical Officer of Cybin, where he co-created a new model of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy called EMBARK. Dr. Belser is part of Chacruna Institute’s Women, Gender Diversity, and Sexual Minorities Working Group. He is co-editor (with Clancy Cavnar and Beatriz Labate) of Queering Psychedelics: From Oppression to Liberation in Psychedelic Medicine (Synergetic Press, 2022). Dr. Belser co-founded the NYU psychedelic research group in 2006 and was the founding President of Nautilus Sanctuary, the first non-profit center for psychedelic medicine on the east coast. His research has been featured on the front page of the New York Times, in the Atlantic, the New Yorker, The Guardian, Rolling Stone Magazine, and in Michael Pollan’s book, How to Change Your Mind. Dr. Belser studied at Georgetown University, the University of Cambridge, Columbia University, NYU, and Yale University. His website is http://alexbelser.com.
Behike Sensei Kevon Simpson is an ordained Minister, multidisciplinary artist, international Two Spirit Medicine Man, Shotokan Karate black belt, and founder of the New York City Entheogen Integration Circle. He comes from a lineage of Jamaican spiritual healers, and in the spirit of Sankofa, he calls upon his Taíno and Akan ancestry often. He is also initiated through ‘dieta’ into the path of curanderismo, the ancient sacred healing plant medicine shamanism of the Amazon Rainforest, and the Andes. During his extended stays in Pucallpa, Iquitos, and Chavín de Huantar, Perú, he learned the techniques of guiding ceremonies from fellow indigenous keepers of the Earth, with the intent of bringing the experience back to marginalized communities. He has traveled as far as Taiwan, Jamaica, Canada, and even Japan within his path as a medicine guide and high-dose solo sitter. Known as one of the leaders of the underground psychedelic renaissance, clinical psychotherapists often come to him for advice with their clients. Since 2018 he has graced Chacruna’s stage twice as a speaker and panelist at their psychedelics and science conferences. In 2019 he opened the world-renowned HORIZONS psychedelic conference as the ritual voice of spirit.
Dee Dee Goldpaugh, LCSW (they/them/theirs) is a psychotherapist in private practice in New York City and Woodstock, NY specializing in psychedelic integration therapy. Their practice focuses on working with the LGBTQIA+ community as well as with survivors of sexual violence and abuse. They are the Community Support and Integration Director of the Hudson Valley Psychedelic Society and have taught and written widely on the topics of psychedelics, sexuality, gender, and trauma. Dee Dee is also an artist, activist, herbalist, and student of shamanic practices.
By addressing and dismantling sexist, heteronormative, transphobic, and homophobic forms of oppression in the psychedelic community, this collection lays groundwork for an inclusive future. Edited by researchers and authors Alex Belser, PhD, Clancy Cavnar, PsyD, and, Beatriz C. Labate, PhD, Queering Psychedelics features a broad range of perspectives from queer academic researchers, LGBTQIA+ clinicians, and indigenous and transgender advocates.
