Women and Psychedelics: Uncovering Invisible Voices

Erika Dyck is a Professor and a Canada Research Chair in the History of Health & Social Justice at the University of Saskatchewan. She is the author or co-author of several books, including: Psychedelic Psychiatry (2008); A Culture’s Catalyst: Historical Encounters with Peyote and the Native American Church in Canada (2016); Psychedelic Prophets: The Letters of Aldous Huxley and Humphry Osmond (2018); Mujeres y Psicodélicos (2022) and co-author of The Acid Room: the psychedelic trials and tribulations of Hollywood Hospital (2022). She sits on the Board of Directors of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines. She is Associate Director of the Chacruna Institute in Canada.

Patrick Farrell is part of the Chacruna Chronicles editorial team, where he supports the series on the history of women in psychedelics. He graduated from the University of Alberta (Canada) with an MA in the History & Philosophy of Science. Currently, Patrick works as an editor based in Toronto. With fellow Chacruna member Erika Dyck, he helped co-edit Psychedelic Prophets: The Letters of Aldous Huxley and Humphry Osmond (2018). He has also contributed to several other publishing projects, including The Brain’s Way of Healing: Remarkable Discoveries and Recoveries from the Frontiers of Neuroplasticity (Viking Press, 2015), A Culture’s Catalyst: Historical Encounters with Peyote (University of Manitoba Press, 2016), and Metis Matriarchs: Agents of Transition (University of Regina Press, forthcoming). In addition to his editing work, Patrick teaches courses in the history of philosophy at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies. He is a proud volunteer at Toronto’s acclaimed Hospital for Sick Children.

Dr. Bia Labate (Beatriz Caiuby Labate) is an anthropologist, educator, author, speaker, and activist, committed to the protection of sacred plants while amplifying the voices of marginalized communities in the psychedelic science field. As a queer Brazilian anthropologist based in San Francisco, she has been profoundly influenced by her experiences with ayahuasca since 1996. Dr. Labate has a Ph.D. in social anthropology from the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil. Her work focuses on plant medicines, drug policy, shamanism, ritual, religion, and social justice. She is the Executive Director of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines and serves as a Public Education and Culture Specialist at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Additionally, she is a Visiting Scholar at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and an advisor for the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition. Dr. Labate is also a co-founder of the Interdisciplinary Group for Psychoactive Studies (NEIP) in Brazil and the editor of its site. She has authored, co-authored, and co-edited 28 books, three special-edition journals, and numerous peer-reviewed and online publications (http://www.bialabate.net).

Clancy Cavnar has a doctorate in clinical psychology (Psy.D.) from John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, CA. She currently works in private practice in San Francisco, and is Co-Founder and a member of the Board of Directors of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines. She is also a research associate of the Interdisciplinary Group for Psychoactive Studies (NEIP). She combines an eclectic array of interests and activities as clinical psychologist, artist, and researcher. She has a master of fine arts in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute, a master’s in counseling from San Francisco State University, and she completed the Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy program at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). She is author and co-author of articles in several peer-reviewed journals and co-editor, with Beatriz Caiuby Labate, of eleven books. For more information see: http://www.drclancycavnar.com.

Ibrahim Gabriell is a communicologist and multidisciplinary researcher of the phenomenon of expanded states of consciousness. As a professor in the state of Chiapas (Mexico), he has taught both Communication studies at the Universidad de los Altos de Chiapas and Transpersonal Psychology at the Universidad Jose Vasconcelos. He is Communications Associate of Chacruna Latinoamérica in Mexico. He is also co-founder of Vía Synapsis, an academic society that organizes the National Congress on Psychoactive Substances at the National University of Mexico. He also served as an assistant editor for the publishing house Lunaria. Ibrahim is co-host of Mindsurf’s podcasts: MindSurf – Transformations of Consciousness and Psyche & Cosmos.

Dr. Glauber Loures de Assis has a Ph.D in sociology from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Brazil. His main interests include the ayahuasca religions, new religious movements, the internationalization of the Brazilian religions, drug use in contemporary society, and psychedelic parenthood. He is the author of numerous articles and book chapters, and the co-editor of the book Women and Psychedelics: Uncovering Invisible Voices (Synergetic Press/Chacruna Institute). Glauber is also an ayahuasca practitioner with 15 years of experience. He has built this practice in dialogue with his local Brazilian ayahuasca community and with the blessings of Indigenous elders and activists in Brazil. He is also the leader of Jornadas de Kura, a plant medicine center in Brazil that promotes a bridge between the ceremonial use of sacred plants and psychedelic science. He is father to 3 children and lives with his wife Jacqueline Rodrigues in Santa Luzia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.