On International Women’s Day, Psychedelic Health takes a look at just some of the women who are spearheading the psychedelic renaissance in the UK.
Women have been underrepresented throughout science, academia, business and health. When a rare, new industry develops – it has the chance to make sure equity is instilled from its beginnings, leaving behind the historical issues that many sectors struggle to set right.
Much like the cannabis industry, the nascent psychedelic sector has the chance to showcase women at the forefront of psychedelic science.
The UK is home to a number of trailblazing women in psychedelics who have already, and continue to, make their mark on the historical re-emergence of interest in these compounds.
Here we celebrate just some of the women impacting this exciting area of research and development.
Amanda Feilding
The “Countess of Psychedelics” Amanda Feilding (more formally the Countess of Wemyss and March) has been fundamental to the resurgence of psychedelic science.
Lobbyist and drug reformist, Feilding established her company The Beckley Foundation in 1998, a UK think tank and UN NGO. Through the foundation, Feilding has been a leading proponent of the psychedelic renaissance, coordinating some of the groundbreaking research into compounds such as LSD and psilocybin.
The organisation, in collaboration with the Imperial Research Programme, published the world’s first images of the human brain on LSD in 2016, and has continued to research psychoactive substances as well as work to improve national drug policy.
Dr Rosalind Watts
Clinical psychologist Dr Rosalind Watts has been well integrated into psychedelic research in the UK. Watts worked for five years at the Imperial College Centre for Psychedelic Research where she published qualitative research on psilocybin treatment, overseeing a team that administered psilocybin treatments.
Watts developed the Accept, Connect, Embody (ACE) therapy model for psychedelic treatments. Working at the Synthesis Institute, Watts built out the Accept, Connect, Embody, Restore (ACER) programme. Championing ethical administration of psychedelic therapy, Watts recently founded her own company ACER Psychedelic Integration.
Dr Katrin Anne Schlag
Chartered psychologist Dr Anne Schlag is head of research at the UK’s non-profit drug advisory committee Drug Science.
As well as being a key part of Drug Science’s research and focusing on medical cannabis, Schlag is also a member of the organisation’s Medical Psychedelics Working Group. Holding an honorary fellowship at Imperial College London and King’s College London, Anne researches psychedelics, psychopharmacology and psychology and has co-authored papers exploring the dangers of psychedelics, Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis and barriers to research to name a few.
Professor Jo Neill
Professor Joanna Neill has been professor of psychopharmacology at the University of Manchester in the Manchester Pharmacy School since 2013. Researching psychopharmacology for 30 years, Neill has authored 70 papers that have appeared in peer-review publications.
In 2019, Neill joined Drug Science where she has since become chair of the Drug Science Medical Psychedelics Working Group, working to innovate the psychedelic space, and looking at how psychedelics can be integrated into healthcare. The group will also be aiming to raise awareness of psychedelics with policymakers and to remove barriers to research.
Dr Grace Blest-Hopley
Dr Grace Blest-Hopley is a psychedelics researcher focusing on the neurochemical and neurofunctional foundations of the compounds, as well as cannabinoids.
A postdoctoral researcher and master of neuroscience at King’s College London, Blest-Hopley is research director at Heroic Hearts which is carrying out a groundbreaking observational study that will be investigating the use of psilocybin for treating brain trauma in veterans. The study will be carried out with the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London.
Dr Lauren Macdonald
With a background in psychology, psychiatry and integrative medicine, Dr Lauren Macdonald is training in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy after she became interested in humans’ ability to heal from disease after going into remission from cancer in 2016.
Focusing on mindfulness, nutrition, breath work and more, MacDonald is a researcher of psychedelics, a group facilitator and co-founder of Essence Medicine, which provides psycho-spiritual care through programmes, training and retreats.
MacDonald is also a patient advocate for the Drug Science Medical Psychedelics Working Group.
Dr Sara Tai
Dr Sara Tai is a senior lecturer in clinical psychology at the University of Manchester as well as a consultant clinical psychologist Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. Tai has been a vital part of leading research into psychedelics, designing the therapy for COMPASS Pathway’s psilocybin-assisted therapy programme.
As well as training numerous psychotherapists in the delivery of psychedelic-assisted therapy, Tai is working with leading psychedelic companies that are aiming to speed up the delivery of psychedelic care to patients that need it in the UK, for which she will be the principal investigator for clinical studies.
Tai also sits on the scientific committee for the Drug Science Medical Psychedelics Working Group.
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