The Psychedologist

The Psychedologist is consciousness positive radio. This show engages with topics of psychology, non-ordinary states of consciousness, culture, sexuality, sustainability, wellness, and community. Sometimes all at once, and sometimes with special guests!

Psychedelic Summer School ::::: In addition to bi-weekly conversations about consciousness, the Psychedologist will be releasing a weekly PSYCHEDELIC SUMMER SCHOOL episode. Psychedelic Summer School is a mini audio series of brief overviews of topics related to the use of psychedelics. These 15-20 minute installments will span topics such as intention setting, substances, holding space, harm reduction, dealing with difficult experiences, safety, recreational use, cognitive liberty, historical uses of entheogens, current research, legal/political concerns, integration, and more! Turn on and tune in to the Psychedologist for your Psychedelic Summer Education!

Who’s Who in Psychedelics ::::: Each conversation episode on The Psychedologist will now include a blurb about someone doing fantastic things in the world of psychedelics, drugs, healing, consciousness, and beyond. This installment was inspired by the omission of key figures (often women and people of color) by mainstream coverage of psychedelic history and the modern movement. The host ::::: Leia Friedman, M.S. is a teacher, writer, mentor and community organizer. She is an adjunct professor of psychology, the cofounder of Boston Entheogenic Network, the integration resource list volunteer coordinator for MAPS, and a permaculturalist. Her work focuses on phenomena related to the human experience of consciousness through the lens of social and environmental justice. Leia is exploring ways to bridge the diverse and multidimensional intersections of psychology and ecology while residing at Happy Acres Farm in Sherman, CT.

Leia has presented at The New England Psychological Association’s Annual Conference (2014), The APA Humanistic Division’s annual conference (2017), the Psymposia stage at Psychedelic Science (2017), Oregon Eclipse Festival (2017), Envision (2018), Fractal Fest (2017), Wormtown and Strangecreek (2017), and the International Transpersonal Conference in Prague (2017). Leia has also published several articles in Psymposia, an online magazine platform and community education/event hub, which focuses on emerging science, stories, & social issues of psychedelics and drug reform. In addition to her participation in academia and journalism, Leia comes from a harm reduction standpoint in facilitating integration work and providing mentoring to community members seeking guidance after experiencing altered states. She has volunteered with the Zendo Project, an initiative that provides a supportive environment and specialized care designed to transform difficult psychedelic experiences into valuable learning opportunities, at Envision and Burning Man.

Upon completion of her Master's in Clinical Psychology in 2013, Leia began working in the mainstream mental health field. The mismatch was immediately evident - disturbed by the reductionist, colonized, patriarchal, and pharmaceutically-reliant state of mental healthcare, Leia sought a wider ranger of perspectives on wellness. On a three month sabbatical in Costa Rica, Leia answered the call to more deeply investigate the nature of consciousness and psychopathology. Through her work with visionary plants, mind-body practices, and radical self-expression, Leia experienced deep healing from life-long issues with eating disorders and body dysmorphia. Back in Lowell, MA she resumed work as a professor and as in-home therapist/outpatient clinician while seeking ways to support the psychedelic movement.

Using her clinical psychology skills and past experience as a peer support at music festivals, Leia developed and implemented a harm reduction/chill down tent at Fractal Fest in NY in the summer of 2016. That fall, she volunteered at Horizon’s Perspectives on Psychedelics Conference in NYC where she met Nathaniel Putnam. Soon after, Leia and Nathaniel teamed up with Nikki Stearns to birth Boston Entheogenic Network (BEN) into existance. The purpose of BEN is to promote a conscious, inclusive, and supportive approach to altered consciousness exploration and integration and to collaborate on projects that investigate, educate, and celebrate the use of entheogenic experiences in the modern world for the social benefits of public health, human rights, and activism. Leia is currently the Integration Resource List volunteer for MAPS, which is a collection of individuals and organizations in the mental health field who help people integrate past psychedelic experiences. Leia was introduced to permaculture and sustainability during her travels, and received her Permaculture Design Certificate through Starhawk’s Earth Activist Training in January, 2017. She has also participated in events by Upward Spirals’ in Costa Rica, a nonprofit think tank and consulting company, supporting sustainable solutions and regenerative lifestyles. After 3 years of watching and participating in the climate justice movement, Leia hopes that psychedelics can wake up the world to recognize the consequences of human action and the potential for healing ourselves, our communities, and the planet from the devastation of human activity. Thus, Leia’s present focus is an amalgamation of psychology, ecology, and experiences of altered consciousness as tools for deeper self-understanding.