EP 12 GREG DONALDSON

I recently spoke to Greg Donaldson in the Library of the Psychosynthesis Trust, located in the heart of London. Greg is a personable, balanced and thoughtful psychotherapist, and I really enjoyed talking to him. Greg is part of the team of therapists who will be working with participants in the Double-Blind, Randomised Control Trial comparing the efficacy of psilocybin with conventional SSRI treatment for depression. The therapeutic modality of Psychosynthesis Roberto Assagioli Greg’s practice and philosophy of emerging purpose ‘Autonomous sub-personalities’ and how their problematic manifestation in client’s day to day life is often the reason they intially seek therapy The inner tyrant as the ‘king of the ghetto’ How the autonomous sub-personality of ‘achiever’ can monopolise people’s behaviour The technique of ‘Chair Work’ Greg’s belief that therapists should set up therapeutic ‘base camps’ at the foot of the client’s discomfort How Greg deals with clients’ ‘inner Mark Corrigan’ Greg’s role-play with Bill Richards and how he got involved with the Imperial College psychedelic research team. Our concerns around the culture of psychedelics as cure-alls Greg’s terrible grasp of the phrase ‘shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted’ The Double-blind, Randomised Control Trial - Psilocybin for Major Depression… …and the therapeutic protocol for the study The implicit ‘hug’ of a therapy session Our preference for ‘free’ over ‘safe’ spaces The pervasive issue of publication bias in psychology, and how the ongoing direction of optimal integration of psychedelics should not be wholly directed by current paradigms of ‘best practice’ Psilocybin nasal sprays Peter Attia, Debra Kimless and Steve Goldner discussing THC and CBD This ‘Pollanic’ (a.k.a. - polemic written by Michael Pollan) Charles Raison’s work into the relative importance of ‘access’ vs ‘phenomenal’ consciousness in the psychedelic experience Greg’s clinical practice Psychosynthesis Thanks for listening, check out more at mindmanifestpodcast.com If you have any questions, queries or suggestions for people you would like to hear interviewed, please email hello@mindmanifestpodcast.com We love to hear from listeners!