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Is Psychedelic Therapy Worth the Hype? Will Van Derveer MD
Are you tired of fear, scarcity, and anxiety being a normal part of your life?
Do you think trauma only comes from combat or some crazy intense experience?
And if you’ve got some emotional challenges, will doing magic mushrooms with a backyard shaman make them go away?
Today I talk with Will Van Derveer MD, a psychiatrist who got tired of doing what he was trained to do because it wasn’t actually working. Through his own healing experiences in clinical trials and ayahuasca ceremonies, he became a leader in psychedelic-assisted therapy. He and co-author Keith Kurlander just released Psychedelic Therapy — and it’s anything but a dry clinical textbook. In this conversation, we explore what really helps, what not to do with psychedelics, and why losing your shit in traffic is an indicator that you could benefit from some help.
In this interview:
- Admitting the limitations of therapy and psychiatry
- Big T trauma vs little t trauma
- Running on fear and scarcity vs inspiration/creativity/joy
- Are you hoping success will help you finally relax?
- Treating symptoms vs going to the root
Plus:
- Medicine ceremonies vs psychedelic assisted therapy
- Respecting the medicine
- Tripp’s challenging 5-MeO-DMT experience
- Who should stay away from psychedelics?
- Carl Jung and how mysticism and spirituality play into healing
Discussed in this interview:
About Will Van Derveer, MD
Will Van Derveer, MD is a psychiatrist and author of Psychedelic Therapy: Restore Your Mental Health and Reclaim Your Life which will be released by Shambhala Publications March 31, 2026.
He is co-founder of Integrative Psychiatry Institute, which has provided comprehensive training for 3000 mental health professionals in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and several thousand professionals in other continuing education programs.
In addition to his clinical practice and teaching, he has staffed clinical trials sponsored by MAPS, investigating MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD.
Dr. Van Derveer is co-host of the Higher Practice Podcast, where he explores what it takes to achieve optimal mental health.
