Switzerland is a hub for psychedelic research. PROZ is a student organization that makes academic research on psychedelics accessible to both students and the general public.
Get a chance to ask Rick Doblin your question! The talk will be broadcasted over Zoom in a lecture hall at the University of Zürich with a live Q&A at the end. For more information see below.
Further events for this semester will be announced!
Psychedelics seem to become legitimate psychiatric treatment, with potential regulatory approvals on the horizon. The effectiveness of these treatments is attributed to their combination with psychotherapy, a topic currently at the forefront of scientific debate. This presentation will critically examine the role of psychotherapy in psychedelic treatments, exploring the synergy that defines their efficacy. It will address common misconceptions, discuss both supporting and challenging perspectives, and assess the role of psychotherapy in optimizing treatment outcomes.
Andrea Siclari is one of the very first people to ever be part of a psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) in Switzerland. When in 2019 at just 36 years old he was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, he signed up for one of the first ever LSD studies for Patients with Anxiety related to life-threatening illnesses by Dr. Peter Gasser, a study that has since been crucial in the advancement of PAT. His firsthand experience with psychedelic-assisted therapy, both individually and in group settings, has given him unique insight into its potential for patients facing life-threatening illnesses. His admirable openness and advocacy have led him to share his story in the documentary “Temps Présents” and deliver talks on the subject, including a patient testimony at the European Parliament as part of the European Citizens PsychedeliCare Initiative. Today, Andrea stands as a powerful voice for patient perspectives in psychedelic therapy and we are inviting you to join us in our discussion on the future of mental health treatment!
Gregor Hasler, M.D. was born in Basel, Switzerland. He studied medicine at the University of Zurich and did his psychiatric residency in Paris, London, Lausanne and Zurich, before receiving his medical degree in 1995. Professor Jules Angst of Zurich trained him in psychiatric epidemiology. From 2003 to 2006, he was a visiting scientist at the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program of the National Institute of Mental Health, specializing in molecular neuroimaging. Since 2010, he has been a full professor of psychiatry at the University of Bern and Chief Medical Officer at the Psychiatric University Hospital of Bern. As of January 2019, he became a full professor and chair of psychiatry at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, where he is currently a practicing psychiatrist specializing in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and head of the Psychiatry Research Department at the University of Fribourg where he supervises researchers in psychiatric and psychedelic research. As President of the Swiss Society for Bipolar Disorders and the Swiss Society of Pharmacovigilance in Psychiatry and as the Secretary of the Affective Disorders Section of the World Psychiatric Association, he has been organizing scientific conferences, educational courses and advanced training for many years.
For decades, most rhetoric about psychedelics focused on their negative effects. This might make it seem like we know all there is to know about bad reactions to psychedelics - but how much do we really know? In this talk, our speaker aims to separate fact from fiction and give an update on the unwanted, negative effects that can occur with psychedelics, in all settings. Abigal will start by outlining the range of possible negative effects, from brief delusions to longer-lasting psychological difficulties. Next, she will discuss the prevalence of the most concerning negative effects using new data from two different studies, as well as what puts people at greater risk of these outcomes. On the way, she will touch on some special topics that don’t get much attention, including the prevalence of true hallucinations on psychedelics, the role of people’s beliefs about psychedelics, and whether some psychedelics are more prone to causing problems than others. Despite the gloomy subject, Abigail hopes to end on an optimistic note and leave you with an idea of how researchers, clinicians, and everyone else involved with this young field can help prevent and cope with the reality of adverse reactions to psychedelics in the future.
Psilocybin is intensively researched in the treatment of depressive disorders with promising results. This presentation will be about the final results of a large investigator initiated trial, the German EPIsoDE trial. The EPIsoDE trial (EudraCT: 2019-003984-24) is a phase 2b, bicentric, randomized, double-blind, active placebo-controlled parallel-group study investigating the effects of a high-dose psilocybin (25 mg) and a low-dose psilocybin (5 mg) versus an active placebo (100 mg nicotinamide) administered orally in a psychotherapeutic context in 144 patients with Treatment-Resistant major Depression (TRD). Due to its innovative design, all patients received at least one supposedly therapeutic psilocybin dose (25 mg), thereby accounting for unblinding and potential nocebo effects – some of the most important methodological drawbacks in psychedelic trials. Besides the study rationale and final results, important implications for psychedelic clinical trials will be discussed, particularly when conducted in vulnerable patient populations that are often characterized by chronicity of disease, adverse childhood experiences, interpersonal traumatization and limited resources.
PROZ stands for Psychedelic Research Organization of Zurich. We are a student association dedicated to exploring the scientific and philosophic framework surrounding psychedelics.
Our interdisciplinary team includes students from fields like psychology, pharmacology, biology, physics, and computer sciences; all united by our academic interest in psychedelics.
Our goal is to raise awareness of the potential benefits and risks associated with psychedelics, as well as their clinical and psychotherapeutic applications. We also strive for open science, making research accessible to everyone, and creating opportunities for dialogue and networking.
We organize a variety of events, including talks, discussions, and informal events, where experts and members can share and discuss their knowledge. If possible, we record the lectures and upload them on YouTube and our website.
Founded in 2022, we are a young organisation. Nevertheless, we have an Instagram account where we post useful information about our activities and interesting information about psychedelics in general. Also, in fall 2023 we launched our first public talk series and could not have been happier with the amount of people showing up. As we become more experienced with organising events, we hope to offer a wide range of activities for students, professors, researchers and the general public interested in psychedelics. All our upcoming events will be registered on this website.
We regularly organize Events in Zurich. As the University of Zurich is largely funded by taxpayers, we think it is important to give the public something back. With our free talks, discussions and other events we hope to allow people who are researching psychedelics to share their knowledge with the public and interested students from all kinds of academic backgrounds. This means that for all of our events the only thing you need is an open schedule and an open mind.
Open Science is a movement to make scientific research accessible to all levels of society, amateur or professional. This includes things such as making academic papers freely accessible, publishing research data and preregistering studies. But the language of science is often very domain specific and for non-specialists it is difficult to read academic papers. Our goal is to make this academic knowledge more accessible for the public and students from different backgrounds.
Psychedelic science is an interesting and very interdisciplinary field. Researchers from biology, psychology, neuroscience, philosophy and many more fields study these mysterious substances. Thus interdisciplinary collaboration is an important aspect for psychedelic science. We hope that our events and platforms offer a space for future and current researchers to connect and learn about a broad range of approaches. We hope to combine the rigorous scientific efforts from STEM fields with the more open and broad ideas of the humanities and whatever disciplines lie in between.
The ALPS Foundation is a Swiss non-profit organization dedicated to educating professionals and the general public on evidence-based psychedelic research and therapy. Supporting community building around these topics, and paving the way for therapeutic psychedelic treatments provided in a safe, legal, and accessible manner.
Other than collaborating in different Swiss psychedelic research projects as well as in the access facilitation to safe and legal psychedelic treatments for patients in need, the ALPS Foundation also organizes two highly successful academic events on psychedelic science in Switzerland. Check out the website to learn more about those Events.
The Swiss Psychedelic Student Network brings together all university student associations dedicated to psychedelic sciences at a national level.
While their ambition is rooted locally, their perspective is international, providing students interested in psychedelics with an environment to grow and learn. Through various events, they aim to disseminate evidence-based knowledge about psychedelics, including medical applications, fundamental biological research, and social perspectives.
Sharing the same goals, the ALPS Foundation and the Swiss Psychedelic Student Network have created the ALPS Student Board, a team composed of one or two representatives from each student association. This board facilitates communication and collaboration between these entities, to coordinate educational programs and promote psychedelic science communication at a national scale.
Psychedelics are all about strengthening existing connections and forming new ones. Tell your friends about our association and our projects, take them with you and make them bring their friends too! Our events are great opportunities to make even more friends and to find out about interesting frontiers in psychedelic science and possible master theses, PHD's, internships and jobs that are up for grabs.
As a non-profit Organization we do our very best to make every event as free as possible. To achieve this, we invite organizations to join us as sponsors. Your support allows us to offer these enlightening events without any cost barriers, reaching a broader audience and fostering a greater understanding of psychedelics. As a valued sponsor, your organization's name and logo will be prominently featured at each event, demonstrating your commitment to advancing knowledge and awareness.
You like what we do and want to play a part in it? We are always excited to welcome new members in our organization! Just send us a DM on Instagram or an E-Mail and we'll schedule a meeting.
You are fascinated by the world of psychedelics and eager to share your insights with an equally enthusiastic crowd? Feel free to contact us and we will do our best to make your talk happen!
In our WhatsApp community chat you will be always up to date on the upcoming events and major developments of the academic field of psychedelic science. Join our:
If you have an elaborate question or would like to collaborate with us, send us an Email:
Another way to stay informed is following our Instagram account. Get updates on upcoming Events and useful information conveniently in your Instagram Feed.
