Cover Up: Power Tripping, Exposing Abuse, & Applying Psychedelic Ethics / Lily Kay Ross

Lily Kay Ross, sexual violence researcher and Arts and Gender Editor at Psymposia, joins me to discuss her research and insights into the dark underbelly of psychedelic therapy — a subject expertly explored in Power Trip, a New York Magazine investigative podcast series she is the co-creator and producer of.

As psychedelics become less stigmatized in the West and popularized as tools for trauma therapy and vehicles for spiritual enlightenment, Lily Kay Ross has been documenting something far more complex and nefarious under the surface of the optimistic image of the "psychedelic renaissance": sexual misconduct and abuse; pervasive ethical malfeasance. As she documents in Power Trip, there are numerous documented cases of so-called shamans and psychedelic guides taking advantage of their clients, violating bodily autonomy, and gaslighting victims into accepting abuse as "part of the healing journey." 

This issue has been raised numerous times over the years, and Lily has observed, and personally experienced, what happens when these subjects are presented to the psychedelic community: victim blaming, obfuscation, and silence. Why does this happen? If psychedelics are to be ethically applied in therapy, what protocols must be implemented to avoid these abuses from occurring? 

Bio:

Lily Kay Ross, PhD has been taking a feminist approach to theorizing ethics in psychedelic spaces since 2009, especially with regard to sexual misconduct, abuses of power, charlatans, and the dominance of traditional gender norms in psychedelic spaces. Her PhD research looks at how neoliberal discourses burden victim/survivors of sexual violence with the directive to individually overcome social problems, and the trouble with post-traumatic growth. Her other projects advance best practice and evidence based policies and responses to sexual harm. She is a feminist writer, educator, and violence prevention facilitator. After a five-year hiatus from psychedelics, she’s happy to be home.

Episode Notes:

Listen and subscribe to Power Trip and read the episode transcripts.

Read Will Hall’s article Ending The Silence Around Psychedelic Therapy Abuse, and Sexual Assault in the Amazon: As the ayahuasca tourism industry grows, so do accounts of abuse by Rachel Monroe

If you have a story to tell Psymposia, email: tips@psymposia.com