IT'S A BEAUTIFUL WOUND, written and performed by Rich Orloff, is the true story of Rich's adventures in underground therapy using MDMA and psilocybin mushrooms, based on cutting-edge experiments designed to help people heal from deep emotional wounds. At times humorous and at times harrowing, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL WOUND takes the audience through the experience, in an honest, vivid and compelling way.

Increasing access and availability to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy means we are at the cusp of a revolution in the medical treatment of mental health issues. The current state of psychedelics within the fields of psychiatry and mental health will be presented, as well as the future for center based access to these medicines in Los Angeles in 2019 and beyond.

Join us for a special screening of ‘From Shock to Awe’ co-hosted by the Aware Project and LAMPS with Q&A to follow.

Get a glimpse behind the scenes of the hottest psychedelic film in production: Better Living Through Chemistry: The Work of Ann and Sasha Shulgin. The film focuses on the psychedelic godparents of MDMA, their chemical romance, and their significant contributions to psychedelic chemistry, therapy and research.

The growing prevalence of PTSD in our society has devastating consequences for afflicted individuals and their loved ones. New treatments using MDMA combined with psychotherapy have shown success in treating this intractable condition. This talk summarizes preliminary qualitative findings from the MAPS Phase II clinical trial on MDMA-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant PTSD. Study participants were interviewed one year after treatment ended, where they were given the chance to express how they integrated the benefits from the treatment back into their personal contexts and life routines. From this information, researchers were able to explore the nuances of participants’ unique experience during and after the study, analyze common improvements and challenges faced by participants after treatment ended, and investigate factors that may contribute to long-term success. Since this is the first qualitative analysis on a clinical trial for MDMA-assisted therapy, the talk also addresses the importance of qualitative research in the field, and suggestions for how to improve upon the research.

In honor of the birth of the psychedelic research, we are honored to host Rachel Hope, to share her story being a participant in the MAPS Phase II trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of PTSD.

John Saul shares his story about how he harnessed the experience of being a study subject in the MAPS-sponsored study: “MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of anxiety due to life-threatening illness” to emerge from very dark circumstances, rebuild his fortitude and take another turn at living life.