Strengthening the psychedelic scientific community : ALPS Forum
Federico Seragnoli presents the ALPS Foundation
If I was asked to sum up the goals of the ALPS Foundation in one sentence, I would say that it is to “Strengthen the psychedelic scientific community of Switzerland”. By organizing the ALPS Forum, I think we’ve been able to take one step further towards achieving that goal.
At this year's Forum, we invited players from the psychedelic field in Switzerland to converge, exchange, get to know each other, and to help us keep creating the room where the discussion of psychedelic sciences can continue to grow.
This year’s lineup represented the richness of the Swiss psychedelic field.
Professor Gregor Hasler of the Univeristy of Bern discussed how psychedelics might enhance neuroplasticity
Personally, I was particularly intrigued by the veteran of the Swiss Medical Society for Psycholytic Therapy (SÄPT), Ose Christina Hein. She presented a case study of psycholytic therapy, using it as a springboard to point out the way forward in psychedelic therapy research. In a scientific landscape where psychedelic therapy is far too often described in terms of only substance and dosage, as if it was a mere pharmacotherapy, it’s easy to lose track of the humans that we’re ultimately trying to help. This is not the place to wax on about who stands to gain from portraying psychedelics merely as a new psychopharmaceutic substance. Suffice to say that Dr. Hein’s talk serves as a strong reminder about the place of the human element in fostering change, using psychedelics as a tool in therapy, not a replacement for it. A message both therapists and researchers would do well to remember.
Professor Paul Cumming presenting his work on the pharmacology of ayahuasca
As a fair amount of the attendees were enrolled in bachelor’s and master’s programs, it is my hope that our two speakers who are at the start of their scientific career, Ph.D. candidate Klemens Egger and Master’s candidate Cyril Petignat (member of the ALPS Committee) help inspire the new generation of researchers. An article we’ve often quoted in ALPS meetings is Dr. Sewell’s advice to aspiring psychedelic researchers. Published in 2010, his suggestion that bachelor’s student’s should lay low and focus on obtaining their degree before they dare think about conducting psychedelic research start’s to seem dated. While it’s hard to go wrong saying one should always aim to graduate, both Mr. Egger and Mr. Petignat’s path’s show how much the times have changed since Sewell’s advice was published.
Psychedelics have stopped being a secret passion, to be whispered about in the shadows after the Principal Investigator has left the lab. The taboo is slowly being lifted, and instead of denying the value of inquiry, the tools of science are finally turned towards the questions asked by psychedelics.
The members of the ALPS Foundation are only too happy to do our part in making this happen. As the psychedelic community continues to grow, we expand our contributions to the field. The initial ALPS Conference will be accompanied by an ALPS Forum. Secondly, we aim to extend our cooperation with the Swiss Psychedelic Student Network, formalizing our cooperation through the inclusion of a student board in the ALPS Foundation structure.
