Psymposia

Psymposia is a small not-for-profit organization, media organization, and self-described "watchdog group" reporting on the psychedelic community and focusing on harm reduction.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} The group was founded in 2014^[1] and became a nonprofit in 2020.^[6] Psymposia is leftist and anti-capitalist.^[1][7][8] They do work within a discipline that they have referred to as "critical psychedelic studies" (as in critical theory).^[9][10]

Formation	2014; 11 years ago (2014)
Founders	Brian Normand; Brett Greene
Type	Not-for-profit organization
Tax ID no.	85-0630940
Purpose	Watchdog group; Psychedelic reporting
Key people	Brian Normand; Brett Greene; Russell Hausfeld; Neşe Devenot; Brian Pace; David Nickles (2020-2023); Lily Kay Ross (2020-2023)
Website	psymposia.com

The group's work has been both praised and criticized.^[1][11][12] They have become increasingly controversial over time due to claims against them (which have been challenged and contradicted in a number of sources^[13][14][15]) of false accusations, aggressive tactics, and politically motivated campaigning against approval of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.^[1][11] The group is said to have been excluded from the mainstream psychedelic community and banned from conferences.^{[1][16][8][17]}

Members

Psymposia's members have included co-founders Brian Normand and Brett Greene, journalist Russell Hausfeld, academics Neşe Devenot and Brian Pace, self-described "underground researcher" and anarchist David Nickles (legal name David Maliken; not to be confused with psychedelic chemist David E. Nichols), and feminist scholar Lily Kay Ross, among others.^{[1][18][19][5]} As of February 2025, Devenot is said to be the group's most high-profile member.^[1] They are a senior lecturer at the writing program at Johns Hopkins University and are described as a researcher in the area of psychedelic bioethics.^[20][21] Oriana Mayorga was Psymposia's former community engagement director.^[1] Nickles and Ross eventually left Psymposia and started their own group.^[1] Psymposia co-founder Greene is no longer a member as well.^[1] He is notable in also being the co-founder of the for-profit psychedelic pharmaceutical company Adelia Therapeutics, which was acquired by Cybin in 2020, and in then serving as Cybin's Chief Innovation Officer.^[12][22][23]

Work and views

Psymposia has been widely credited with illuminating sexual abuse in the field of psychedelic medicine, particularly in underground settings.^[1][16] Psymposia also provided some of the first reporting on major patent disputes in the psychedelic industry,^[24] and identified a number of early business strategies utilized by psychedelic companies (such as reverse takeovers of publicly listed mining companies).^[25][26][27] Greene has been partially credited with coining the term "corporadelic" in 2019 to refer to corporations commodifying and profiting off of psychedelics, which the group strongly opposes.^[28][12][16] Psymposia advocates for the decriminalization and legalization of psychedelics.^[16][10]

In 2021 and 2022, New York Magazine published an investigative podcast series and collaboration with Psymposia called Cover Story: Power Trip.^[29][19][18] It was co-created and co-produced by Psymposia members Ross and Nickles.^[29][30] The podcast discussed a variety of concerns about the underground psychedelic industry, as well as issues within the clinical trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy (MDMA-AT) for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) being sponsored by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and Lykos Therapeutics.^[1][30][18]

As an example, Cover Story: Power Trip reported on Meaghan Buisson, a MAPS trial participant who was subject to unethical behavior and inappropriate physical contact by her therapists while participating in the studies.^[18][19] Cover Story: Power Trip and Buisson opted to publish video excerpts of one of her clinical trial sessions in March 2022, documenting that the husband-and-wife therapist team had cuddled and spooned her.^{[1][31][32][33]} Buisson subsequently lived with the couple, Dr. Donna Dryer and Dr. Richard Yensen, on a remote Canadian island, and eventually entered a sexual relationship with Yensen, allegedly under the guise of further therapy for her PTSD.^[3][34] In 2018, Buisson filed a civil suit alleging repeated sexual assault by Yensen.^[1][35] The case was settled out of court.^[1][35] Upon learning of the incident, MAPS cut ties with the therapists, reported the ethical violation to health authorities, issued a public statement about it, gave Buisson US$15,000 to obtain therapy while her civil case against Yensen was ongoing, and instituted a new code of ethics for the trials that explicitly prohibited sexual contact between participants and therapists.^[1][32][36] However, MAPS has been criticized for missing the incident and for not viewing the video footage of her therapy session for years after it happened.^[31][32] In addition, concerns have been raised that the effects of MDMA, including artificial emotional intimacy and trust, may increase the risk of boundary violations.^[36][20]

Devenot and Psymposia are prominent critics of the nonprofit MAPS and its corporate entity Lykos Therapeutics generally.^[4][37][5] They are said to have eventually turned against MAPS following its formation of the for-profit Lykos Therapeutics in 2014.^[1] Psymposia has accused MAPS and Lykos Therapeutics of being "cult-like", alongside numerous former MAPS employees.^[1][38][39]

Psymposia has mistakenly been accused by major news sources of saying that MAPS, itself, perpetuates "white supremacy, capitalism, and imperialism",^[1] when, in reality, Psymposia once published an article which claimed that police and the military are used to perpetuate these systems of domination and which criticized MAPS for courting their support while claiming to support Black Lives Matter protests.^[40] Psymposia has also been accused of claiming MAPS enabled "entrapment, sexual abuse and coercive control" of vulnerable people in their care, among other allegations.^[1][10]

Devenot has also expressed, about the psychedelic industry in general, that "global financial and tech elites are instrumentalizing psychedelics as one tool in a broader world-building project that justifies increasing material inequality."^[1] In addition, Nickles has written of strategies for damaging psychedelic pharmaceutical companies and nonprofit organizations through persistent critical media coverage.^[1][11] Although Psymposia is now highly critical of MAPS, Devenot formerly volunteered for MAPS from 2011 to 2017^[20][10] and Normand spoke very positively about MAPS as late as 2018.^[41] Devenot says that they were "bullied out of the field of psychedelic research by a MAPS employee".^[10]

On June 4, 2024, seven Psymposia representatives attended and spoke at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s advisory hearing for Lykos Therapeutics's MDMA-AT for PTSD New Drug Application (NDA).^{[1][18][42][2]} They included Psymposia members Brian Pace, Russell Hausfeld, and Neşe Devenot, among others (the main source of this information fails to name the alleged four extra representatives).^[1][43][42] During the public comments period, the Psymposia representatives sharply criticized Lykos Therapeutics, including Hausfeld raising concerns about potential exploitation and mistreatment of veterans, Devenot urging independent review of clinical trial video recordings to investigate the possibility of additional cases of therapist abuse, and Pace and Devenot accusing Lykos Therapeutics of being a "therapy cult", among other misconduct allegations.^{[44][2][20][18][43][42]} The panel later overwhelmingly recommended rejection of MDMA-AT for PTSD, citing both major weaknesses of Lykos Therapeutics' NDA as well as mentioning Psymposia's allegations.^[1][44] The FDA followed suit and rejected the NDA of MDMA-AT for PTSD on August 9, 2024.^[2][1] Despite the rejection, MAPS and Lykos Therapeutics are continuing to develop MDMA-AT for PTSD and remain optimistic of eventual approval.^[45][46][47] However, they have had to court additional corporate funding sources towards this aim.^[48][49][50]

In 2023, Psymposia published a four-part series investigating the Church of Psilomethoxin (now the Church of Sacred Synthesis) and its claims about its supposed sacrament psilomethoxin.^[51][52][53] The church claims to biosynthesize psilomethoxin (a chemical cross between 5-MeO-DMT and psilocybin) in psilocybin mushrooms by enriching the substrate used to grow the mushrooms with 5-MeO-DMT.^[52] The church's members sign up for the church online and the church sells and mails its sacrament to its members, which led to the church being referred to as the "mail-order mushroom church".^[53] Though the church claims that its sacrament contains psilomethoxin, an independent chemical analysis in 2023 failed to detect psilomethoxin or 5-methoxypsilocybin in their mushrooms, but did detect the usual constituents of psilocybin mushrooms such as psilocybin.^{[51][52][53][54]} Psymposia has criticized the Church of Psilomethoxin as engaging in "psychedelic charlatanism".^[51] In April 2024, the church sued Psymposia and others for alleged defamation.^[52] The church's lawsuit against Psymposia was later dismissed in August 2024, with the cited dismissal reason being anti-SLAPP laws.^[55]

Controversy

Critics have accused Psymposia of false and exaggerated accusations, bias, reactivity, aggressive tactics, and of having had an outsized and inappropriate influence on the FDA advisory panel's decision to reject Lykos Therapeutics' MDMA-AT for PTSD.^{[1][11][44][56][57]} However, while critics have blamed Psymposia for the rejection of Lykos' MDMA-assisted therapy application, numerous professional organizations — including the American Psychiatric Association,^[58] Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in Australia,^[59][60] the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense,^[61] and the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER)^[62] — have assessed Lykos' data (and the data on psychedelic therapy more broadly) and deemed it inadequate.^{[58][59][60][61][62]} Wired also reported that it is "unknown exactly how Psymposia’s criticisms factored into the FDA’s final decision" and that people familiar with the FDA Complete Response Letter said that Psymposia's concerns were taken seriously, but the agency "cited issues with trial design" and "an underreporting of 'positive adverse events' in which the experience proved not just therapeutic, but so enjoyable that a patient might be primed to abuse the drug."^[63]

Regardless of this, Devenot themselves has repeatedly taken credit for derailing the approval of MDMA-assisted therapy.^[1][64] In one example, they proclaimed, "Yesterday, beyond my wildest expectations, we made international news in a David and Goliath-scale, 'dark horse' victory,'" immediately following the FDA's decision to not approve MDMA-assisted therapy.^[1]

Psymposia has been said to have a "take-no-prisoners approach" in terms of how it conducts itself.^[1] Members of the psychedelic medicine community have reportedly been targeted by Psymposia, and more than four dozen people in the field have anonymously expressed fear of the group.^[1] It has been accused of making false accusations and of damaging reputations and careers, such as those of psychedelic professionals Beatriz Labate and Veronika Gold, among others^[1] (though Psymposia member Devenot's alleged false accusations against Gold were later evaluated and published in the peer-reviewed American Journal of Bioethics^[15][65]). In addition, the group has been said to have attacked veterans' groups that supported Lykos Therapeutics' MDMA-AT for PTSD application.^[1] Former Psymposia member Nickles has written critically about veterans as well as the police generally.^[1]

Hausfeld has pushed back on these assertions, stating that Nickles' article was referring to a specific email blast from MAPS supporting Black Live Matter while courting right-wing donations: "The article makes the case that [MAPS's email blast was] ironic because the police and military are often used to uphold dominant systems of capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchy — not that treating veterans would specifically perpetuate these systems...This article was a comment on systemic issues and public relations / fundraising strategies — not on whether veterans do or do not deserve better healthcare. I'll say unequivocally here that I believe veterans do deserve top-notch health care and safe, new solutions."^[40]

Psymposia has also been reported to have targeted one of its own former members, Mayorga, due to her criticizing one of their social media posts.^[1] This included mailing a 28-page letter to the university she was attending that accused her of "discrimination, bullying and intimidation".^[1] Former members Nickles and Ross have left Psymposia alleging "undisclosed unethical behavior" by other members.^[1] Psymposia has said themselves that they have been excluded from the mainstream psychedelic movement^[1][10] and the group has been banned from multiple psychedelic conferences.^[16][8][17]

Of 32 speakers at the FDA hearing of MDMA-AT for PTSD, 10 of them opposed the approval of the therapy and a New York Times article claimed that 7 of those 10 were allegedly Psymposia representatives.^[1] Three of the representatives, including Pace, Hausfeld, and Devenot, were official Psymposia members.^{[1][18][42][2][43]} A New York Times article claims that Psymposia representatives presented themselves as experts in the field of psychedelics and did not disclose their affiliation with Psymposia.^[1] In addition, critics have noted that none of the Psymposia representatives who spoke at the hearing had expertise in medicine or therapy.^[1]

Slate Magazine contradicted these claims, noting that "only three of Psymposia's five members spoke during the public comment period, and none presented themselves as having expertise in medicine or therapy or suggested that expertise in psychedelics translated to expertise in medicine or therapy."^[14] The article states that Devenot identified as "an expert in 'psychedelic bioethics;'" Pace identified as "a lecturer teaching psychedelic studies;" and Hausfeld identified himself as "a journalist who reports on psychedelics."^[14]

Pharmacy Times also contradicts the claim made in The New York Times that 7 speakers were Psymposia representatives, stating: "At an open public hearing session during the meeting, 3 individuals from Psymposia—Neşe Devenot, PhD; Brian Pace, PhD; and Russell Hausfeld—spoke out against MDMA's approval."^[66]

The hearing panelists repeatedly raised questions about Psymposia's misconduct claims.^[1] Devenot claimed credit for the rejection on social media, stating "Yesterday, beyond my wildest expectations, we made international news in a David and Goliath-scale, 'dark horse' victory".^[1] It has been noted however that the role of Psymposia in the rejection is unclear and Lykos Therapeutics' NDA also had considerable flaws.^[1][67][44] Following the FDA hearing, Psymposia has enlisted a public relations firm to amplify their attacks against Lykos Therapeutics.^[1] At the same time, multiple public relations firms, including one hired by Lykos Therapeutics, have started advocating for approval of MDMA-AT for PTSD following the hearing.^[68] They declined to disclose to New York Times who is funding their work.^[1] But Wired reported that the organization received some funding from the Sarlo Foundation in 2024, to which Devenot responded that "Psymposia members had spent years developing their analyses and raising the same concerns, long before receiving funding" and Normand said Psymposia is "nobody's attack dog."^[63]

The allegations against Psymposia have been detailed in-depth by journalists Andrew Jacobs and Rachel Nuwer in a New York Times article published in February 2025 titled "How a Leftist Activist Group Helped Torpedo a Psychedelic Therapy".^[11][1] Nuwer is notable in being the author of the 2023 book I Feel Love: MDMA and the Quest for Connection in a Fractured World.^[69]

Former Psymposia members Ross and Nickles have responded to the New York Times article saying that it "contains numerous inaccuracies and misleading assertions which we are working to get the paper to correct."^[11]

Freelance journalist Katie MacBride wrote that Jacobs' and Nuwer's reporting about Psymposia in the New York Times "was largely divorced from the events as I witnessed them, misleading in crucial ways, and journalistically bewildering. But what the story lacks in fully recounting why Lykos' application tanked, it makes up for in fostering outrage, scapegoating a fringe group, and establishing a useful narrative should the new HHS secretary want to reverse the FDA's decision."^[14]

Jamie Brownlee and Kevin Walby — the co-authors of Psychedelic Capitalism — described Nuwer's and Jacobs' New York Times reporting on Psymposia as a "hit piece" published during the backlash to the FDA's rejection of MDMA-AT, elaborating: "In our view, the interventions by Psymposia and others represented a principled stance. They were concerned about the direction of the field and potential harms to vulnerable populations. Likewise, the FDA decision reflects some serious concerns in the area of psychedelic medicine, such as methodological challenges in how the research is conducted, the underreporting of adverse events, research bias, and issues with the psychotherapeutic components of psychedelic therapy, among others. The decision was not so much a rejection of MDMA or MDMA-assisted therapy as it was a statement on the quality of the research and the application."^[13]