ALPS Speak (Awareness Lectures in Psychedelic Studies) brings together several outstanding researchers, clinicians and patients working with psychedelic substances.
Its purpose is simple and precise: to give space to subjective, scientific and therapeutic experiences, and raise awareness on Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (PAT).
Podcast is both in English and French.
More info on http://www.alpsconference.com
Dr Lisa Luan — Acute Subjective and EEG Effects of Extended DMT Administration
Dr Lisa Luan is a psychologist and researcher who recently completed her PhD at the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London.
Her groundbreaking study explored what happens when DMT — one of the most powerful psychedelics known — is administered not as a short burst, but as a continuous intravenous infusion.
She combined EEG brain recordings, physiological data, and in-depth phenomenological interviews to map this prolonged "steady-state" DMT experience.
She now works on a Phase III clinical trial using ketamine-assisted psychotherapy for severe alcohol use disorder.
In this episode, we explore with her:
– Why continuous infusion: most people know DMT as a brief, intense experience — what does sustaining it open for consciousness research, and what happens to intensity and psychological tolerance when doses pile up?– Inside the extended state: how volunteers described it — more stable, deeper, or altogether different from the typical "breakthrough" trip? The recurrence of entities, metacognition, and the cultural/constructivist layer shaping subjective experience– Brain meets experience: a neurophenomenological approach in the spirit of Varela - and the harder question of how to map brain activity onto subjective trajectories and substrates– Holding the space: how safety, grounding, and emotional containment are ensured during and after a prolonged psychedelic state– The bigger question: what findings of this kind tell us about the nature of consciousness
A conversation on what happens when we stay, rather than pass through, the DMT state — and what EEG and phenomenology can teach each other along the way.
13 Jul 2026
Gianluca A. Florineth — Before the Trip: Why Preparation May Matter More Than Integration in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
Gianluca A. Florineth is a researcher at the University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in Bern and the UPK Basel.
His work explores how psychological support shapes the effects of psychedelics in the treatment of depression. Combining clinical science with a human understanding of therapy, he studies what happens when modern neuroscience meets the ancient idea of transformation through consciousness.
In his recent study Association Between Psychological Therapy Quantity and Depressive Symptom Reduction in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy, he analyzed data from 12 clinical trials using psilocybin or LSD for depression.
The key finding: the more time patients spent preparing before the psychedelic session, the stronger their improvement in mood.
Integration afterwards mattered less than expected — raising new questions about how we design and deliver psychedelic treatments.
In this episode, we explore with him:
– The role of "therapy before the trip": why preparation hours seem to predict outcomes more than integration, and whether psychedelics amplify an existing psychological framework rather than create insight from scratch– Between molecule and meaning: how neurochemistry, relationship, mindset, and therapeutic structure interact — and how the molecule may become a catalyst for psychotherapy itself– Beyond numbers — quality vs. quantity of therapy: how future research could integrate alliance, empathy, and depth without losing rigor, and whether AI-assisted transcript coding or physiological markers (HRV synchrony) could help– Clinical translation and ethics: what minimal therapeutic "dose" — in hours, content, or preparation type — should be non-negotiable for ethical and effective PAT delivery across clinics and countries– Looking ahead: what the next generation of trials should prioritize — longer follow-ups, diverse populations, multimodal biomarkers, therapist training — and whether PAT will push psychiatry to re-humanize itself, or to biologize consciousness even further
A conversation on what actually heals in psychedelic therapy — the molecule, the method, or the meaning around it.
15 Jun 2026
Jonas T. T. Schlomberg — Psychedelics and Meditation: Two Paths to the Same Mountain?
Guest: Jonas T. T. Schlomberg, PhD researcher at the University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich (UZH)
Jonas T. T. Schlomberg is a researcher at the University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich (UZH). His work explores the intersection between psychedelics, meditation, and consciousness, combining qualitative and computational methods. Trained in neuroscience and phenomenology, he investigates how altered states — whether induced by substances or by contemplative practice — can illuminate the workings of the mind and the nature of experience itself.
In his recent study A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Psychedelic-Augmented Meditation Experiences, he and his colleagues compared experiences of DMT or harmine with meditation under placebo within a structured mindfulness retreat — using natural language processing alongside manual qualitative analysis.
In this episode, we explore with him:
– Two paths to the same mountain: the phenomenological overlap between psychedelic and meditative states, and what their similarities (and differences) tell us about consciousness itself– Language as a bridge to the ineffable: how NLP and AI tools can help science approach experiences that have traditionally been called mystical or inexpressible– Trust and surrender: why meditation tends to evoke "safety" and "calm" while psychedelics evoke "overwhelm" and "insight" — and what this polarity reveals about transformation– From phenomenology to mechanism: the neurobiological and cognitive processes — predictive processing, self-modeling, top-down/bottom-up dynamics — that might underlie this overlap– The ethics and future of integration: how to combine psychedelics with contemplative frameworks in ways that remain rigorous, culturally sensitive, and ethically grounded. Could future retreats see neuroscientists, monks, and psychotherapists co-creating shared protocols?
A conversation between neuroscience, phenomenology, and contemplative practice — on what altered states can teach us about the mind, and about being human
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