Advancing Access: Purpose-Driven Training in Psychedelic Medicine

Sherry Rais is the Co-founder and CEO of Enthea, a licensed, third-party administrator of health plan benefits. Through her company, she focuses on expanding access to psychedelic-assisted therapy to alleviate human suffering. Sherry holds a Certificate in Psychedelic Therapies and Research and is the former Executive Director of the Boston Psychedelic Research Group.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[2:30] How Sherry Rais discovered the connection between poverty and mental health
[9:31] Sherry talks about working with global policymakers and how it influences her perspective on human suffering
[12:48] The various types of human suffering
[16:05] Alternative methods for reducing human suffering
[21:07] Enthea’s mission and how the company advances access to ketamine-assisted psychotherapy
[30:33] How to develop psychedelic-assisted therapy training programs
[36:04] Advice for expanding the psychedelic-assisted therapy field

In this episode…

The world is riddled with suffering, and it’s often linked to natural disasters, community tragedies, and poverty. How can we alleviate human suffering and help individuals work through their traumas?

Psychedelics advocate Sherry Rais maintains that certain levels of suffering and discomfort are crucial to personal growth and transformation. Individuals can recognize and confront their adversities through ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, which allows people to relive their trauma in controlled environments with licensed professionals guiding them through the treatment experience. However, access to these groundbreaking therapies remains limited, so Sherry works with employers to integrate psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy treatments with healthcare plans, forming a path to alternative methods for reducing suffering.

In today’s episode of Living Medicine, Sherry Rais, the Co-founder and CEO of Enthea, joins Dr. Sandy Newes to discuss leveraging ketamine-assisted therapy to alleviate human suffering. Sherry talks about the various types of human suffering, how to advance the psychedelic-assisted therapy field, and the qualities of a cutting-edge psychedelic therapy training program.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Quotable Moments:

“Reducing human suffering has been my North Star, what ultimately drives my compass in everything I do.”
“No matter the scale, the underlying human need is the same: to alleviate suffering and improve quality of life.”
“Suffering and discomfort are essential in growth and transformation; they’re critical to growth, transformation, and understanding.”
“These treatments can bring rapid, profound healing to people I’ve seen suffering for years.”
“We have these medicines that are effective and safe, and yet access is a huge barrier.”

Action Steps:

Educate yourself on psychedelic therapies: Seek out reputable resources and training programs to gain a deep understanding of how psychedelic therapies work and their potential benefits. This foundational knowledge addresses the stigma and misinformation surrounding these treatments, making you an informed advocate for their use.
Advocate for mental health benefits in the workplace: Encourage your employer or organizations you associate with to consider including psychedelic-assisted therapies as part of employee health benefits. This action increases accessibility and normalizes these treatments, potentially leading to wider acceptance and reduced stigma.
Foster community and support networks: Actively participate in or create community support groups where individuals can share experiences and insights about mental health and psychedelic therapies. A strong sense of community can mitigate trauma responses and provide collective healing.
Engage in open conversations about mental health: Regularly check in with family, friends, and colleagues to discuss mental health openly, making it a part of everyday conversations. This helps reduce the isolation often felt by those suffering and encourages them to seek help through innovative treatments like psychedelics.
Stay informed on policy and industry developments: Keep abreast of the latest research, policy changes, and industry developments in psychedelic therapy. Being aware of these dynamics empowers you to contribute to informed discussions and advocate for policies that support wider access to effective mental health treatments.

Sponsor for this episode…

This episode is brought to you by the Living Medicine Institute.

LMI is a training, resource, and membership program educating providers about the legal and safe use of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.

To learn more or participate, visit https://livingmedicineinstitute.com.

Episode Transcript

Intro 0:03

Welcome to the Living Medicine podcast where we talk about ethical medical use of psychedelic psychotherapy, teaching skills, examining the issues and interviewing interesting people. Now let’s start today’s show.

Dr. Sandy Newes 0:18

Hi everybody. This is Dr Sandy, Newes, and I am from the Living Medicine Institute. As you all know, this is the Living Medicine Institute podcast, and we offer training and clinically relevant content for clinical and medical professionals who are interested in psychedelic medicine and using legal psychedelics in clinical settings. So I am absolutely delighted to be here with Sherry Rais, and thank you so much Sherry for being here. I’m really grateful for you to making the time. I know that you’re super busy and doing lots of really important things that I look forward to talking about. I’m just going to do a brief little introduction for those of you who are not familiar with Sherry, She is the CEO and co founder of Enthea, and has helped dozens of organizations raise funds and operate according to their mission and values and to implement processes that that enhance their overall efficiency. Sherry believes in living and working in alignment with purpose, and is currently focused on expanding access to psychedelic assisted psychotherapy to really alleviate human suffering. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Administration from the London School of Economics, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and international development from McGill University. And she also completed the certificate in psychedelic therapies and research from CIS in 2021 and Sherry, I just want to say as I read that, that you know, as I’ve gotten to know you a little bit and have been paying attention that you I really see that in how you are in the world, that you really do put out that piece about living in alignment with your mission and values, and I think, really inspire others to do the same. So I just want to say that right off the bat that I really appreciate that about you.

Sherry Rais 2:06

So thank you, and thank you for being here. Thank you for having me. Yeah, yeah.

Dr. Sandy Newes 2:12

Well, so I thought I would just start off by just like, you know, how did you get into this field, you know, an ever evolving niche, and for those who’ve been around it for a long time, say it’s been around a long time, others say it’s brand new and kind of what is you know, how did you get into this, and how do you see yourself and your role in the field currently?

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