FREE WEBINAR: What Psychiatrists and other Clinicians need to know about Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies

Don’t miss out - Get your tickets early!

Join this FREE WEBINAR presented by Dr Ben Sessa (UK) and Dr Eli Kotler.

On 3 February 2023, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) announced that, from the 1st July 2023, the medical use of MDMA and Psilocybin will be rescheduled from Schedule 9 (prohibited substances) to Schedule 8 (controlled medicines) of the Poisons Standard. This will enable authorised psychiatrists to prescribe these substances for treatment resistant depression and treatment resistant post-traumatic stress disorder. The decision acknowledges the enormous number of Australians who lodged their submissions in support and the fact that treatment resistant patients aren’t benefitting from currently available treatments. Australia can be very proud of the fact that we are the first nation in the World to reschedule these medicines for medical purposes and Australia is now an innovative leader in the treatment of mental illness.

Mind Medicine Australia is receiving hundreds of enquiries about the way this program is likely to work in practice, as well as enormous interest in medicine supplies, clinician training and costs to patients.

As a result, we are thrilled to announce that renowned psychiatrist, Dr Ben Sessa (UK) together with Dr Eli Kotler will share a special presentation on psychedelic-assisted therapies (PAT) for psychiatrists and other clinicians. They will provide a high level overview of the use of PAT and its application for your patients from a trauma-informed perspective.

Chairman of Mind Medicine Australia, Peter Hunt AM will discuss next steps for Australia including the opportunities emerging for psychiatrists and clinical sites to deliver these treatments, affordable medicine supplies, the Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies Course (CPAT) and updates on the global Faculty and other support offered, clinical reporting obligations and access to Real World Evidence and outcome data.

WEBINAR SESSION (this session is for psychiatrists and other clinicians)

• Date: Thursday 27 April 6pm Melbourne AEST
• Time: 5:55pm for 6:00pm start – 7:30pm (incl Q&A) (AEST)
• The presentation will commence at 6:00pm and conclude by 7:30pm
• Location: Online. A link will be emailed to you with the viewing details

In this session, Dr Sessa (UK) will explore how psychedelic-assisted therapy works by explaining:

• Neuropharmacology of MDMA + psilocybin and dosing protocols
• Preparing the therapist + facility/clinic

• What to expect / how to be ready
• Key features of the "set and setting”

• The “patient journey"

• Patient selection (inclusion and exclusion criteria, when to know that PAT might be the most appropriate next option)
• Obtaining consent (key concepts / risks to explain)
• Supportive care during drug tapering
• Preparation sessions
• Treatment sessions

• Appropriate behaviours
• Managing edge cases
• Key differences to standard therapy approaches

• Managing integration

Following the presentation there will be a Q & A Panel with Dr Ben Sessa (UK), Dr Eli Kotler, Peter Hunt AM and Tania de Jong AM. 

The event is free of charge. However, we welcome donations (tax deductible) to advance our critical mission towards ensuring these therapies become available and accessible to medical practitioners and their patients. This may be done at the time of reserving your ticket.

Due to the nature of this presentation, ONLY verified psychiatrists and clinicians will be admitted into the session.

At a time when mental illness is increasing across the population, we all need to work together to encourage innovation in treatments to support and heal the millions who are suffering immensely.

Please do let us know any questions.

Looking forward to you joining us for this unique, educational event.

More about medicinal psychedelic treatments:

Psychedelic-assisted treatments offer enormous potential in providing a meaningful alternative to current treatments for mental illness. PTSD is a debilitating condition that affects tens of millions of people worldwide, with many more trauma victims diagnosed with comorbid conditions such as depression, anxiety and eating disorders. In recent clinical trials, MDMA has been shown to produce reliable clinical improvements, restoring patient safety and self-agency even for individuals who have suffered with PTSD for many years, and for whom many treatments have failed.

The wave of clinical psychedelic research and regulatory support is rapidly building, with experts forecasting the availability of psychedelic-assisted treatments in the US and EU within the next 2 to 5 years, subject to positive clinical outcomes in large trials that are currently underway. 

More about the presenters

Dr Ben Sessa (UK)

MBBS, B.SC, MRC PSYCH

Ben Sessa is a Teacher on our global CPAT Faculty.

Ben Sessa is a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist who has worked with young people and adults in the field of addictions and trauma-related psychiatry for over 20 years. For the last 15 years Ben has been at the forefront of psychedelic research in the UK through his affiliations with Bristol University and Imperial College London, under the auspices of Professor David Nutt. He has taken part as a study doctor and as a healthy subject both receiving and / or administering MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, DMT and ketamine in multiple UK research studies. He runs one of the first UK-based medical cannabis prescribing clinics. Ben is the Chief Medical Officer at AWAKN Life Sciences, a new start-up company opening Europe’s first psychedelic medical clinic, which will be providing psychedelic therapies, therapist training courses and conducting independent research. Ben is the co-founder and former president of Europe’s largest psychedelic conference, Breaking Convention.

Dr Eli Kotler (AUS)

MBBS MPM FRANZCP Cert. Old Age Psych. AFRACMA
Board Member of Mind Medicine Australia
Psychiatrist and Director of Medicine at Malvern Private Hospital

Eli Kotler is CPAT’s Australian Course Director.

He is a Consultant Psychiatrist and Psychodynamic Psychotherapist. He is the Medical Director of Malvern Private Hospital, an addiction and trauma hospital in Melbourne. Eli completed the inaugural Mind Medicine Australia Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies (CPAT) course, and has since been on its Faculty.

As a psychiatric trainee, Eli was awarded the Royal College of Psychiatrists Trainee Prize for his Scholarly Project on Depression, as well as a Research Committee Trainee award for his work on Philosophy of Mind. As an adjunct lecturer at Monash University, he oversees medical students on their addiction medicine rotation. He has been invited as a keynote speaker to several conferences and meetings to discuss addictions, trauma and psychedelics. Eli sits on the Committee of the ANZMHA to help organise their yearly addiction conference. He also sits on the inaugural Clinical Advisory Group for the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation. Eli is an Associate Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators, and is a member of the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs. He also has extensive research experience with novel therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases.

Due to his interest in trauma, Eli has been appointed an Independent Medical Examiner by WorkSafe Victoria. He has been appointed by the Minister for Workplace Safety to sit on the Victorian Medical Panels, and is an expert witness in historical abuse cases.

Clinically, Eli works in a psychodynamic framework, and attempts to help his patients find freedom from their addictions and trauma through relational experiences, and experiential self-awareness. He is part of the AFL Player’s Association referral network for addiction issues, and his interests in depth-psychology and neuroscience led him to found the Melbourne Neuropsychoanalytic Group. Eli is a Board Director of Mind Medicine Australia.

Peter Hunt AM

B.Com, LL.B
Founder & Chair of Mind Medicine Australia


As an investment banker Peter Hunt AM advised local and multi-national companies and governments in Australia for nearly 35 years.  He co-founded one of Australia’s leading investment banking advisory firms, Caliburn Partnership and was Executive Chairman of Greenhill Australia. Peter was a member of the Advisory Panel of ASIC and chaired the Vincent Fairfax Family Office.

Peter is an active philanthropist involved in funding, developing and scaling social sector organisations which seek to create a better and fairer world.  He is Chairman of Mind Medicine Australia which he established with his wife, Tania de Jong, in 2018. He regularly presents to Governments, regulators, clinicians, philanthropists and the general public on psychedelic-assisted therapies and the legal and ethical frameworks needed to ensure these treatments can be made accessible and affordable.

He founded Women’s Community Shelters in 2011. Peter is a Director of The Umbrella Foundation. Peter also acts as a pro bono adviser to Creativity Australia.  He was formerly Chairman of So They Can, Grameen Australia and Grameen Australia Philippines.

Peter was made a member of the General Division of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2010 for services to the philanthropic sector.

Support psychedelic research and therapy development

By donating to Mind Medicine Australia, you will be helping us to accelerate the availability and best practice of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy in Australia. We are a small organisation doing big things – we need your support.   

Please click here to make a tax-deductible donation. 

Disclaimer

Mind Medicine Australia does not encourage or facilitate illegal use of psychedelics or plant medicines. MMA focus is focused on clinical and legal use only supported by the emerging science and legislative processes. Mind Medicine Australia reserves the right to record and publish webinars on various social media platforms. You agree that you will not discuss any names, locations or specific details of illegal use of psychedelics both verbally or via any written forms of communication via Mind Medicine Australia social media platforms (for example facebook, instagram and zoom private and public chat forms during the webinar). Breaches of these guidelines may result in not being able to participate in the event. We thank you for support and cooperation on these matters.

Mind Medicine Australia is focused specifically on the clinical application of medicinal psilocybin and medicinal MDMA for certain mental illnesses.