PSYCHEDELIC THERAPY: Science, Spirit, Or Both? | Discussion | ATTUNE Festival

Australia has become a global leader in psychedelic research, with landmark changes to legislation making psilocybin and MDMA-assisted therapy legal in specific clinical contexts. Yet for many, the cost and accessibility remain barriers — leading people to travel overseas or turn to underground ceremonies. How do we navigate this evolving landscape, ensuring these powerful tools are used safely, ethically, and in ways that truly honour their potential?  

In this session, Dr Lauren MacDonald — psychiatrist, retreat facilitator, and researcher — will share insights from her work on clinical trials using psychedelics to treat anorexia, chronic pain, and depression, as well as her experience facilitating psilocybin group retreats overseas. 

Alongside her, Dafna Kronental, a psychotherapist at The Indigo Project trained in psychedelic-assisted therapy, will speak to the critical role of integration and how practitioners can help reduce harm, support healing, and honour the full spectrum of human experience.

Together they will explore how psychedelic therapy is evolving — from clinical research to ceremony — while exploring the importance of reciprocity in remembering the ceremonial roots of psychedelics. Join us for a fascinating discussion on how science and spirituality can meet to offer new pathways for individual and collective healing, through the psychedelic renaissance.

FREE WITH REGISTRATION
Presented by The Indigo Project

ATTUNE: A free digital festival.
Exploring progressive approaches to mental health through sound, somatics & ideas. See the full program here.

Dr Lauren MacDonald
Dr. Lauren Macdonald is a psychedelic therapy guide and group retreat facilitator dedicated to bridging science and spirituality in service of whole-person healing. She previously worked at The Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, as a clinical trial doctor and therapy guide on pioneering studies with psilocybin for anorexia and fibromyalgia, and DMT for treatment-resistant depression.

Alongside her clinical work, Lauren facilitates international psilocybin retreats and leads experiential trainings that support the safe and ethical practice of psychedelic-assisted therapy. She co-hosts The Reconnection, a women’s psychedelic and embodiment retreat programme, and is particularly passionate about the transformative potential of the group process, emphasising relational healing, integration, and the power of ongoing community care.

Her approach draws on a background in medicine and psychology, holistic and somatic modalities, Earth-based wisdom traditions, and her personal journey through stage IV cancer, which opened her to a more integrative path of healing that honours body, mind, heart, and spirit.

About Dafna Kronental
Dafna Kronental is a qualified psychotherapist, yoga and meditation instructor, and lecturer in counselling. She works privately and with clients at the Indigo Project, and has a background in community mental health supporting asylum seekers, new migrants, and Indigenous communities locally and overseas. She is trained and certified in psychedelic-assisted therapy and regularly works with clients on psychedelic integration. She is part of the core team at The Journey Clinic, a newly established residential rehabilitation incorporating emerging treatments such as breathwork and psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Dafna teaches university-level counselling and psychotherapy units at ACAP and Southern Cross University. Her work is informed by neurobiological research on the mind-body connection, attachment, and interpersonal models of dialogue and healing.