Dear ALPS Community,

Welcome to our latest newsletter, celebrating the entry in 2024, a new year, that we hope will hold many promises regarding the field of psychedelics. But for now, we are very pleased to present you the exciting projects that ALPS team is building for you as well as the breakthrough advanced in psychedelic research. In this edition :

• we will go over the 2023 ALPS conference, that took place in Geneva, Switzerland, from a volunteer perspective. Because it is always a pleasure to get to know you and to share our interests in psychedelic;

• we are very enthusiastic to launch a fundraising to create the ALPS access fund for PAT, dedicated to patients in needs for psychedelic therapy and who cannot afford its price.

• we are organizing a members meet-up in Bern and a Student forum in Zurich.

• we will also provide you a short update on what ALPS is doing in research;

• we will present you the first Nationwide training course on psychedelic-assisted therapy in palliative care

• we discuss the recent research grant given by the European union to investigate psilocybin in reducing psychological distress in people requiring palliative care;

The third edition of the ALPS – Awareness Lectures on Psychedelics Science conference was held late October 2023, in Geneva, Switzerland, under the auspice and support of the municipality.

More than 256 persons attended to the event among which scientists, journalists, clinicians, students, philosophers but also many patients and inquisitive individuals from every age group and from all over Europe. Among all this diversity, a common point: a growing enthusiasm and trust for psychedelic research and therapy with the belief that “psychedelic drugs can go back to where they belong: in therapy” and the will to share with others. Indeed, the 3 days conference was marked by a thriving connectedness between all attendees and a feeling of affiliation. As a volunteer, I was impressed by the attention that the ALPS team carried to our well-being, the accessibility of the researchers, delighted to discuss with us to share their experiences and knowledge and to take a photo on the go. This family atmosphere permitted by the team greatly contributed to the general positive appreciation of the 2023 conference. I found such fulfillment in contributing to this movement that I opted to enroll in ALPS, enthusiastic in participating in the upcoming edition organization.

In addition, 16 speakers coming from different countries, shared with us their knowledge through high quality lectures, allowing us to embrace how broad and complex the field of psychedelics is. Indeed, we were able to catch the history of psychedelics as therapeutic tools promoting connectedness to nature and between people, which use has traditionally contributed in shaping different cultures. We learned about the cutting-edge advancements in the field of psychedelic science focusing on innovative therapeutic applications and the need to take into account the “set and setting” ensuring good conditions and limiting risks that could be associated with the substance use. The research poster session also offered young inspiring researchers to present their work and findings allowing us to stay abreast of the most recent discoveries in the field.

We would like to congratulate once again, Paul Deshusses for the most mind-blowing poster, Nicolas Sportelli, for the most visually appealing poster, and Johanna Blanc for the most informative poster. Further, we discovered breathtaking patient testimonials highlighting the radical impact of psychedelic-assisted therapy on their life, demonstrating the stakes and the need to make the legislation and regulation surrounding psychedelics evolve. We were honored to witness the standing ovation following Rick Doblin’s talk. He is the founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), overseeing phase 3 clinical trials for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of PTSD. The advancement of the MDMA project is the biggest example of the incredible path that psychedelic research did these last 20 years and that we are on the good evidence-based track, holding therapeutic potential and hopes for thousands of patients.

Last, but not least, I would like to especially thank and congratulate the ALPS team for their incredible work and benevolence enabling this event to take place in the best possible conditions. I would like to remind you that these are young researchers, students, employees who dedicate their personal time and energy for the pleasure to share and to expand our knowledge on psychedelic research and therapy. I would like also to especially thank the speakers, the audience, all the participants, for your wonderful question, your kindness and your motivation. I hope that ALPS will continue to grow with your support, extending to people not knowing anything about the field, so we can make psychedelic-therapy a reality in all countries.

Reported by Gabrielle MICHON - Volunteers ALPS 2023 conference

Relive the ALPS Conference 2023 with our YouTube Channel

Did you miss the ALPS Conference 2023? Or would you like to rewatch a particular talk?

No worries, we've got you covered! All of the conference talks are now available for free on our YouTube channel. ALPS Awareness Lectures on Psychedelic Science - YouTube

Head over to our YouTube channel and immerse yourself in the wealth of knowledge shared at the ALPS Conference 2023. You'll find insightful presentations from leading experts in the field of psychedelic research and therapy.

We are also very pleased to inform you that our 2023 conference welcomed Alexandre, a student in psychology at Nanterre University, accompanied by journalists from FranceInfo who published a short report in french entitled “Switzerland: LSD to the rescue of mental illnesses”.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn and expand your understanding of psychedelics.

Photos of the conference are freely available on the foundation's website: Photo Gallery — ALPS Foundation

Fundraising for ALPS access fund for PAT

We are very enthusiastic to announce a fundraising initiative for the ALPS Patients Access Fund, aimed at providing financial aid for patients needing Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (PAT) in Switzerland. In fact, even if used in a legal setting, to this day psychedelic substances cannot be reimbursed by health insurances leaving a financial gap for many. The ALPS Foundation has elaborated a project to create a fund to which patients and therapists can apply to get the medicines reimbursed. This fund will facilitate long-term access to PAT, enhancing mental health care and social cohesion in Switzerland. If you want to know more about the project, please contact patientaccessfund@alps.foundation.

Members meet-up:

The ALPS team is very pleased to inform you that we are organizing a new meet-up event at the university of Bern on the 6th of April. For those of you who are already familiar with the concept and have already come to one of our previous events, I hope you enjoyed meeting us and getting to know us, and that you'll have the opportunity to join us on this next date. For those who never heard about our meet-up events, the principle is simple. We are organizing community meetings where ALPS team and people interested in the field of psychedelic can connect to each other, exchange about their current research topics in their field of expertise, discuss recent papers, talk about the current situation in research in Switzerland, but also just have fun and good time. And all of that around snacks and drinks!

Note the date: 6th of April and stay tuned for more upcoming information.

Swiss psychedelic student forum:

We are now launching our call for Speakers for the Swiss psychedelic student forum that will take place on the 4th of May 2024 in Zurich. What is this forum? It is a one-day conference by students and for students, including bachelors, masters, and PhDs and professionals interested in the field of psychedelics. The main goal of this event is to encourage and to support inspiring students conducting psychedelic research to present their amazing undergrad work. Not only an opportunity to deepen knowledge on the many facets of psychedelic research and therapy, but it is also a space for networking, getting to know each other, exchanging about various topics, making friends around snacks and drinks. We are aiming to promote connection between the new generation of psychedelic therapists and researchers: be welcome the 4th of mai in Zurich! 

Big THANK YOU to PROZ - Psychedelic Research Organization of Zurich, the student association member of the Swiss Psychedelic Student Network hosting this year the event at their home town university!

For those interested in attending to the event, the tickets will be available very soon, so stay tuned! For those interested in presenting your work to an audience of fellow students and the public who are passionate about psychedelics, see the section below “call for speakers” to apply to join us as a speaker at the Swiss Psychedelic Student Forum:

“We are accepting submissions of abstracts on any topic of research concerning psychedelics. Your topic may also be situated in any field of research such as psychology, neuroscience, anthropology, or philosophy. Abstract: max. 400 words. Please submit in English. Presentation: 45 minutes (30 minutes presentation followed by 15 minutes discussion). Presentations must be given in English. These will be recorded and uploaded to our YouTube channel. If you are selected to present, we will cover your travel expenses if needed and further provide you with a few additional benefits. Please send your abstract submission by the 28st of February 2024, and any questions that you might have, to studentforum@alps.foundation. When submitting your abstract, further provide your name, contact information, and Swiss institutional affiliation.”

We are excited to share some updates on our ongoing research projects!

UNIDELIC - Psychedelic consumption among university students

Our first study in collaboration with the University Hospital of Geneva (HUG) is nearing completion. We have successfully interviewed over 250 participants in person at six universities across Switzerland, with the support of the Swiss Psychedelic Student Network and their respective student associations. We are currently finalizing the statistical analysis and drafting the paper for peer review publication.

Set and Setting Questionnaire

Our second study is in collaboration with the University of Fribourg. We have surpassed 350 participants in our ongoing Set and Setting questionnaire study. The recruitment is still going on, and we encourage you to participate! If you are interested, you can fill out the questionnaire here. We are now analyzing the collected data and preparing to draft the paper.

First Nationwide Training Course on Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in Palliative Care

With the intrinsic aim to expend psychedelic research and therapy, we are pleased to share with you a 3-day training course on Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in Palliative Care. Sivan Shipper, Head of Palliative Care at Uster Hospital and Jonathan Häfelfinger, Specialist in General Internal Medicine, are organizing for the first time a workshop on the subject of "Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in Palliative Care" in Switzerland. This training course is designed for healthcare professionals who are interested in learning about the theoretical and practical aspects of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in palliative care. The national training course will take place from 5th - 7th April 2024 at the Seminarhotel Wasserfallen (BL) and will be held in English. Postgraduate education credits (Weiterbildung / Formation continue) are available for participants.

Please refers to the invitation attached below for more details and for registration information. Limited spots are available.

Psypal: Psychedelic research funded by Europe

The European Union, supported by Horizon Europe, is funding for the first time an innovative clinical study on the use of psilocybin in the treatment of emotional distress in non-oncological palliative care patients, to the tune of 6.5 million euros. The study, led by PsyPal and coordinated by Groningen University Medical Center in the Netherlands, will begin in early 2024. It involves 19 European collaborating organizations from 9 different countries, 4 clinical sites and a multitude of stakeholders. Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has been shown to improve anxiety symptoms in patients with terminal cancer. The aim of this study is to investigate the ability of psilocybin to alleviate the suffering of patients and their families over the short and long term, and to assess its safety, in compliance with the recommendations of ethics committees and regulatory authorities.

Read full article here.

The Psychedelicare Initiative

The Psychedelicare Initiative is a European Citizens’ Initiative for the medical use of psychedelics in the European Union that will be launched in 2024. But what is it? It is a way for citizens to propose new laws to the European Commission by obtaining 1 million signatures. The initiative aims at promoting knowledge on psychedelic research, therapy and legislation, fostering debates and exchanges. The initiative holds 3 main requests, namely defining guidelines for the use of psychedelics in medical settings, fostering research on psychedelics funded by Europe and establishing recommendation for the rescheduling of psychedelics substances.

Read more here.

Donations

The most important factor that makes us human is undeniably our sense of community and our continuous search for connection.

As a non-profit Foundation we base our actions and reasoning on a set of clear values and beliefs that stem from a rational and compassionate representation of the human condition to answer the following question: “What is our role at the service of the collective ?”.

In order to do what we do, we rely on your help and support. Currently all of the ALPS Team works on a volunteer basis in the creation of events, research, projects, student support etc. 

If you want to support us in keeping our initiative alive, consider donating or becoming a support member of the ALPS Foundation. 

Thank you for your generosity, we will make it turn ‘round and ‘round.

Until next time,

ALPS Team

More information and update on our socials : linktr.ee/alps.foundation