Neuroscience

on the Astral Plane

Neurobiology versus the Subjective Experience in Psychedelic Therapy

What happens when a burgeoning field of scientific research tries to investigate a subject that seems to defy observation, quantification, and simplification?

How, if at all, can science inform the subjective and the spiritual, the astral and the psychedelic? In this workshop we will examine the field of psychedelic neuroscience and ask where neuroscience fits among other, sometimes ancient, ways of knowing. Specifically, we will question the limits of neuroscience as a way of explaining the therapeutic potential of psychedelics like psilocybin, ketamine, and MDMA. We’ll dive into a hotly debated topic at the edge of psychedelic neuroscience, providing you with the neuroscientific background you need to understand the arguments. By the end of our discussion, you’ll know what the cutting edge research says about how healing is facilitated by psychedelics and you’ll develop your own sense of whether and how neuroscience can support you and your clients in this work.

Meet Your Teachers

Amy Braun, Ph.D.

  • co-Founder of NeuroTransmit, neuroscientist, educator

    Amy Braun (she/her and they/them) grew up in Rochester, NY and now lives in San Francisco on Ramaytush Ohlone land. Amy earned her Ph.D. in Neurosciences from Stanford studying the way that the fetal brain puts itself together during gestation and how the environment influences its development via the placenta. She is currently a visiting faculty with Saint Mary’s College of California. She is passionate about maternal-fetal medicine, healthcare equity, and socially-engaged STEM education.

Portrait of Dr. Racheli Wercberger, smiling with red lipstick, and short brown hair tucked back

Racheli Wercberger, Ph.D.

  • co-Founder of NeuroTransmit, neuroscientist, somatic therapy practitioner

    Racheli Wercberger (they/them) is a queer, nonbinary, white Jewish somatic practitioner and former neuroscientist researcher currently practicing and living in San Francisco, California, on occupied Ramaytush-Ohlone land.​ Their work is grounded in feminist, harm reduction, and anti-oppressive frameworks and in the assumption that personal healing is necessary for collective healing. They are passionate about supporting folks to metabolize trauma, heal from attachment injuries, integrate experiences from expanded states of consciousness like psychedelics, and navigate queerness, gender, polyamory, spirituality, and grief. They received their doctorate in neuroscience from University of California San Francisco studying the neural circuitry of chronic pain and itch, and a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from Touro University. They also completed a postdoctoral pedagogy fellowship with Stanford Introductory Studies where they taught classes on the intersection of science, philosophy, and society.

Ray Care, Ph.D.

  • Director of Programs of NeuroTransmit, neuroscientist

    Ray Care (they/she) currently works with graduate and postdoctoral scientists on issues of career and professional development. Her interest is in working with early-stage professionals who are navigating challenging and isolating systems of education and work. She finds joy in supporting people in a process of re-centering their needs and values within their work. Ray found their affinity for this work through their own PhD experience at the University of California, San Francisco, where they studied the ability of adult neural circuits in the retina to recover after input loss.

UPCOMING WORKSHOP DATES

UPCOMING WORKSHOP DATES

NOVEMBER 8, 2025

Online (Zoom)

10:00-1:00pm PST

$150 $99

Additional $25 for 3 CEs

NOVEMBER 20, 2025

Online (Zoom)

10:00-1:00pm PST

$150 $99

Additional $25 for 3 CEs

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Neuroscience for Therapists, Coaches, & Healers (Coming Soon)