About this episode

The episode discusses the intersection of conservatism and psychedelics with insights from Karen King and Wesley Smith.

Karen King is a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, and trainer with nearly 20 years of clinical experience, specializing in trauma, Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, and psychedelic integration. Trained in psychedelic-assisted therapy through MAPS, she has spent the last several years helping clients and clinicians approach psychedelic medicine with both clinical rigor and philosophical depth. As co-author of the upcoming book The Conservative Case for Psychedelics, Karen brings a free-thinking and intellectually independent voice to a field often dominated by narrow ideological perspectives, arguing that healing, personal responsibility, tradition, and human dignity deserve a central place in the psychedelic conversation. Through her writing, teaching, and public speaking, she advocates for clinical neutrality, open dialogue, and making space for more politically and philosophically diverse voices in mental health and psychedelic therapy.Wes is a ‘small c’ conservative (pro business, individual liberty, and limited government) psychonaut, and writer focused on bringing the psychedelic renaissance out of the counterculture and into the living rooms of average Americans. After a…

People in this episode

Host: Leslie Elliott Boyce

Guests: Karen King, Wesley Smith

Topics covered

• psychedelics
• mental health
• conservatism
• trauma therapy
• personal responsibility
• clinical practice

Keywords

• psychedelics
• conservatism
• mental health
• therapy
• trauma
• Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
• personal responsibility

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: MAPS

Books & works: The Conservative Case for Psychedelics

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