Stand In The Circle

Odcinki

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  Standing the the Circle with Menopause week 1: Perimenopause: The Unguided Initiation 17.08.2026 52min

  Most of us reached perimenopause with no idea what it was. In this episode I go through what's actually happening, tell my own story:  BRCA, surgical menopause, PMDD, and a conversation in a taxi that changed what happened to my body.Content warning: the second half discusses violence against women, including sexual violence, and the Gisèle Pelicot case. This podcast is first-hand experience: stories, not advice. Not medical advice, not any kind of advice. In ACER sharing circles we share our stories and nobody gives advice, because what's right for one person is wrong for another. Psychedelics come up on this podcast because that's my background. Nothing here is an encouragement to use them. If you disagree with anything you hear this month, write in. I'll raise it in the Q&A at the end of the month.If you're struggling: Your GP, first. Samaritans (UK) 116 123https://www.samaritans.org The Daisy Network, for premature ovarian insufficiency https://www.daisynetwork.org IAPMD, for PMDD support https://iapmd.orgLinks: The Pomegranate Grove, https://psychedelicsociety.org.uk/www.acerintegration.comThe PMDD Healing Podcast, Charisma WhitefeatherFawcett Society, Menopause and the Workplace (2022) https://www.fawcettsociety.org.ukNICE guideline NG23, Menopause: identification and management https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23SWAN, Study of Women's Health Across the Nation https://www.swanstudy.orgUNODC & UN Women, Femicides in 2024 — https://www.unwomen.orgMenopause-specific CBT: the MENOS trials, self help book:  Living Well Through The Menopause: An evidence-based cognitive behavioural guide https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/How-to-Have-a-Magnificent-Midlife-Crisis/Kate-Muir/9781398525504 (Another great self help book)PLUS link to NEW stand in the circle webinar  https://acerintegration.com/stand-in-the-circle-webinar-lpSubmit a question for Ros to answer next month: https://forms.gle/jVcGniTN3uS1bjz18
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  Standing in the Circle with Cancer week 4: Your Questions Answered 03.08.2026 1godz 1min

  The last episode of our month with cancer, where I answer your questions1)How to find a circle. 2)How to get into the psychedelic field without lots of money. 3)How to choose a retreat safely.  4)And what non-psychedelic therapies are helpful when walking through cancer.With Christine Caldwell, founder of End of Life Psychedelic Care, and Dr Ellie Cavalli, clinical psychologist and founder of After Cancer.LINKSAfter Cancer, Dr Ellie Cavalli https://www.thetunbridgewellspsychologist.co.uk/dr-ellie-cavalliEnd of Life Psychedelic Care https://eolpc.org/Survivorship Collective, psilocybin retreats for cancer survivors https://survivorshipcollective.com/Dr Lauren MacDonald https://drlaurenmacdonald.com/Maggie's, who run the Where Now? course for after treatment https://www.maggiescentres.org/Find your local psychedelic society https://globalpsychedelic.org/locator/Volunteer with Zendo Project https://zendoproject.org/volunteerVolunteer with PsyCare UK https://www.psycareuk.org/volunteerVolunteer with Samaritans https://www.samaritans.org/Free live ACER circles https://acerintegration.com/acer-live-eventsTrain to offer the twelve trees where you livehttps://acerintegration.com/connectNB: stewardship training info coming to ACER website soon, in the meantime, just send us a message and we’ll get back to you. Submit a question for Ros to answer next month: https://forms.gle/jVcGniTN3uS1bjz18DIRECTORIESA starting point, not a substitute for asking the questions in this episode. Most of these are self-listed, and MAPS and PRATI both say openly that they do not verify the credentials of the people on their lists.End of Life Psychedelic Care connector directory https://eolpc.org/international-psychedelic-connector-directory/MAPS Psychedelic Integration List https://integration.maps.org/PRATI, ketamine and psychedelic practitioners https://integration.maps.org/Psychedelic Support provider network https://integration.maps.org/
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  Standing in the Circle with Cancer week 3: Researchers Katherine MacLean and Yvan Beaussant 28.07.2026 56min

  Katherine was a guide in the early psilocybin trials at Johns Hopkins.  Yvan Beaussant is a palliative care physician in Boston. We talk about the circles of care that hold people through serious illness and through losing someone.Katherine MacLean: https://www.katherinemaclean.orgMidnight Water: https://www.katherinemaclean.org/midnight-waterBeing Ground, the forest sanctuary in Vermont: https://www.katherinemaclean.org/being-groundYvan Beaussant: https://www.dana-farber.org/find-a-doctor/yvan-beaussantPsychedelic-Assisted Therapies: https://labs.dana-farber.org/psychedelicsThe Watts Connectedness Scale: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00213-022-06187-5ACER runs free live drop in sessions online: join us, you don't have to say anything, you can just listen: https://acerintegration.com/acer-live-eventsACER applications https://acerintegration.com/apply-nowSubmit a question: https://forms.gle/jVcGniTN3uS1bjz18Looking for a trial in your area: https://clinicaltrials.gov (US), https://bepartofresearch.nihr.ac.uk (UK), https://www.anzctr.org.au (AUS)UK: Macmillan Cancer Support, https://www.macmillan.org.uk, Marie Curie, https://www.mariecurie.org.uk, Cruse Bereavement Support, https://www.cruse.org.ukUS: CancerCare, https://www.cancercare.org If you are in crisis: Samaritans 116 123 or text SHOUT to 85258 (UK). Call or text 988 (US).
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  Standing in the Circle with Cancer week 2: ACER members Rebekah and Kim 22.07.2026 1godz 6min

  We explore connectedness as medicine across 3 levels: connection to self, to others, and to the living world. In this episode we meet two members of the ACER community with two different paths and a shared truth: we are not meant to carry these things alone.Support: For families caring for a child with cancer: US: Momcology, peer support built by and for caregivers, momcology.org. UK: Young Lives vs Cancer, younglivesvscancer.org.uk. Childhood Cancer Parents Alliance, ccpa.org.uk. For anyone bereaved by suicide: UK: Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide helpline 0300 111 5065. Suicide&Co, suicideandco.org. US: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention loss resources, afsp.org/ive-lost-someone. Alliance of Hope, allianceofhope.org. For families grieving a child UK: The Compassionate Friends, 0345 123 2304. Child Death Helpline, 0800 282 986. US: The Dougy Center, dougy.org. If you are in crisis right now: UK, Samaritans 116 123. US, Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, call or text 988.ACER Integration is a year-long community for people who want to heal in connection, not isolation. https://acerintegration.com/To submit a question for the podcast https://forms.gle/jVcGniTN3uS1bjz18Mentioned in this episode: Rebekah trained in psychedelic-assisted therapy with the Integrative Psychiatry Institute (IPI). More at integrativepsychiatryinstitute.com.  Kim took part in a registered psilocybin clinical trial. Anyone wanting to understand what trials are open and where can search by condition and location: US, clinicaltrials.gov. UK, Be Part of Research, bepartofresearch.nihr.ac.uk. Australia and New Zealand anzctr.org.au. Legal, supervised psilocybin therapy in the US is currently available only through licensed programs in OR and CO, with NM expected to follow. Everywhere else, access remains within research trials.
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  Standing in the Circle with Cancer week 1: Ros and Amelia 14.07.2026 50min

  Nearly 1 in 2 of us in the UK will face cancer in our lifetime. This month, Dr Rosalind Watts opens the territory of cancer, not the medicine, but the loneliness, the fear, the missing village, and the connection that can hold us through it. In this first episode, Ros sets out the ground for the month and shares a personal story. Her cousin Tom was diagnosed with a rare cancer at ten and died at 13. His mother, Ros's aunt Amelia, speaks about walking him through it, the night he died, the community that held her, and a connection to him that has never ended. Please note: this episode holds the story of a child who died of cancer. If you have lost a child or are going through serious illness with someone you love, please go gently and see the support resources below.Amelia's shared crossingWitnessing part of Tom's journey as he died is what researchers call a shared death experience. Her account is part of the work of the Shared Crossing Project, founded by William Peters, whose book is At Heaven's Door (2022): https://www.sharedcrossing.comThe prayer Ros mentions: The reimagined feminine Hail Mary comes from Way of the Rose, by Perdita Finn and Clark Strand and the community they founded: https://wayoftherose.org. The words Ros says are her own remembered version.ReferencesUK lifetime risk (Cancer Research UK): https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statisticsThe Watts Connectedness Scale (2022): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00213-022-06187-5Psilocybin for cancer distress, 2016 trials: Johns Hopkins, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0269881116675513, and NYU, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5367551/MD Anderson psilocybin nerve-damage trial: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07227909Katherine MacLean's Being Ground: https://www.katherinemaclean.orgSupport lines Cruse Bereavement Support (UK): 0808 808 1677. The Compassionate Friends, for bereaved parents (UK and US): tcf.org.uk, compassionatefriends.org. Macmillan Cancer Support (UK): 0808 808 00 00. CancerCare bereavement counselling (US): 1-800-813-4673.In crisis: Samaritans (UK) 116 123. In the US, call or text 988.ACER Integration:  https://acerintegration.com/Submit a question for the Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/jVcGniTN3uS1bjz18Next week: Ros is in conversation with ACER members Rebekah, who is living with metastatic breast cancer, and Kim, whose son survived cancer. Both describe psychedelic experiences that helped them find connection in the hardest times.
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  The Care That Makes the Medicine Work | #4, Month 1 Topic: Psychedelics for Depression 06.07.2026 43min

  Michelle Baker-Jones is a relational psychotherapist and psychedelic guide who worked alongside Ros on the first Imperial psilocybin-for-depression trial. In this conversation: attachment, friendship and loss, the wounded healer, what's being lost as psychedelic therapy scales, and finding sanctuary in trees.The trials & the filmMagic Medicine (2018, dir. Monty Wates)-  the documentary following the 1st Imperial psilocybin-for-depression trial: magicmedicine.net · NetflixThe Watts Connectedness Scale:  overview and manual: drrosalindwatts.com/watts-connectedness-scale · validation paper (Watts et al., Psychopharmacology, 2022): link.springer.comThe ACE model: the prep-and-integration approach Michelle refers to building on (Watts & Luoma, 2020) and access to 'pearl dive' the visualisation made from the ACE model- to prepare for a psychedelic experience: https://www.drrosalindwatts.com/pearl-diveIdeas & terms we mentionedIFS (Internal Family Systems): therapeutic model developed by Richard Schwartz: ifs-institute.comAttachment styles: Bowlby's four patterns and the Adult Attachment InterviewThe wounded healer: the Jungian archetype Michelle names.Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner & Richard Alpert, The Psychedelic Experience (1964)Druidry: the Bardic and Ovate training Michelle is undertaking, through the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD) https://druidry.org/The wider contextTrump's executive order on psychedelic therapy (18 April 2026), which Ros references alongside concurrent healthcare cuts: White House order · plain-English explainer: TIMEACER & staying connectedACER Integration: https://acerintegration.com/Submit a question for a future Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/JgJaAjDRbowAcyWZ9If you are living with the kind of heavy depression Ruth describes, you do not have to sit in it alone. Samaritans volunteers are there any time. In the UK, call 116 123. In the US, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
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  Ruth: The Spiral, Not the Straight Line | #3, Month 1 Topic: Psychedelics For Depression 29.06.2026 1godz

  What does healing actually look like in the years after a psychedelic experience? Not a straight line, but a spiral. In this first guest episode, Dr Rosalind Watts is in conversation with Ruth, who took part in a psilocybin-for-depression trial and has spent the years since walking the long, slow road of integration.Ruth had lived with depression for most of her adult life, and had tried most of the conventional routes, when she joined the trial in 2019. She talks about what brought her to it and the two strikingly different sessions she had: one expansive and full of light, and one that was hours of darkness and fear. But the heart of this conversation is what came after. Ruth went home weeks before COVID lockdown, with her integration circle cancelled and almost no support around her. She talks about the ACER sharing circles that grew out of that time, the somatic practices she tried (some that worked, some that made her furious), and the slow, spiralling, six-year journey since. It is an honest picture of integration as real work, and of how being witnessed by others, and witnessing them, is part of what makes an opening last.In this episode:Why Ruth chose a clinical trial over travelling abroad, and what safety made possible"This is not where you belong, you are trapped here," and finding meaning in the hard journeyTree meditations, and reconnecting with the living worldKnowledge versus wisdom, and learning to use what she already hadTrying somatic practices and breathwork, and letting some things not workBeing witnessed, reciprocity, and not carrying the whole load aloneSix years on: the ups, the downs, and the spiralReferences and links:The trial Ruth took part in: Trial of Psilocybin versus Escitalopram for Depression (Carhart-Harris, Giribaldi, Watts et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 2021). Free summary on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33852780. Full paper: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2032994If you're interested in taking part in a clinical trial: search current studies on ClinicalTrials.gov (https://clinicaltrials.gov) or, in the UK, the NHS "Be Part of Research" service (https://bepartofresearch.nihr.ac.uk)."Trust, let go, be open," the trial's guiding phrase, comes from psychedelic pioneer Bill Richards, in his book Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences.The Watts Connectedness Scale (Watts et al., 2022, open access): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00213-022-06187-5If you are living with the kind of heavy depression Ruth describes, you do not have to sit in it alone. Samaritans volunteers are there any time. In the UK, call 116 123. In the US, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.ACER Integration: https://acerintegration.com/Submit a question for a future Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/JgJaAjDRbowAcyWZ9Next week: Ros is in conversation with Michelle Baker Jones, the colleague she started those pandemic sharing circles with, a therapist on multiple psychedelic trials, with her own story of disconnection and connection.
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  When the Lights Go Out Again | #2, Month 1 Topic: Psychedelics For Depression 22.06.2026 31min

  Psychedelic medicines can open a door. But what happens when there's nothing waiting on the other side to help you stay open?In this episode, Dr. Rosalind Watts tells the story of John, a participant in one of the first psilocybin trials for depression. Through John's story, Ros explores a question that sits at the heart of modern psychedelic care: what happens after the breakthrough?Along the way, she reflects on a major new U.S. executive order designed to accelerate access to psychedelic medicines, and the mix of hope and ethical tensions it raises.Ultimately, this episode asks a bigger question than whether we are ready for psychedelic medicines. It asks whether we are ready to build the kinds of communities that can hold all of life's threshold moments: grief, birth, loss, love, transformation, and healing.References and links:Watch Magic Medicine (dir. Monty Wates), the documentary following John and the Imperial College London psilocybin trial. Netflix (UK): https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81409016 and Prime Video.The Watts Connectedness Scale (Watts et al., 2022, Psychopharmacology, open access): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00213-022-06187-5The US executive order on accelerating treatments for serious mental illness (White House, April 2026): https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/04/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-is-accelerating-medical-treatments-for-serious-mental-illness/Jules Evans on therapists' safety and ethics concerns in psychedelic trials (Ecstatic Integration): https://www.ecstaticintegration.org/p/therapists-on-psychedelic-trialsOn Gabon protecting iboga (National Geographic): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/ibogaine-pschedelic-drug-root-fair-trade-gabonBook: María Sabina: Her Life and Chants, by Álvaro EstradaSophy Banks and Healthy Human CultureSubmit a question to Ros, to be answered on a future podcast episode:  https://forms.gle/JgJaAjDRbowAcyWZ9If you are struggling:If you are in the dark place Ros describes, you do not have to sit in it alone. Samaritans volunteers are there any time. In the UK, call 116 123. In the US, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.Learn more about the ACER community:  https://acerintegration.com/Connect with Dr. Rosalind Watts:https://www.drrosalindwatts.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-rosalind-watts/https://www.instagram.com/acerintegrationhttps://medium.com/@DrRosalindWatts
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  Introducing Stand in the Circle | #1, Month 1 Topic: Psychedelics For Depression 12.06.2026 46min

  There's a lot to be angry about right now. But rage can't be the only thing we feel. This is a place to come for stories of people moving from disconnection to connection, numbness to feeling, isolation to belonging.In this first episode, clinical psychologist Ros Watts introduces Stand in the Circle. What it is. Where it came from. And the night she walked out in the rain and ended up with her arms around a tree.Ros tells the story of her years running one of the first clinical trials treating depression with psychedelic therapy, and the truth is: she was publishing research on connectedness while living a deeply disconnected life.The heart of the episode is the difference between the pyramid and the circle. The shape most of us were raised inside, where you climb, perform, and hide what's hard. And the shape we're learning instead, where no one stands above anyone else and the question shifts from "how am I doing" to "how are we doing."Each month on the podcast will include 4 episodes: a solo episode, a conversation with someone from the ACER community, a thinker or researcher, then your questions answered.Mentioned in this episode:ACER Integration. Free live ACER circles: https://acerintegration.com/acer-live-events To try a tree journey, come to the Introduction to ACER Integration.The Watts Connectedness Scale, on connectedness across self, others, and world: https://bit.ly/3Qe5KJKbell hooks, on healing as communion, from All About Love: New Visions (2000): https://bit.ly/44261TbDacher Keltner, on human contact and the nervous system: https://bit.ly/3Q8qRgxSuzanne Simard, on forests, mycorrhizal networks, and mother trees: https://bit.ly/4dZK2SQMaria Sabina, the Mazatec medicine woman whose ceremony reached LIFE magazine without her consent.Michelle Baker Jones, who set up the first online sharing circles with Ros.If you need support: This podcast holds some tender ground, and listening can bring things up. If you are struggling, please reach out. You don't have to carry it alone.UK and Ireland: call Samaritans free, any time, on 116 123. Or text SHOUT on 85258.US: call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, free and confidential, any time, by dialing 988. You can also chat online at 988lifeline.org. Crisis Text Line is available 24/7. Text HOME to 741741.Elsewhere: please look up your local crisis line. Help is there and asking for it is a choice to stand in the circle.Connect with Dr. Rosalind Watts:https://www.drrosalindwatts.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-rosalind-watts/https://www.instagram.com/acerintegrationSubmit a question for a future episode: https://forms.gle/jVcGniTN3uS1bjz18Find out more about ACER, the year-long community Ros founded: www.acerintegration.com