TALKS Possibilities and Pitfalls: The Past Present and Future of Psychedelics in Mental Health Therapies
Step into the history of psychedelics research in Western medicine with Dr. Bill Richards of Johns Hopkins University, whose career has spanned the field’s evolution, and Dr. Gerasimos Konstantinou, a CAMH researcher working at the forefront of current healthcare practice.
Type of Event:
CAMH in the Community
Date:
June 18, 2026
Time:
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Location:
Royal Ontario Museum - Level B1, Eaton Theatre
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100 Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON M5S 2C6
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Toronto
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Ontario
Event Overview
Learn more about the history of psychedelics research in Western medicine from a scientist who has witnessed its evolution over the past few decades and a clinician deeply embedded in current healthcare practices.
Moderated by ROM’s Colin Fleming and featuring presentations by two experts in the field, this evening program will include an in-depth look at the history of psychedelic research from Bill Richards of Johns Hopkins University. From cutting-edge research in the 1960s to the stigma associated with psychedelics in the 1980s and 1990s, Dr. Richards has seen the ebbs and flows of research into— and implementation of —psilocybin and other similar compounds in medical treatment.
Audiences will also hear from CAMH researcher Dr. Gerasimos Konstantinou, of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Canada’s largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital and world leading research centre in this field. Dr. Konstantinou works directly with patients participating in clinical trials evaluating the use of psychedelics in the treatment of mental health disorders, examining both the potential benefits and limitations of these compounds in rigorously controlled research settings.