In this edition of ASOC, we had the opportunity for a long, in-depth conversation with the one and only Dr. Steven C. Hayes.

In this fun and wide-ranging conversation, Steve talks about how his personal experiences with psychedelics contributed to the development of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and his understanding of the role of language in human suffering. He shares about his involvement in the psychedelic movement of the 60’s and how he is excited about the potential for the modern psychedelic renaissance. We discuss the role of the psychological flexibility model in understanding the psychedelic experience and the application of ACT in integration therapy. Dr. Hayes emphasizes how psychedelics can help us reconnect with parts of ourselves that are ordinarily filtered away by our sensory processing systems, and how psychedelic experiences can help us connect to a deeply human experience of being a social animal.