Episode 39: Dr. Maysa Alavi - Functional Psychedelic Medicine

Dr. Maysa Alavi, MD is a board-certified physician and internationally recognized speaker, practitioner, and teacher of Psychedelic Therapies, Ketamine Administration, and Integrative Medicine. She unites cutting-edge Western science with Eastern wellness philosophies to heal mind, body and spirit in what she terms ‘Functional-Psychedelic Medicine,’ addressing the psycho-spiritual as well as the material.

She has studied at best-in-class institutions and organizations including The University of Southern California, University of Texas, UCLA, Institute for Functional Medicine, and Dr. Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine. Dr. Maysa is certified in MDMA Assisted Therapy by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), and she is trained in psilocybin assisted therapy with COMPASS Pathways.

Among her many roles are Study-Site Physician and Therapist for the MAPS Phase 3 Clinical Trials investigating the use of MDMA Assisted Therapy for the treatment of PTSD. She will be among the first providers to bring this form of therapy to the general public pending FDA approval. Dr. Maysa teaches for Fluence in the field of Ketamine Assisted Therapy (KAP) and she conducts small group trainings for medical professionals looking to start their own ketamine practice, teaching the fundamentals of psychedelic preparation and integration, and how to medically screen for and administer ketamine by its various routes. She is a consultant for start-up practices entering the psychedelic market and she serves on the Board of Advisors for the Veteran’s Alliance for Holistic Alternatives (VAHA). She has given many lectures on the topics of psychedelics, cannabis, and ketamine for the New Orleans Psychedelic Society and Cultivating Self, a non-profit continuing education platform for licensed healthcare professionals and RNs. 

Dr. Maysa humanizes health care by developing trusted personal relationships with her clients, empowering them to understand the root causes of their dis-ease and helping them connect with their own inner healing intelligence for long-term wellness. This goes above and beyond typical “symptom management medicine” by identifying and bringing awareness to the issue’s origin and its perpetuating and mediating factors.

She incorporates multiple modalities into her practice—from functional labs, nutraceuticals and IV infusions to energy work, plant and psychedelic medicines and mind-body techniques. She works with clients to develop balanced healing plans that combine mind-manifesting therapies and advanced laboratory analysis with wellness approaches that nurture wholeness. Her plans include customized guidance on hydration, nutrition, breath-work, meditation, movement, stress-reduction, sleep optimization, supplementation, medication reconciliation and/or tapering for those on pharmaceuticals, and laboratory analysis. She applies her in-depth knowledge of traditional and indigenous plant medicines like psychedelic mushrooms, cannabis, ayahuasca, rapeh, kambo, salvia and sananga by educating clients on the safe and appropriate usage of these and other medicines. 

Dr. Maysa believes that simple changes yield meaningful results, namely: proper salt/mineral and water balance in the body, utilization of the light/energy spectrum, awareness of breath and optimizing airway and sleep, joyful movement, conscious consumption, and connection with community and one’s own inner world. She believes regular reboots of our “inner computer” are critical and can be accessed through mind-manifesting therapies including, but not limited to psychedelics and entheogens (heart openers). She is a huge proponent of daily meditation and Blessing of The Energy Centers. 

Visit Dr. Maysa’s website www.DrMaysa.com for more information about her, her offerings, and to book in-person or remote visits.