OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 13, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Alchemy Community Therapy Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit which provides high-quality training and accessible psychedelic therapy to underserved communities, announced today that it has added three new board members, all leaders in the field, effective immediately.
“This is the first time Alchemy has added new board members since its founding,” said Dr. Deidra Somerville, Ph.D., MSW, the organization’s executive director. “In addition to each one being an important voice and presence within the psychedelic community, these new board members increase the percentage of women on our board.”
Joining the board are:
- Hannah McLane, M.D., M.A., MPH, a physician, psychoanalyst and founder of psychedelic facilitator training and research initiative SoundMind Institute.
- Barine Majewska, J.D., a leading member of the Entheogens and Emerging Therapies Practice Group at law firm Vicente Sederberg.
- Rae Nicole St. Arnault, N.D., a naturopathic physician and cofounder of Empower Health in Vancouver, B.C.
"I feel very honored to be joining a team of values-aligned people who not only care deeply about creating greater accessibility to psychedelic medicine, but who have actually put it into action in tangible ways,” said St. Arnault. “I'm looking forward to supporting the mission of Alchemy and in the process engaging in sharing and learning myself."
Alchemy provides accessible psychedelic therapy to underserved populations. Most clients identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color, queer, transgender or gender nonconforming, and are low income and underinsured. The mission is to provide high-quality training and programs, accessible psychedelic therapy, and innovative research, fostering effective and culturally responsive mental health treatment. Alchemy also trains the next generation of diverse clinicians and leaders in the field of psychedelic medicine.
“We are in the process of recruiting additional members to the board in our efforts to increase our capacity for fundraising, address client care needs for BIPOC, low-income and LGBTQ+ communities, and refine our own model for training and client care,” Dr. Somerville said.
Alchemy Team is Grateful to Current Board Members
As its board grows, Alchemy would like to emphasize its gratitude to interim board chair Charlie Bathgate; treasurer Mark Grant, CPA, FINOP, CGMA; secretary Greg Kearns, MHA; and board members Ismail “Izzy” Lourido Ali, J.D.; Jesse Hudson, J.D.; and Sylvester Quevedo, M.D. “Their hard work and support to Alchemy clients, staff, and interns have made it possible for Alchemy to carry out its mission and welcome new members to the board,” said Somerville. “The new board members are colleagues of the current board, who have contributed to access, equity and innovation in the fields of law, treatment, and training.”
About Alchemy
The Alchemy Community Therapy Center (previously known as the Sage Institute for Psychedelic Therapy) is a sliding scale clinic that offers psychotherapy and psychedelic-assisted therapy (as it becomes legal) to underserved communities in the Bay Area. The priority is to offer high quality, accessible and culturally sensitive services to individuals from a diversity of backgrounds, cultures and lived experiences. Alchemy is a training clinic, providing rigorous educational programming in depth-oriented psychedelic-assisted therapy through a community-focused, social justice and trauma-informed lens. The organization places an emphasis on training clinicians who reflect the diverse identities of the communities it serves. For more information, visit alchemytherapy.org.
