Leonie Schneider

Leonie Schneider co-founded the Psychedelic Participant Advocacy Network (PsyPAN) after accessing psychedelic assisted psychotherapy in clinical trials. Participating in the Psilocybin for Depression clinical trial at Imperial College (2019) and Small Pharma’s DMT for Depression trial (2022) provided Leonie with a new path to improved mental health and enabled focused professional action. She had not found long-term relief with antidepressant medication or from conventional talking therapies prior to that.Leonie has since spoken publicly to raise awareness of the possibilities and pitfalls of psychedelic medicine and the importance of integration, including for Women in Psychedelics (Drug Science), BBC Science Focus, Scientific American and the upcoming documentary The Psychedelic Renaissance. She actively represents patient interests on Drug Science’s industry-wide Medical Psychedelics Working Group, supports the delivery of world-class psychedelic retreats in the Netherlands with Alalaho and is a circle facilitator on the ACER Integration programme.Leonie offers a holistic overview of the clinical trial experience from a participant perspective and across different psychedelics. She aims to expand access to these treatments by advocating for the safe, intentional and integrated use of psychedelics which led to her founding PsyPAN with Ian Roullier in 2021. PsyPAN aims to pool participants’ lived experiences and, through consultancy and accreditation, help organisations create more effective treatment models, maximise positive outcomes and create a sector-wide model of best practice with participant wellbeing at its heart.