Robin Carhart-Harris is a psychedelic neuroscientist whose research focuses on how psychedelics act on the brain. He is guest faculty for the Psychedelic Practitioner Certification, whose next cohort begins on January 20, 2027.
Robin’s answers are brief and direct, and they keep returning to caution and care. In the reflections below, he shares what he thinks the field must get right, what practitioners need in themselves, and why he is not convinced by the current microdosing evidence.
Questions with Robin
From your perspective, what feels most important for the psychedelic field to get right in the next 5–10 years?
Safety profile.
How do psychedelics intersect with your work, and what feels most misunderstood from where you sit?
Not everyone appreciates the role of set and setting.
What do you think practitioners today most need to cultivate in themselves, not just learn intellectually, in order to work responsibly with these tools?
Honesty and integrity.
Is there a principle, practice, or insight that has become central to how you approach healing and transformation?
To go slow and not hurry things.
What’s a question you find yourself returning to again and again in your work right now?
What’s it all about?
When you think about microdosing specifically, what do you see as its most responsible or promising role within the broader psychedelic ecosystem?
The jury is out on it. Trials keep coming up negative.
What excites you about contributing to this training at this moment in time?
Imparting knowledge.
What drew you to contribute to the Psychedelic Coaching Institute’s training programs?
Positive experience in Costa Rica.
“I went in not quite knowing what to expect, and came away refreshed and genuinely impressed.
There were over forty people journeying at once in the same space, which is a remarkable number of nervous systems opening simultaneously.
The facilitator-to-participant ratio was roughly 1:3, and importantly, facilitators remained sober anchors throughout.
What mattered, though, was that safety and ethics were taken seriously, and from what I saw, they were.
At times, that maloca felt like heaven on earth – I didn’t want to leave!
I was given hope by the overall orientation: clear attention to safety, thoughtful space-holding, and a realistic acceptance that large-group work will always carry a measure of chaos – yet one that can be held.
It left me with a cautiously optimistic sense that this emerging training model — when executed well – may play a meaningful role in scaling psychedelic care without losing the remarkably deep human core.”
Robin Carhart-Harris, on his experience at the Psychedelic Intensive in Costa Rica
Robin’s perspective reflects the Psychedelic Coaching Institute’s commitment to honest risk conversations, careful pacing, and practitioners who put integrity first.
Robin’s new book, How Psychedelics Work: The Hidden Mind and Our Power to Heal, is available on Amazon, and you can learn more about his research at carhartharrislab.com.
You can also hear him on The Psychedelic Podcast: Episode 312.
Learn from Robin in the Psychedelic Practitioner Certification, starting January 20, 2027.
Learn to support psychedelic preparation and integration while respecting the boundaries between coaching and therapy. Our Practitioner Certification Program helps you build the skills to work ethically and recognize when a client needs clinical support.
