Speaker's Profile

Dr. Scott Shannon discovered his passion for studying consciousness in high school and pursued the topic through an honors thesis at the University of Arizona in the 1970s under the mentorship of Andrew Weil, MD. This early fascination launched a lifelong commitment to exploring the mind and advancing transformative mental health care.After medical school, Dr. Scott integrated consciousness exploration with psychotherapy, including MDMA-assisted psychotherapy prior to its scheduling in 1985. He completed a psychiatry residency through a Columbia University program in New York, followed by training in cross-cultural psychiatry and a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at the University of New Mexico.A prolific author and educator, Dr. Scott wrote four influential books on holistic and integrative mental health, including the field�s first textbook in 2001. In 2010, he founded the Wholeness Center, an innovative integrative mental health practice that grew into the largest center of its kind in the United States.Dr. Scott has held leadership positions in three national medical organizations and served as a site Principal Investigator and therapist in Phase III clinical trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD. His research has also included LSD and cannabidiol (CBD).He is a founding member of the Psychedelic Research and Training Institute (PRATI), which trains professionals in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy while fostering deeper connection to self and nature. In 2021, he helped launch the Board of Psychedelic Medicine and Therapies and served as the founding CEO of the nonprofit public benefit corporation.An internationally recognized speaker and advocate for transformative care, Dr. Scott has lectured globally on innovative approaches to mental health. His work continues to focus on expanding access to deeper healing modalities and advancing meaningful change within the mental health care system.