Stand In The Circle

Dr. Rosalind Watts
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Alternative Health

Welcome to Stand in the Circle, with me, Dr Rosalind Watts. I'm a clinical psychologist, a psychedelic researcher, and founder of ACER Integration. This is a podcast about how we get connected in a culture that pulls us apart. We talk about the hardest experiences of being human, and the circles of care we have needed, couldn't find, and are searching for now. With stories from people who have lived it, and from researchers and practitioners. Healing in community is the older way. The work of our times is to rebuild our connectedness  to  ourselves, to each other, and to the living world.

Episodes

  1. 3d ago

    When the Lights Go Out Again | #2

    Psychedelic medicines can open a door. But what happens when there's nothing waiting on the other side to help you stay open? In this episode, Dr. Rosalind Watts tells the story of John, a participant in one of the first psilocybin trials for depression. Through John's story, Ros explores a question that sits at the heart of modern psychedelic care: what happens after the breakthrough? Along the way, she reflects on a major new U.S. executive order designed to accelerate access to psychedelic medicines, and the mix of hope and ethical tensions it raises. Ultimately, this episode asks a bigger question than whether we are ready for psychedelic medicines. It asks whether we are ready to build the kinds of communities that can hold all of life's threshold moments: grief, birth, loss, love, transformation, and healing. References and links: Watch Magic Medicine (dir. Monty Wates), the documentary following John and the Imperial College London psilocybin trial. Netflix (UK): https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81409016 and Prime Video. The Watts Connectedness Scale (Watts et al., 2022, Psychopharmacology, open access): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00213-022-06187-5 The US executive order on accelerating treatments for serious mental illness (White House, April 2026): https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/04/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-is-accelerating-medical-treatments-for-serious-mental-illness/ Jules Evans on therapists' safety and ethics concerns in psychedelic trials (Ecstatic Integration): https://www.ecstaticintegration.org/p/therapists-on-psychedelic-trials On Gabon protecting iboga (National Geographic): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/ibogaine-pschedelic-drug-root-fair-trade-gabon Book: María Sabina: Her Life and Chants, by Álvaro Estrada Sophy Banks and Healthy Human Culture Submit a question to Ros, to be answered on a future podcast episode:  https://forms.gle/JgJaAjDRbowAcyWZ9 If you are struggling: If you are in the dark place Ros describes, you do not have to sit in it alone. Samaritans volunteers are there any time. In the UK, call 116 123. In the US, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Learn more about the ACER community:  https://acerintegration.com/ Connect with Dr. Rosalind Watts: https://www.drrosalindwatts.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-rosalind-watts/ https://www.instagram.com/acerintegration https://medium.com/@DrRosalindWatts

    32 min

  2. Jun 12

    Introducing Stand in the Circle | #1

    There's a lot to be angry about right now. But rage can't be the only thing we feel. This is a place to come for stories of people moving from disconnection to connection, numbness to feeling, isolation to belonging. In this first episode, clinical psychologist Ros Watts introduces Stand in the Circle. What it is. Where it came from. And the night she walked out in the rain and ended up with her arms around a tree. Ros tells the story of her years running one of the first clinical trials treating depression with psychedelic therapy, and the truth is: she was publishing research on connectedness while living a deeply disconnected life. The heart of the episode is the difference between the pyramid and the circle. The shape most of us were raised inside, where you climb, perform, and hide what's hard. And the shape we're learning instead, where no one stands above anyone else and the question shifts from "how am I doing" to "how are we doing." Each month on the podcast will include 4 episodes: a solo episode, a conversation with someone from the ACER community, a thinker or researcher, then your questions answered. Mentioned in this episode: ACER Integration. Free live ACER circles: https://acerintegration.com/acer-live-events To try a tree journey, come to the Introduction to ACER Integration. The Watts Connectedness Scale, on connectedness across self, others, and world: https://bit.ly/3Qe5KJK bell hooks, on healing as communion, from All About Love: New Visions (2000): https://bit.ly/44261Tb Dacher Keltner, on human contact and the nervous system: https://bit.ly/3Q8qRgx Suzanne Simard, on forests, mycorrhizal networks, and mother trees: https://bit.ly/4dZK2SQ Maria Sabina, the Mazatec medicine woman whose ceremony reached LIFE magazine without her consent. Michelle Baker Jones, who set up the first online sharing circles with Ros. If you need support: This podcast holds some tender ground, and listening can bring things up. If you are struggling, please reach out. You don't have to carry it alone. UK and Ireland: call Samaritans free, any time, on 116 123. Or text SHOUT on 85258. US: call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, free and confidential, any time, by dialing 988. You can also chat online at 988lifeline.org. Crisis Text Line is available 24/7. Text HOME to 741741. Elsewhere: please look up your local crisis line. Help is there and asking for it is a choice to stand in the circle. Connect with Dr. Rosalind Watts: https://www.drrosalindwatts.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-rosalind-watts/ https://www.instagram.com/acerintegration Submit a question for a future episode: https://forms.gle/jVcGniTN3uS1bjz18 Find out more about ACER, the year-long community Ros founded: www.acerintegration.com

    46 min
  • 2 Episodes

About

Welcome to Stand in the Circle, with me, Dr Rosalind Watts. I'm a clinical psychologist, a psychedelic researcher, and founder of ACER Integration. This is a podcast about how we get connected in a culture that pulls us apart. We talk about the hardest experiences of being human, and the circles of care we have needed, couldn't find, and are searching for now. With stories from people who have lived it, and from researchers and practitioners. Healing in community is the older way. The work of our times is to rebuild our connectedness  to  ourselves, to each other, and to the living world.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Rosalind Watts
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    2
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Dr. Rosalind Watts
  • Show Website
    Stand In The Circle

You Might Also Like