42 - Exploring Ecological and Mental Health Crisis Through the Healing Lens of Ayahuasca with Greg Wrenn
04/16/25 • 52 min
Dr. T and Truth Fairy welcome Greg Wrenn, a former Alabama state representative and long-time health policy advocate, who shares insights into how he became interested in the therapeutic use of psychedelics through personal research and professional exposure. Greg recently wrote a book called “Mothership” about coral reef research, ecological crisis, and his personal PTSD healing journey with ayahuasca. He discusses portions of the book and his experiences with Truth and Dr. T.
Greg explores the growing interest in psychedelic-assisted therapy, particularly its potential to help individuals who struggle with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. He addresses the shift from viewing psychedelics as taboo to recognizing their potential under controlled, clinical settings. His personal stories, alongside those shared by Truth, highlight the positive impact psychedelic therapy can have and how his passion for the issue has been fueled.
Truth Fairy, Dr. T, and Greg share concerns about the challenges of implementing beneficial psychedelic healing sessions, and they celebrate Greg’s integration of tribal and liberating dance into the ayahuasca ceremony. They talk about the importance of regulation, ethical safeguards, and integration of Indigenous practices, and caution against the risks of commercialization. The episode is both vulnerable and informative, painting a hopeful picture of potential healing even in the face of difficult times.
“You know, I'm no psychedelic evangelist. I don't think everyone should drink ayahuasca or work with psychedelics. I know I should, I know I need to. And so this is really important for my mission, which is to, I guess, spread a message of love and spread a message of the possibility of planetary healing, because planetary healing happens, at least with humanity, one brain at a time.” - Greg Wrenn
__
About Greg Wrenn:
A former Stegner Fellow and Jones Lecturer at Stanford University, GREG WRENN is the author of the ayahuasca eco-memoir Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis, an evidence-based account of his turning to coral reefs and psychedelic plants to heal from childhood trauma, and Centaur (U of Wisconsin Press 2013), which National Book Award-winning poet Terrance Hayes awarded the Brittingham Prize.
Greg's work has appeared or is forthcoming in HuffPost, The New Republic, Al Jazeera, The Rumpus, LitHub, Writer's Digest, Kenyon Review, New England Review, The Iowa Review, and elsewhere. He has received awards and fellowships from the James Merrill House, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Vermont Studio Center, the Poetry Society of America, the Hermitage Artist Retreat, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Spiro Arts Center. On his Mothership book tour, he spoke to audiences around the world, including at Yale School of Medicine, the University of Utah School of Medicine, Vancouver Island University, and the University of Virginia School of Nursing. Greg has also been on numerous podcasts, including Levi Chambers's PRIDE, and was recently interviewed by Emmy Award-winning journalist Elizabeth Vargas on NewsNation and by Jane Garvey on Times Radio (UK).
As an associate English professor at James Madison University, he teaches creative nonfiction, poetry, and environmental literature and directs the JMU Creative Writing Minor. He also teaches in the Memoir Certificate Program at Stanford Continuing Studies. He was educated at Harvard University and Washington University in St. Louis.
Greg is currently at work on a follow-up book to Mothership and sending out Homesick, his second poetry collection. A student of ayahuasca since 2019, he is a trained yoga teacher and a PADI Advanced Open Water diver, having explored coral reefs around the world for over 25 years. He and his husband divide their time between the mountains of Virginia and Atlantic Beach, Florida.
Website: GregWrenn.com
Book: “Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis” by Greg Wrenn
__
Contact Punk Therapy:
Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy
Website: PunkTherapy.com
Email: [email protected]
Contact Truth Fairy:
Email: [email protected]
Dr. T and Truth Fairy welcome Greg Wrenn, a former Alabama state representative and long-time health policy advocate, who shares insights into how he became interested in the therapeutic use of psychedelics through personal research and professional exposure. Greg recently wrote a book called “Mothership” about coral reef research, ecological crisis, and his personal PTSD healing journey with ayahuasca. He discusses portions of the book and his experiences with Truth and Dr. T.
Greg explores the growing interest in psychedelic-assisted therapy, particularly its potential to help individuals who struggle with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. He addresses the shift from viewing psychedelics as taboo to recognizing their potential under controlled, clinical settings. His personal stories, alongside those shared by Truth, highlight the positive impact psychedelic therapy can have and how his passion for the issue has been fueled.
Truth Fairy, Dr. T, and Greg share concerns about the challenges of implementing beneficial psychedelic healing sessions, and they celebrate Greg’s integration of tribal and liberating dance into the ayahuasca ceremony. They talk about the importance of regulation, ethical safeguards, and integration of Indigenous practices, and caution against the risks of commercialization. The episode is both vulnerable and informative, painting a hopeful picture of potential healing even in the face of difficult times.
“You know, I'm no psychedelic evangelist. I don't think everyone should drink ayahuasca or work with psychedelics. I know I should, I know I need to. And so this is really important for my mission, which is to, I guess, spread a message of love and spread a message of the possibility of planetary healing, because planetary healing happens, at least with humanity, one brain at a time.” - Greg Wrenn
__
About Greg Wrenn:
A former Stegner Fellow and Jones Lecturer at Stanford University, GREG WRENN is the author of the ayahuasca eco-memoir Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis, an evidence-based account of his turning to coral reefs and psychedelic plants to heal from childhood trauma, and Centaur (U of Wisconsin Press 2013), which National Book Award-winning poet Terrance Hayes awarded the Brittingham Prize.
Greg's work has appeared or is forthcoming in HuffPost, The New Republic, Al Jazeera, The Rumpus, LitHub, Writer's Digest, Kenyon Review, New England Review, The Iowa Review, and elsewhere. He has received awards and fellowships from the James Merrill House, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Vermont Studio Center, the Poetry Society of America, the Hermitage Artist Retreat, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Spiro Arts Center. On his Mothership book tour, he spoke to audiences around the world, including at Yale School of Medicine, the University of Utah School of Medicine, Vancouver Island University, and the University of Virginia School of Nursing. Greg has also been on numerous podcasts, including Levi Chambers's PRIDE, and was recently interviewed by Emmy Award-winning journalist Elizabeth Vargas on NewsNation and by Jane Garvey on Times Radio (UK).
As an associate English professor at James Madison University, he teaches creative nonfiction, poetry, and environmental literature and directs the JMU Creative Writing Minor. He also teaches in the Memoir Certificate Program at Stanford Continuing Studies. He was educated at Harvard University and Washington University in St. Louis.
Greg is currently at work on a follow-up book to Mothership and sending out Homesick, his second poetry collection. A student of ayahuasca since 2019, he is a trained yoga teacher and a PADI Advanced Open Water diver, having explored coral reefs around the world for over 25 years. He and his husband divide their time between the mountains of Virginia and Atlantic Beach, Florida.
Website: GregWrenn.com
Book: “Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis” by Greg Wrenn
__
Contact Punk Therapy:
Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy
Website: PunkTherapy.com
Email: [email protected]
Contact Truth Fairy:
Email: [email protected]
Previous Episode
41 - The Role of Psychedelic Medicine in Current Events and Unresolved Trauma with Truth Fairy and Dr. T
In this episode, Dr. T and Truth Fairy have an in-depth conversation about current global and political concerns, particularly focusing on the drastic actions taken by Donald Trump in his recent return to power. Truth Fairy details how his executive orders have dismantled key institutions, targeted marginalized communities, and damaged international relations. They talk frankly about the trauma of living in this time and the role of psychedelics, exploring powerful examples of reclaiming the traditional powers of medicine for healing.
Truth Fairy explores how Western psychedelic culture has often become self-focused, neglecting to address larger societal issues. Dr. T reflects on how ancient examples of dominance and control still shape the world, and they discuss the need to reclaim group wisdom, relational healing, and embodied awareness in psychedelic work. Part of that work must include a balance to both hemispheres of the brain—logic and intuition—to effectively deal with the challenges of the modern world.
Truth Fairy shares a powerful case study of a client who had endured extreme childhood trauma and how psychedelics, when used with intentional intervention, helped him break free from dissociative loops. She and Dr. T discuss the overlooked trauma of men, the need for deeper empathy in therapy, and the responsibility of practitioners to guide clients with wisdom. This episode is a raw and powerful look into the current news, where Truth Fairy and Dr. T urge us to become critically aware of media narratives and integrate psychedelic healing within the social context.
“It's not Trump. He's just a figurehead, a representation or a mirror [held] up to us of our own situation as a culture. You know, I mean, I can't help but wonder if Trump was stood down for some reason, would another leader just like him emerge? Because it's not actually him that is the sickness. It's the culture that has decided to elect a leader of that nature that's reflective of trauma, that's not resolved for so many people.” - Dr. T
__
Contact Punk Therapy:
- Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy
- Website: PunkTherapy.com
- Email: [email protected]
Contact Truth Fairy:
- Email: [email protected]
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/punk-therapy-psychedelic-underground-neural-kindness-433711/42-exploring-ecological-and-mental-health-crisis-through-the-healing-l-89529988"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to 42 - exploring ecological and mental health crisis through the healing lens of ayahuasca with greg wrenn on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy