Mayanthi Fernando

My Story

My work with psychedelics is rooted in my belief that healing and growth happen when we gain a better sense of ourselves: what we are capable of, what our experiences bring to the table, and what we want for ourselves. Psychedelics have helped me to balance intentionality and an openness to uncertainty. They have helped me to embrace the feedback loop between strength and vulnerability, courage and humility, knowing myself and being open to change. My journeys have made me less brittle and more resilient, showing me a different way to be strong by, paradoxically, being more open – to myself, to my fears, to my dreams, and to meaningful connection with others.

Part of that transformation has entailed my coming to work openly in the psychedelic field. I have a PhD in anthropology and have been an academic for two decades. In 2021, I joined Fireside Project as a volunteer, supporting callers and texters through various aspects of their psychedelic journeys. I then started writing about psychedelics, drawing on my research on religion, the body, and more-than-human agency. I am currently writing a book on what loss and uncertainty can open us up to, and how we can embrace our embodied vulnerability as humans to imagine more generous modes of intra-species and interspecies cohabitation. I am also pursuing an emerging interest in psychotherapy, and I have taken Masters-level courses in couples therapy, mindfulness, and person-in-environment and ecosystems approaches.

I integrate these varied experiences in my practice as a Fireside coach, and I look forward to walking with you on your own psychedelic journey, wherever it takes you.

Areas of Focus

Trauma and PTSD, Grief and loss, death and dying, career and life transitions, partner relationships, family dynamics and intergenerational trauma, existential inquiry and spiritual development, somatic memory and healing, rituals of repair.

Medicines

MDMA, Psilocybin, Ketamine, LSD

Languages

English