Today we meet with David Drapkin 🕺
David is the director of operations and strategic growth at Psychedelics Today. He is a licensed clinical social worker and seasoned mental health and addiction practitioner with over 15 years in front-line clinical and leadership roles within healthcare. David is a fierce advocate for evidence-based, equitable and accessible behavioral health services. He envisions a future where psychedelics play a central role in redefining true wellness.
In this episode David comes out of the psychedelic closet and shares his whole self and spiritual journey, from his early days in England to his travels around the world, from his vision quest in the desert of Israel to magic mushrooms in New Zealand, from a life-changing electrocution to being a father of two, from a Buddhist monastery to leadership insights. And if that wasn’t enough, we end the discussion talking about the new 12-month psychedelic therapy and integration certification program offered by Psychedelics Today.
💡Highlights💡
- Yoga, chocolate, and dancing.
- David’s experiences with psychedelics and other spiritual experiences.
- Reconnecting with ancestors and their trauma.
- The schoolteacher that changed David’s life.
- A spiritual electrocution that lead to a new road.
- The importance of walking in nature for personal wellness.
- Fasting in New Zealand, vision quest in the desert of Israel.
- The lost art of storytelling.
- Being a dad as the most transformational experience.
- Authentic and caring leadership.
- Opportunities for healthcare system + mental health + psychedelics.
- Psychedelics Today’s new 12-month certification program: https://www.vitalpsychedelictraining.com/
🧠Memorable Quotes 🧠
- “I had assumed a personality almost like a character.”
- “For about 15 seconds it electrocuted me, I could feel my heart and my veins, just kind of pumping up with electricity, and about to explode and a little voice said you’re going to die and then it said stop fighting it you’re dead and as soon as that part of me allowed that to be true and accept it, the heater exploded between flames and sparks and flung itself 180 deg opposite and made a dent in the wall. I was standing there, and I was alive, and it was the best experience I ever had.”
- During his vision quest in desert of Israel: “I felt my ancestors flow through me and come back to me”
- About parenting: “Being a father is a mirror every day.”
- As a dad, what are some of the things to help you kids blossom?
“Saying I love you a stupid amount of time every day and give hugs and cuddle as much as I can.” - “The concept of leadership is being able to meet with people in an authentic way and how to encourage other people to be authentic.”
- “I believe whatever business you’re in, if you’re leader, you have responsibility for your employees, your team’s mental health, for their wellness, to really know them and what’s going on.”
How to connect with David
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