Hystelica

We are a community built to understand women’s biology for safe and effective psychedelic use

03/12/2025

The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is a reminder that accessibility must be embedded into new medical developments. As the evidence base for psychedelic therapies continues to grow, it is very important that people with disabilities are not systematically excluded from clinical trials or overlooked in the development of future treatment guidelines.

As psychedelic interventions move closer to regulated clinical practice, considerations of equity become even more urgent. Disabled communities already face significant structural and financial barriers to care. Ensuring that emerging treatments are accessible, inclusive, and responsive to diverse needs is an essential step toward ethical and compassionate mental-health care.

02/12/2025

Emotional regulation, hormones, and the menstrual cycle are more connected than we initially thought. A new review uncovers how PMDD/PMS may impact emotional clarity and coping. The authors call for more longitudinal, experimental work and more phase-sensitive approaches to therapy.
Link to the study → https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40359-025-03587-y

01/12/2025

1st December is World AIDS Day—an opportunity to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS, honor those we have lost, and support those currently living with the virus. HIV disproportionately impacts women in many regions, driven by social, economic, and reproductive inequalities.

At Hystelica, our work seeks to empower women by promoting greater control over their bodies and supporting mental and emotional well-being, recognizing that holistic health is central to resilience and quality of life.

27/11/2025

Pregnancy remains one of the least-studied periods in women’s health, leaving significant gaps in our understanding of maternal care.
Ethnographic and historical evidence suggests that some Indigenous cultures incorporated specific psychoactive plants into practices surrounding pregnancy, childbirth, and early bonding—contexts grounded in ritual, tradition, and community knowledge.

If you’re interested in exploring this topic further, the link to our latest blog is available below →
https://hystelica.com/psychedelic-use-during-and-after-pregnancy/

26/11/2025

Everyday there is incredible new research coming out on psychedelics and mental health - but even with all this momentum, one thing hasn’t changed enough:
Women are still understudied, and gender data is often missing from clinical trials.

In this study out of the 19 participants only 4 were women. The science is promising — but if we don’t address these research gaps, we risk developing treatments that don’t reflect women’s experiences with depression or how psychedelics might work for them.

To make psychedelic treatments truly equitable, future trials must:
- recruit more women
- collect data on menstrual cycle phases or hormonal status (because these could influence mood, tolerance, or the psychedelic experience)
- and analyse gender-specific outcomes

*D

25/11/2025

Today marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women — a global call to confront gender-based violence and its impact. Beyond immediate harm, many survivors carry long-term trauma that negatively affects their mental health.

However, the support systems for women remain very limited and often inaccessible. Too many women are left navigating PTSD, anxiety, depression, and complex trauma on their own, without adequate services, funding, or specialised care.

In recent years, emerging research has explored whether psychedelic-assisted therapy could offer new pathways for healing trauma. Early findings are positive - suggesting these treatments may help people process deep-rooted emotional wounds in ways traditional therapies sometimes struggle to reach.

21/11/2025

Psychedelics like ayahuasca have been used in some Indigenous traditions in small ceremonial doses as part of maternal care — and modern science is only beginning to catch up.

Join us for our webinar “Motherhood and Psychedelics” to explore what research really says, what remains unknown, and how traditional and scientific perspectives can meet responsibly.

📅 Thu 27th Nov 2025
6:30pm – 9:30pm GMT (UTC +00:00)

📍 Love Shack, Cambridge Heath Road, London, UK

🎟️ : https://dandelion.events/e/i8g16

19/11/2025

While use of psychedelic plants in pregnancy is rare nowadays, many traditional cultures have long integrated plant medicines into maternal care — a history that challenges our understanding of these substances.

To read our newest blog follow the link - https://hystelica.com/psychedelic-use-during-and-after-pregnancy/

17/11/2025

We’re excited to announce that Dr. Zahira Cohen, Head of Research at Hystelica, will be joining us as a panelist for our upcoming webinar “Beyond the Cycle: Psychedelics & PMDD” on November 19.

Dr. Cohen is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Cambridge and a Clinical Research Fellow at Imperial College London, where her work focuses on female-specific psychoneurobiology and psychedelic-assisted therapies. Across academic and clinical settings, her research explores how hormonal fluctuations shape mental health, treatment response, and the safety and efficacy of psychedelic interventions for women.

In this session, Zahira will discuss:
✨ How hormonal mood disorders like PMDD intersect with psychedelic mechanisms
✨ What current research reveals about treatment potential and limitations
✨ Key considerations for safety, study design, and patient care
✨ Where the field is headed — and what questions still need to be answered

We’re honoured to have her expertise guiding this conversation.
Join us on November 19 for an in-depth, science-led discussion at the intersection of women’s health and psychedelic research.

🔗 Link in bio to register.

16/11/2025

Meet one of our panelists for our upcoming webinar on Psychedelics & PMDD, Alana Cookman!

Alana’s current work explores the interaction between inner narratives and PMDD in the context of work. With a background in social change and health and wellbeing in organisations she is interested in how systems and conditions shape personal stories and vice versa. She is endlessly curious about embodied modalities and is training in breathwork and somatic approaches to deepen her work with people understanding their health stories and changing narratives.

14/11/2025

This paper highlights how important s*x differences are in lab models and explores how ignoring s*x differences has slowed progress in treating neurological disorders.

Read here – https://www.nature.com/articles/s44222-025-00355-w

13/11/2025

New blog: Psychedelics and Pregnancy, by our founder Dr. Grace Blest Hopley and Head of Research Dr. Zahira Cohen.

We explore what is known, and not known, about psychedelic use during pregnancy and breastfeeding, combining early clinical research, survey insights, and Indigenous knowledge. The blog highlights gaps in evidence, potential mental health implications, and the importance of culturally informed, responsible research.

Check it out on our website!

Address

London
SW109JJ

Telephone

+447564966273

Website

https://www.hystelica.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Hystelica posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Hystelica:

Shortcuts

Featured

Help Mind Body

Want your practice to be the top-listed Clinic in London?