Half the world’s population will go through menopause. And yet, for decades, the psychological, neurological, and hormonal upheaval that accompanies perimenopause and menopause has been under-researched, under-treated, and far too often dismissed.

At the same time, psychedelic medicine is undergoing a quiet revolution — moving from the margins of counterculture into clinical trials and therapy rooms, offering new possibilities for mental health, trauma, and identity. So what happens when we bring these two conversations together?

What We’ll Explore

The biology of transition We’ll begin with the mechanisms – what actually happens hormonally and neurologically during perimenopause and menopause, and why this phase can feel so destabilising. Mood shifts, cognitive changes, disrupted sleep, altered sense of self: these are not just inconveniences. They are physiological events, and understanding them changes everything.

Psychedelics – and why they’re interesting here Psychedelics work, in part, by increasing neuroplasticity, quieting the default mode network, and opening windows of psychological flexibility. As it turns out, the hormonal brain of perimenopause is also in a period of profound change. We’ll look at the mechanisms of psychedelic action and explore why this intersection is attracting serious scientific attention.

What the evidence says We’ll survey the current research landscape: what studies exist, what they’re finding, and where the gaps are. This is an emerging field – we’ll be honest about what we know, what we don’t, and what’s coming.

How we treat women at this stage of life A frank conversation about the systemic failures in how midlife women’s health has been approached – medically, psychologically, and culturally. What does good care actually look like? What’s missing?

How people are already using psychedelics Beyond the clinical trials, many women are navigating psychedelic experiences in the context of this life transition – with guides, in community, or alone. We’ll discuss what’s happening on the ground, what’s working, and what ethical and safety considerations matter.

Open Q&A with all panellists The final section is yours. Bring your questions, your experiences, and your curiosity. This is a space for honest, informed, and open conversation.

Our Panellists

Dr. Grace Blest-Hopley Grace is a neuroscientist whose research sits at the intersection of hormones, brain function, and psychedelic medicine – and one of the few researchers bringing a rigorous scientific lens to the question of how sex hormones shape both the perimenopausal brain and the psychedelic experience.

Lydia (Chartered Psychologist & Oxford-trained Psychotherapist) Lydia brings over 20 years of experience in adult mental health and holds MAPS training as a Psychedelic-Assisted Practitioner. She consults on clinical trials in psychedelic medicine, with a specialist focus on how hormonal transitions – including perimenopause and menopause – shape women’s psychological experience and treatment response.

Her current research, developed in partnership with Oxford and the BACP, focuses on how therapists can ethically and skillfully respond when clients bring altered, intensified, or psychedelic-adjacent experiences into the consulting room — a question that becomes especially nuanced in the context of hormonal change. Lydia speaks to the psychological and relational dimensions of menopause, how these states emerge and can be understood therapeutically, and what it means to work with this material responsibly.

Ana Paula Jimenez (Women’s Health Practitioner & Ecosomatic Therapist) Ana Paula holds a Master’s in Medical Microbiology and has spent over a decade at the intersection of women’s health and technology – leading product and design for four apps across the US and Latin America, with a reach of more than 20,000 women and girls globally.

In her private practice, she supports midlife women in reclaiming their vitality and deepening their relationship with their own bodies, weaving together ecosomatic therapy, hormonal health, and psychedelic-assisted healing. She is the founder of Amawa Academy, a community devoted to honouring women’s bodies and life transitions through education, group experiences, and collective wisdom.

Deeply shaped by studies with indigenous wisdom keepers and traditions from the Global South, Ana brings a grounded, soulful, and clinically informed perspective to what it means to be a woman in midlife – and what healing in that season can look like.

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