MAPS, Fireside Project to Collaborate on Psychedelic Peer Support Line

The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and Fireside Project, a not-for-profit psychedelic support services organization, on Monday announced plans to launch a national support line to help individuals having difficult psychedelic experiences and those who want to gain a better understanding of past psychedelic experiences.

The service, which is scheduled to go live on April 14, will be staffed by volunteers who complete Fireside’s 36-hour training program. Support will be offered by phone, text and live chat.

“MAPS is deeply honored to collaborate with Fireside Project,” MAPS founder and executive director Rick Doblin, PhD, said in a news release announcing the project. “As interest in psychedelics expands, the need for psychedelic peer support has never been greater. It is absolutely essential that there be a free, confidential, and around-the-clock resource for people to help them navigate and process their psychedelic experiences. Others have dreamed this dream, and Fireside Project is finally making it a reality.”

Through its Zendo Project, which was founded in 2012, MAPS has provided safe spaces and specialized care to individuals struggling through psychedelic experiences at festivals. The Zendo Project has also provided psychedelic harm reduction training and other educational services.

“By joining forces with MAPS, we can co-create a world where people have access to psychedelic peer support through whichever means works best for them in the moment, whether that be phone, text message, live chat, in person, or in a virtual meeting room,” Fireside founder Joshua White said in the release.

In addition to their work on the support hotline, MAPS and Fireside also intend to extend their collaboration to providing support services at festivals when large-scale, in-person events resume post-pandemic.