Laurel hicks, PhD, LCSW, PMH-C
Clinical Social Worker and Clinic Director
Denver CO
I love to create spaces that bring in the sacred through ritual and ceremony. This may be something as simple as lighting a candle, or more elaborate, weaving in your own ancestral or personal practices to help mark the threshold of the journey. My roots as a Birth Doula shape how I approach psychedelic work—I see these journeys as a kind of birth, where I serve as a grounded, loving presence while something ancient and new moves through you. I trust deeply in the innate intelligence of the mushrooms and in your inner wisdom to meet them. From an animist lens, I relate to the mushrooms as sentient beings, allies from the natural world who carry teachings from the mycelial web and the unseen realms. I am here not to direct the process, but to hold the container with care, reverence, and an open heart, inviting whatever wants to unfold to do so in a space of safety and sacredness.
I earned a dual-title PhD in Clinical Social Work and Infant Mental Health in 2017, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Denver, where I explored how stress, trauma, and depression are passed down through generations during the perinatal period. Currently, I serve as a Research Scientist at the Renée Crown Wellness Institute at the University of Colorado Boulder, where my work centers on mind-body and community-based approaches to support people through the transformative journey of the perinatal period. I’m EMDR-certified and have specialized training in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy, DBT, Behavioral Activation, Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, and Psilocybin Mushroom Facilitation. Alongside my clinical and academic work, I bring in tools from more intuitive traditions—I’ve taught yoga and meditation since 2005, am a Reiki Master, and an amateur herbalist, all of which deepen my commitment to integrative healing.