Psychedelics, Leadership & Radical Healing: 5 Questions for Will Van Derveer
Will shares insights on balancing compassion with performance, the power of psychedelics for growth, and building a mission-driven partnership.
Welcome to The Unlock! If you’re new here, I usually share my own writing exploring leadership, growth, and resilience. On the off weeks, I’m introducing something new: short, meaningful interviews with people who have profoundly influenced me.
This series is an experiment in curiosity and connection—sharing insights from extraordinary individuals who are shaping their fields and evolving as humans. I hope these interviews spark fresh ideas and feel relevant to your journey. If you’re enjoying this new addition, shoot me an email—I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Today’s interview is with one of my closest friends, Dr. Will Van Derveer, a psychiatrist, speaker, psychedelics researcher, and author. Our biweekly walks here in Boulder often explore some of my favorite topics—psychedelics, healing, and relationships—and this conversation offers a glimpse into those talks. Will’s approach to mental health and healing has profoundly shaped how I think about resilience and growth, both personally and professionally. He’s a pioneer in integrative psychiatry and psychedelic therapy and embodies his values with remarkable integrity.
Will Van Derveer, MD is co-founder of Integrative Psychiatry Institute, offering comprehensive training for mental health professionals in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and other continuing education programs.
He is the medical director of the Integrative Psychiatry Center of Boulder, CO, providing integrative psychiatry for a broad range of conditions and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy for treatment-resistant depression and PTSD.
In addition to his clinical practice and teaching, he has been involved with clinical trials sponsored by MAPS, investigating MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD.
Dr. Van Derveer is co-host of the Higher Practice Podcast, where he explores what it takes to achieve optimal mental health.
Running a mental health clinic and continuing education institute means balancing compassion with performance. How do you maintain this balance, and what insights from your experience might help leaders build teams that are both effective and compassionate?
I practiced psychiatry and psychotherapy for 20 years before ever managing anyone or building a team (they don’t teach that in medical school!). As we scaled our teams, it quickly became apparent that I was a lot better at the compassion side of the equation than the performance side. Among other supports like conversations with other entrepreneurs/founders, the structure of eOS with rocks and sprints has helped me grow and stay accountable. The biggest insight I have gained over these years trying to improve my leadership is to continually center myself and my reports on the big why of our organization, a practice I do daily.
A byproduct of psychedelic-assisted therapy is often insight and vision—qualities many leaders seek. For those interested in exploring similar clarity and personal growth, where do you recommend they start?
Psychedelic-assisted self-exploration sessions can offer a distinct advantage in developing both insight and vision. The setup for such sessions is critical for success. You want to have the right person with you, the right setting, the right preparation, and enough space for integrating the downloads afterward. Without the right support, they can also cause prolonged scary and difficult periods of recovery and can be harmful to people with mental health vulnerabilities. In the near future that we are building, we envision that finding a well trained guide will be easy; for now, it’s important to vet the person as well as the source of the medicine very carefully to minimize psychological and physical risks.
What are some of the common pitfalls you’ve seen when business leaders approach psychedelics as a tool for insight or growth? What would you caution them about?
Many people who could be getting more ROI on these sessions don’t invest enough in preparation and integration. I myself have been guilty of going back to work the next day after a psychedelic session, for example, and missing out on sinking roots of profound insights gained into a clear and realistic plan for converting the insights into lasting change. This is very similar to taking a cake out of the oven too soon. Another common mistake by business leaders is misunderstanding the complexities involved in doing a group psychedelic experience for a leadership team. Much better in my opinion for a leader to do their individual work first before considering a group experience.
For leaders curious about psychedelics but who haven’t explored them personally, what essential things would you want them to understand about these treatments and their role in mental health?
It’s important to understand that these tools are very powerful, especially when used with clear intentions, a skilled guide, and all the elements above. Powerful tools can also hurt you, without the right way of using them or the right safety in place.
These tools can also be very effective ways to address depression, anxiety, and trauma, and they seem to be especially useful to folks who have tried conventional treatments that haven’t worked for them.
You co-host a podcast with your wife Krista called The Art of We where you both talk about moving through your mission as a “WE.” How has your marriage impacted your work and mission? What have you two found is key to creating a partnership that makes a positive impact on the world?
I had dreams of transitioning my career from a 1:1 to a 1:many model, but it wasn’t until I met Krista that I had a partner who stood for my success as much if not more than I did for my own. In 5 years of marriage, we have bootstrapped our institute to the Inc 100 with our business partners (another ambitious couple), and we’re well on our way to one of our first milestones, graduating 10,000 mental health providers from programs in advanced tools for resolving the root causes of mental illness.
Krista and I have found that a bombproof set of relationship agreements is the secret weapon for us to be the best we can be, both at home and out in the world. Not all couples are driven to make the most impact they can in the world, but for those who are, ordinary relationship skills and agreements are like trying to ride a horse to the moon.