Dr. Nielson is a psychologist and therapist on clinical trials of psilocybin-assisted treatment of alcohol use disorder and treatment-resistant depression, and currently serves as a site Co-Principal Investigator for the MAPS sponsored Phase 3 Study of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD (MAPP2). Working at 3 leading clinical research sites in New York City over the past 7 years, she has built a unique expertise in the practice of psychedelic-assisted therapy, and in training and mentoring fellow clinicians in the delivery of psychedelic-assisted therapy in research settings. Dr. Nielson’s research includes qualitative studies of patient experiences in psychedelic-assisted therapy, interview studies of psychedelic therapists, and research on the historical use of LSD in psychotherapist training. In her formal higher education Dr. Nielson studied art, psychology, and evidence-based interventions for drug and alcohol use, including harm reduction, motivational interviewing, community reinforcement, and mindfulness-based therapy. She has pursued extensive post-graduate coursework in foreign languages, Buddhist psychology, and meditation and contemplative practice. Dr. Nielson Co-founded Fluence, a psychedelic-assisted therapy and integration education program for clinicians, in 2019 to bring professional education about psychedelic-assisted therapies to clinicians and broaden access to the field while enhancing the diversity of trained clinicians. She held a post-doctoral fellowship in psychodynamic therapy at Adelphi University and a NIDA funded post-doctoral fellowship in the Behavioral Science Training Program in Drug Abuse Research at NDRI/NYU School of Nursing before her appointment as Assistant Professor of Clinical Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry) at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in 2020.