The WVC Community of Psychedelic Women



In 2007, during the re-emergence of research into psychedelic-assisted therapies, the Women’s Visionary Council (WVC) began advocating for the inclusion of women in discussions about the safety of psychedelics and ethical considerations surrounding their use. In an effort to address the relative exclusion of women at related conferences and policy discussions, the WVC organized the Women’s Visionary Congress to promote women researchers, healers, artists, and activists who work with forms of expanded consciousness.

Since its inception, the WVC has hosted more than thirty gatherings in the U.S. and Canada including the 11th annual Women’s Visionary Congress which took place in June 2019 in Oakland, CA. These events, which are open to people of all genders, have formed a worldwide community of mutual support and a place for psychedelic visionaries to present their ideas. The WVC is now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization that provides project funding, risk reduction workshops, and commuity events. In addition to successfully lobbying for the inclusion of more women in conversations about psychedelics, the WVC focuses on amplifying the voices of elders and people of color. We are the first women’s nonprofit psychedelic organization in the world and we welcome you to join us.

WVC News

September 28, 2020 - The Women's Visionary Council, in collaboration with the San Francisco VA (SFVA) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) BAND Lab, is co-sponsoring a special film screening of From Shock To Awe for SFVA mental health providers. From Shock To Awe is a documentary by Luc Côté and Janine Sagert about two combat veterans seeking to heal from post-traumatic stress disorder using psychedelic medicine treatments. The event, which will take place October 7, will feature panel discussions with veterans in the film as well as with VA providers who are psychedelic research experts.

September 21, 2020 - WVC co-founder Mariavittoria Mangini, PhD, FNP, will appear at the Mycelium Mysteries Virtual Conference which takes place September 25-27, 2020. Mangini’s talk, “Doctor, Destroyer, Diviner, Delighter---Women, and Sacred Plants,” will take place Saturday, September 26, 6:30-8:30 pm CST. Registration information is here. Mangini has been a family nurse midwife for 25 years. Her academic interest is the historiography of psychedelics. She has written extensively on the impact of psychedelic experiences in shaping the lives of her contemporaries and worked closely with many of the most distinguished investigators in this field. Currently, she is Professor Emerita of Nursing at Holy Names University in Oakland, California. Her clinical work for the last 22 years has been in a primary care practice which pioneered the medical cannabis movement. Her current project is the development of a Thanatology Program for the study of death and dying.

August 22, 2020 - The WVC has begun to collect and post advice from members of our community for personal and communal survival and resilience. Emma Dilemma, chef, food activist, and co-founder of People of Technocolor, offers her thoughts below on cultivating survival and resistance.