ALPS Conference 2026

9–10 October 2026

Kultur & Kongresshaus Aarau, Switzerland

Thank you

The sixth ALPS Conference is behind us. Thank you to our speakers, workshop leaders, artists and poster presenters, to our sponsors and partners, to the team of the Kultur & Kongresshaus Aarau, to every volunteer who carried these days, and to all of you who came to Aarau to listen, ask and talk.

The ALPS Conference 2026 community on Saturday, 10 October. Photo: Max Lüdicke

The talks were recorded and will be published on our YouTube channel. To hear about them and about the next ALPS events, sign up for the newsletter on alps.foundation.

Stay in touch ALPS on YouTube

About the conference

ALPS 2026 in Aarau

The sixth edition of the ALPS Awareness Lectures on Psychedelic Science took place on Friday and Saturday, 9–10 October 2026, at the Kultur & Kongresshaus in Aarau, Switzerland.

Over two full days, speakers and panels shared recent advances in psychedelic research and therapy. For the first time, ALPS 2026 opened with a dedicated Workshop Day on Thursday, 8 October, with three parallel PAT training tracks before the conference began. The conference was held in English.

Catering was vegetarian throughout, from breakfast and the breaks to lunch and the Saturday-evening apéro, with an optional networking dinner on Friday evening. Between sessions, researchers, practitioners and everyone curious about the field met over apéros, and the conference closed with our traditional afterparty on Saturday night.

The conference was accredited for up to 14 FSP credits and up to 10 SGPP credits for psychologists and medical professionals.

Thursday, 8 October 2026

Pre-conference Workshop Day

ALPS 2026 began with an afternoon of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy training in English, German and French tracks, combining theoretical input with experiential clinical practice.

About the Workshop Day

After the conference

Certificates of participation

Attended ALPS 2026 and need a certificate of participation? Email us at info@alps.foundation and we will send it to you.

Request a certificate

Friday–Saturday, 9–10 October 2026

Conference program

Research talks, panel discussions and time to connect. Select a speaker or panel to read more.

08:00–09:00
Doors open
Coffee, tea, fruit juices & vegan pastries from a local bakery
09:00–09:30
Opening
ALPS team
09:30–10:30
Dr. Max Wolff
The Case for Considering Psychedelics as Psychotherapeutic Tools
10:30–11:00
Coffee break
Coffee, oat milk, tea · Nuts & fresh fruit
11:00–12:00
Morten Lietz
Do Older Adults Trip Differently? A Double-Blind Comparison of LSD Effects Across the Adult Lifespan
12:00–13:00
Tommaso Barba
EEG correlates of self-dissolution induced by intranasal 5-MeO-DMT
13:00–14:30
Lunch break
Ginger-pumpkin soup with sprouts · Baked potatoes with chickpea-parsley velouté & autumn vegetables (vegan)
14:30–15:30
Manal Al-Hammadi
Psychedelics Governance: The Category Error in Mental Health Policy
15:30–16:30
Dr. Sandeep Nayak
From Data to Dosing Room: Optimizing Psilocybin Therapy for Clinical Practice
16:30–17:15
Coffee break
Coffee, tea · Vegan cakes, Ayurvedic energy balls & fresh fruit
17:15–18:15
Prof. Amandine Luquiens
Is It More Than the Drug? Exploring Precision Psychedelic Therapy for Addiction
18:15–19:15
Panel discussion
The "Therapy" in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
19:15–20:15
Optional networking dinner
Optional, self-paidTofu-vegetable curry on rice with herb pesto · 1 drink included
20:15–21:15
Friday evening program
Storytelling with Kate Dalby

08:00–09:00
Doors open
Coffee, tea, fruit juices & vegan pastries from a local bakery
09:00–10:00
Dr. Pablo Mallaroni
Finding Order in Disorder: Mapping the Dynamics of the Psychedelic Brain
10:00–11:00
Prof. Dr. Eric Vermetten
What Psychedelics Teach Us About Trauma
11:00–11:30
Break
Coffee, oat milk, tea · Nuts & fresh fruit selection
11:30–12:30
Dr. Lydia Belinger
Serotonin System Stimulation and Social Cognition: Differential Effects of Psilocybin, MDMA, and Methylphenidate
12:30–14:00
Lunch break
Beet tzatziki on chicory · Bolognese with pea mince & sour cream
14:00–15:00
Dr. Matthias Forstmann
The Mushroom Experience Project: Contextual Predictors and Species-Level Variation in the Subjective Effects of Psilocybin Mushrooms
15:00–16:00
Dr. Eirini Ketzitzidou Argyri
Ontological Disruptions and Diversification: Learning from psychedelics
16:00–17:00
Coffee break
Group pictureCoffee, tea · Vegan cakes, Ayurvedic energy balls & fresh fruit
17:00–18:00
Dr. Jason K. Day
What-the-Fuckness: A Phenomenological Concept for Psychedelic Experience
18:00–19:00
Panel discussion
Psychedelics and Spirituality: Ontological Shifts and Meaning-Making Experiences
19:00–19:30
Closing talk
ALPS team
19:30–21:30
Networking apéro
21:30–04:00
Afterparty
Jugendkulturhaus Flösserplatz, Flösserstrasse 7

All times are local to Aarau, Switzerland. Program and timings are subject to change.

ALPS 2026

Speakers

Researchers and clinicians who presented their work at ALPS 2026.

Panels

Friday · 18:15–19:15

The "Therapy" in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy

What kind of therapy, how much of it, and delivered by whom

Psychedelic-assisted therapy names a psychotherapeutic intervention that no regulator requires. The FDA's July 2026 final guidance asks for two trained monitors, not two psychotherapists, and Swiss law does not make psychotherapy a prerequisite. Yet most trials behind today's evidence included preparation, support and integration. This panel begins in that gap. Four clinicians and researchers who all hold that the psychological work is real turn to what remains unresolved: what kind of therapy, how many hours, delivered by whom, who should be in the room during the experience, and whether any model can scale.

Moderated by Vincent Diehl

Saturday · 18:00–19:00

Psychedelics and Spirituality: Ontological Shifts and Meaning-Making Experiences

Psychedelics reliably occasion experiences that participants describe as revelatory and that leave behind altered convictions about what reality contains, what the self is, and where meaning comes from. Such shifts are reported in ceremonial traditions across the Americas, West Africa and beyond, where they are held within cosmology and community, and in clinical trials, where they are recorded as mystical-type or insight experiences. This panel examines how ontological change is produced, interpreted and made durable across these settings, the difficulty of measuring it, and what is at stake when practices rooted in traditional use are relocated to the clinic.

Moderated by Federico Seragnoli

Beyond the talks

Experiences

ALPS is about more than science. It is also about art, connection, and the spaces between talks. Alongside the scientific programme we offered an exhibition, sound, movement, and social sessions — invitations to look closely, listen deeply, and meet one another.

Art

LSD blotter art, live painting, and Uncanny World, throughout both days.

Meditation

Sound meditations, breathwork, and music.

…and more

Connection, storytelling, movement, and the Saturday afterparty.

Past editions

Highlights from Previous Conferences

The Venue

Kultur & Kongresshaus Aarau

Schlossplatz, Aarau

Short walk from the station

Interior of Kultur & Kongresshaus Aarau prepared for a conference session

Exterior of Kultur & Kongresshaus Aarau at dusk

The Kultur & Kongresshaus Aarau, located at Schlossplatz in Aarau, combines architectural elegance with modern functionality. The facility boasts high ceilings on the ground floor providing a sense of openness and grandeur, with advanced event technology ensuring all technical needs are seamlessly met.

A spacious foyer serves as a welcoming area and exhibition space. Located near the heart of Aarau's historic center, surrounded by dining and leisure options, it was home to ALPS 2026.

1000m² of flexible event space

Historic Schlossplatz, heart of Aarau

Steps from Aarau train station

Surrounded by dining & leisure options

Got questions?

Frequently Asked Questions

At the conference

At the Kultur & Kongresshaus Aarau, Schlossplatz 9, 5000 Aarau. More about the venue: kuk-aarau.ch

English.

Mainly vegetarian food, with vegan options at lunch and the networking apéro. Snacks during the breaks were vegetarian.

No, but the sessions were recorded and will be published on our YouTube channel.

The ALPS Foundation filmed and photographed the event for educational and promotional purposes. By entering the event premises and by participating in this event, attendees consented to the use of your photograph, likeness, or video or audio recording in whole or in part without restriction or limitation for any educational, promotional, or any purpose for distribution online and in printed publications or publication in other media. You release the ALPS Foundation, their volunteers, and each and all persons involved from any liability connected with the taking, recording, digitisation, or publication of interviews, photographs, computer images, or video and/or sound recordings. We are however happy to remove your image from any digital property over which we have control upon your request.

After the conference

Yes. The ALPS 2026 talks will be published on our YouTube channel, where the playlists from previous editions are already online.

Yes. Email info@alps.foundation to request your certificate of participation.

Yes. The main conference (9–10 October) was accredited for up to 14 ECTS for the FSP and 10 ECTS for the SGPP/SSPP.

Yes. The Workshop Day was accredited for 4 FSP credits for medical professionals and psychologists, with a certificate of attendance after the event.

No. The ALPS Foundation keeps all personal information entered during registration confidential and secure.

Sign up for the newsletter on alps.foundation for occasional updates on ALPS events, talks and psychedelic science in Switzerland.

Stay in touch

Hear about the next ALPS events

The ALPS newsletter lives on alps.foundation: occasional updates on ALPS events, talks and psychedelic science in Switzerland.

Sign up on alps.foundation

Thank you for joiningALPS CONFERENCE 2026

Thank you

ALPS 2026 in Aarau

Pre-conference Workshop Day

Certificates of participation

Conference program

Speakers

Dr. Max Wolff

Dr. Lydia Belinger

Tommaso Barba

Dr. Matthias Forstmann

Prof. Dr. Eric Vermetten

Dr. Eirini Ketzitzidou Argyri

Dr. Sandeep Nayak

Prof. Amandine Luquiens

Dr. Jason K. Day

Morten Lietz

Manal Al-Hammadi

Dr. Pablo Mallaroni

Panels

The "Therapy" in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy

Psychedelics and Spirituality: Ontological Shifts and Meaning-Making Experiences

Experiences

Art

Kevin Barron

Hana Stanke & Joanne Lackey

Régis Paroz

Meditation

Marina Vovk

David & Anna-Lea Wennberg

Pascal Kälin

…and more

Kate Dalby

Andrea Bacconi

Afterparty

Highlights from Previous Conferences

Kultur & Kongresshaus Aarau

Frequently Asked Questions

At the conference

After the conference

Hear about the next ALPS events

Our Amazing Partners

Sponsors

Academic Partners

Swiss Professional Associations

Media Partners

Our Amazing Catering Partner