ALPS CONFERENCE 2026

9-10 October 2026

Kultur & Kongresshaus Aarau, Switzerland

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Early bird pricing ends September 20

3+1 Team & Friends Tickets available (applied at checkout)
Financial Support Compassion Fund available (see FAQ)

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About the Conference

Welcome to ALPS 2026

The ALPS Foundation is delighted to invite you to the sixth edition of the ALPS Awareness Lectures on Psychedelic Science, taking place on Friday and Saturday, October 9–10, 2026, in the scenic city of Aarau, Switzerland.

Join us for two full days of cutting-edge science, meaningful dialogue, and community building. This year's conference will feature distinguished speakers and interactive panels, providing deep insights into the latest advancements in psychedelic research and therapy. For the first time, ALPS 2026 also opens with a dedicated Workshop Day on Thursday, October 8th, offering four parallel PAT training tracks before the conference begins. The conference will be held in English.

Your conference experience includes comprehensive catering (all Vegetarian) with breakfast, morning and afternoon breaks, lunch, and Saturday-evening Apero, ensuring a comfortable and enriching environment. For Friday evening, an optional networking dinner will be available for which you can buy your ticket separately. Throughout the event, take advantage of the networking breaks to connect with fellow enthusiasts, researchers, and practitioners over apéros, and join us for our traditional After Party on Saturday night.

Attendees will have the opportunity to earn up to 14 FSP credits and up to 10 SGPP credits, accredited for psychologists and medical professionals. We look forward to hosting an engaging and enlightening conference that promises to expand knowledge and foster significant discussions.

NewThursday, October 8th, 2026

Pre-Conference Workshop Day

Start ALPS 2026 with a specialized afternoon of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy training across English, Italian, French, and German tracks, combining theoretical input with experiential clinical practice.

Explore Workshop Day

Friday–Saturday, October 9–10, 2026

Conference Tickets

Secure your place at ALPS 2026. Tickets include entry to both conference days, catering, networking apéro, and Saturday After Party.

Buy Conference Tickets

* Team ticket — 3 + 1 free: buy 4 tickets and one is on us. The discount is applied automatically at checkout — no code needed. It applies within the same ticket type (conference-only or workshop-only; the two can't be mixed) and excludes the optional networking dinner.

* We want ALPS to be as inclusive as possible. Our whole team are volunteers, so if you can afford full price, please do. It lets us support those who truly need it. Not every request can be granted.

Request a Price Reduction *

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
Pre-sale available on Infomaniak or the ALPS info table at the venueTofu-vegetable curry on rice with herb pesto · Crêpe station · Drinks included
20:15–21:30
Friday evening program

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, Flösserstrasse 7

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

ALPS 2026

Confirmed speakers

Distinguished researchers and clinicians presenting at the forefront of psychedelic science.

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.

Dr. Max Wolff
Prof. Dr. Eric Vermetten
Dr. Sandeep Nayak
Prof. Amandine Luquiens

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.

Dr. Matthias Forstmann
Dr. Eirini Ketzitzidou Argyri
Ricardo Morales

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 offer 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

Designed for gathering, learning, and exchange

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's a prime spot for local and international attendees alike.

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

Before the Event

Tickets will go on sale on April 19, 2026 at 8pm CET.

We have a no-refund policy. However, you can transfer your ticket to another person before the conference. Please note that the ALPS Foundation is a non-profit organization, operated entirely by unpaid volunteers and sustained through donations. Additionally, our ticketing partner Infomaniak offers a cancellation insurance in partnership Allianz; please refer to their terms and conditions.

Students currently enrolled in any official college or university are eligible for the ALPS Conference 2025 Student Ticket. Please bring proof, such as a student card on the day of the event.

Tickets are only available for the full length of the conference, two days.

Yes. We review requests for a reduced ticket price on a case-by-case basis.

Request a Price Reduction

During the Event

Tickets include entry to the conference for both days, featuring 16 speakers, poster presentations, a networking apéro, and an afterparty. Attendees will enjoy snacks and coffee/tea during morning and afternoon breaks. Additionally, lunch will be provided on Friday, and on Saturday, lunch and food/refreshments will be available during the networking apéro.

We serve mainly Vegetarian Food with Vegan options during Lunch and the Networking Apero. Snacks during breaks will be Vegetarian.

The conference will be held at Kultur & Kongresshaus Aarau. For more information, visit: https://www.kuk-aarau.ch/

No, however all sessions are recorded and will be available on our YouTube Channel.

The working language of the conference is English.

There is no dress code for the event. We ourselves wear whatever we would wear at an academic conference.

Yes. Keep an eye out for the announcement on our Instagram to find out when we open our volunteering application form.

Kultur & Kongresshaus Aarau is wheelchair accessible. Please reach out to us if you have any special needs.

The ALPS Foundation shoots video and pictures of the event for educational and promotional purposes. By entering the event premises and by participation in this event, you consent 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 Event

Absolutely, check out our playlists from previous editions on YouTube.

Yes, a certificate of participation will be made available a few days after the conference. Please send an email after the conference at info@alps.foundation

Yes. The main conference (October 9–10) is accredited for up to 14 ECTS for the FSP and 8 ECTS for the SGPP/SSPP.

Yes — 4 FSP credits for medical professionals and psychologists. A certificate of attendance is provided after the event.

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

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