Eliza Dushku has opened up about her journey to become a psychedelic therapist, crediting substances like MDMA and psilocybin for helping her heal from past sexual trauma and drug addiction. In a profile by Boston Magazine, Dushku and her husband, real estate developer Peter Palandjian, are described as “unlikely new voices” for psychedelic-assisted therapy, with the couple actively funding research trials and pushing for legalization in Massachusetts.
“I had the means to shift directions and choose a course in my life that focused on healing myself so that I could help heal others,” Dushku told Boston Magazine. “This is just absolutely so clearly my real calling, my real purpose.”
Dushku’s path from Hollywood starlet to psychedelic therapist began in January 2018, when she revealed in a Facebook post that she’d been molested by Joel Kramer, one of Hollywood’s leading stunt coordinators, when she was 12 and he was 36. At the time, she told few people about the assault and instead developed a dependence on drugs and alcohol.
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“Sharing these words, finally calling my abuser out publicly by name, brings the start of a new calm,” Dushku wrote. The resulting media attention after her bombshell revelation, however, was anything but calm. Dushku was cast back into PTSD, and turned to psychedelic therapy using MDMA and psilocybin for relief. She emerged hours later with a feeling of “being reborn into the world in this safe and loving way.”
Following that transformative trip, Dushku switched career lanes—earning a master’s degree from Lesley University in counseling and clinical mental health, with a focus on holistic and psychedelic-assisted therapies. She also studied under Dr. Janis Phelps at the California Institute of Integral Studies, one of the world’s leading training programs for aspiring psychedelic therapists. By 2023, Dushku and her husband were hob-nobbing with the who’s-who of Boston’s psychedelic community, hosting a dinner party in February that year at their Cambridge home where Rick Doblin gave a presentation on MAPS’ MDMA trials to the city’s most prominent researchers.
In addition to funding psychedelic research and clinical trials, the couple has also been involved in the movement to legalize psychedelics in Massachusetts, donating $100,000 to Massachusetts for Mental Health Options, the local finance committee for New Approach PAC, the DC-based political group that spearheaded successful psychedelic legalization in Oregon and Colorado. The committee has received over $4 million in donations since its launch in 2023, primarily from Dushku, TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie, and Dr. Bronner’s soaps.
In the upcoming November elections, Bay State voters will decide whether to vote yes or no on Question 4, also known as The Natural Psychedelics Substances Act. The state ballot initiative would legalize the cultivation and possession of five psychedelic substances derived from plants—DMT, mescaline, ibogaine, psilocybin, and psilocin—to be administered in licensed service centers. It would make Massachusetts the third state after Oregon and Colorado to legalize and regulate psychedelic therapy. Recreational use would still be illegal, but possession and home cultivation of these substances would be decriminalized. A five-member commission chosen by the governor, attorney general, and treasurer would also be appointed to oversee the state’s nascent psychedelic industry.
On Instagram this week, Dushku shared a video of herself leaving an early voting station in Massachusetts. “I’m passionate about this because psychedelic therapy really helped me, and it could help countless others struggling with PTSD… and so many other serious mental health challenges,” Dushku said. “I hope you’ll join me in saying yes to new mental health options, yes to hope, yes to healing.”
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DoubleBlind Magazine does not encourage or condone any illegal activities, including but not limited to the use of illegal substances. We do not provide mental health, clinical, or medical services. We are not a substitute for medical, psychological, or psychiatric diagnosis, treatment, or advice. If you are in a crisis or if you or any other person may be in danger or experiencing a mental health emergency, immediately call 911 or your local emergency resources. If you are considering suicide, please call 988 to connect with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
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