Rooted in Gratitude: The Pearl’s Year-End Reflection

As we head into the holidays, this is a good time to reflect a little on 2025 and this ongoing journey that is the Pearl Institute.  This year saw the Pearl climb its way out of the menacing blackness of the FDA’s cowardly decision in August to not approve MDMA for use in the treatment of PTSD as well as the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene only 7 weeks later.  Those were some dark times.  This year brought its own challenges but it has also been a year of growth and renewed hope that our nonprofit will survive and continue this mission to bring psychedelic-assisted therapy to our region and the folks that need it.  This year we have deepened our working relationship with the Asheville VA and Responder Support Services and continue to provide excellent trauma-informed services.  We continue to provide top-notch ketamine-assisted therapy for people struggling with treatment-resistant depression, anxiety and PTSD, and the healing shifts we’ve witnessed in our patients only strengthens our resolve to continue this work.  There is a lot of misinformation and ignorance regarding psychedelics out there in our region and the Pearl will continue to use science to educate while advocating for people to have safe and legal access to these treatments.  The Pearl has also begun offering esketamine (Spravato) treatments that are often covered by insurance as a way of increasing accessibility to this unique treatment for depression.

Many of the Pearl Institute staff attended MAPS’ Psychedelic Science 2025 conference in Denver, Colorado, this summer and that gave many of us a chance to attend some inspiring presentations and to network with like-minded folks.  We also got to hang out together and the closing night after the conference we hit up a couple of Denver’s grittier watering holes, survived a savage tournament of putt-putt golf and played some sloppy pool (punctuated with occasional brilliance) although none of it really mattered.  After all this organization has been through, it was nice to be reminded that despite the chaos of the last year or two, the Pearl staff are really good humans who know how to have a good time and are also dedicated to making the world a better place… and that’s what you want.  It took a few years but to have a core group that understand nonprofit work and are willing to all row in the same direction is valuable beyond words.  

The Fourth Annual Gathering of the Pearl in September was an incredible evening of powerful speakers and a coming together of the Pearl community and reminder that each year we get larger and stronger and that something meaningful is coming together in this part of the country.  Giants in the field of psychedelics including Chris Bache and Michael Mithoefer spoke eloquently about the power of psychedelics to heal and lawyer-turned-ibogaine-activist Bryan Hubbard brought down the house with his thunderously inspiring closing comments.  The Pearl was humbled and honored to have Rick Doblin attend and speak.  Decades of tireless effort by this happy warrior brought MDMA to the very gates of the FDA and their decision to kick the can down the road is a testament to how difficult it has been to get it this far and what he has been up against.  His work and persistence has been an inspiration to us at the Pearl and to have him in our midst helping us celebrate our accomplishments was truly an honor.  We also had numerous artists donate works and services for the Gathering auction which we deeply appreciate.  Many of them took a hard hit during Helene and having them participate in our “Web of Renewal” Gathering felt like another major step in our mutual healing and recovery.  A very special shout-out goes to Asheville artist Kari Nidy who designed framed mixed-media “Key to the Pearl” artworks that we presented to our esteemed speakers signifying the bond between their work and our ongoing mission at the Pearl.  

In closing, I would like to thank all of you who have supported the Pearl Institute in various ways in 2025, whether it was through a donation, accessing our services, an email expressing gratitude for our work, buying a ticket to the Gathering or attending any of our workshops, trainings and presentations or being a member of our Online Monthly Membership (OMM) program.  Your support, in all forms, is a huge part of why we can continue doing what we do.  Thank you and we hope that you will continue to support the Pearl Institute as we forge ahead into 2026 hoping that MDMA will be approved by the FDA and the Pearl can help get this safe and effective treatment for PTSD to those that need it.  Thank you again for being on this journey with us.