Microdosing Motherhood: Beyond the Quick Fix with Naomi Tolson

Microdosing, maternal health, and modern motherhood: what’s really going on beneath the surface?

About

Microdosing is often framed as a tool for optimisation, a way to reduce anxiety, improve mood, or enhance daily functioning. But within the context of motherhood, a deeper and more complex picture begins to emerge.

Drawing on both lived experience and insights from the _Mothers of the Mushroom_ research project, this talk explores how microdosing intersects with the realities of modern motherhood, including postpartum challenges, shifting identity, and the often-overlooked experience of isolation and disconnection.

Rather than positioning microdosing as a simple solution, this session invites a more reflective conversation: what might these experiences be revealing about the wider systems, expectations, and support structures surrounding mothers today?

The talk, led by Naomi Tolson, will also explore emerging perspectives on microdosing during pregnancy and postpartum, alongside the limitations of current research, particularly where real-world experiences extend beyond controlled clinical frameworks.

The session will be followed by an audience Q&A.

What we’ll explore

• Microdosing beyond optimisation: a broader lens on its role in motherhood
• Postpartum mental health, anxiety, and shifting identity
• Insights from the Mothers of the Mushroom research project
• Microdosing in pregnancy and postpartum: emerging perspectives
• The gap between clinical research and real-world experience
• Isolation, expectation, and the cultural context of modern motherhood
• Parallels between the medicalisation of birth and psychedelics
• Individual coping vs collective change: what needs to shift?

⚠️ Please note: This is an educational event. No medical or clinical advice can be given during this session.

**Can’t attend the live event? ** No problem - all ticket holders will get access to the recording.

Your Speaker

Naomi Tolson is a somatic counsellor, microdosing guide and the founder of _The Psychedelic Doula_. She supports parents through emotional, psychological and identity shifts by weaving together somatic work, lived experience and the subtle, relational practice of microdosing.

Her roots are in caring for women and children. Naomi originally trained in paediatric nursing, went on to study midwifery, and has spent over 30 years working with families including over a decade as a birthkeeper, supporting mothers through pregnancy, birth, postpartum and matrescence. These experiences form the foundation of her approach, grounded in attunement, deep listening, and a trust in the body’s innate intelligence.

She has a particular interest in the wider cultural context of motherhood, and how modern parenting conditions shape the experiences we so often pathologise.

Naomi trained with the Microdosing Institute in 2022 and is currently completing an MSc in Psychedelics at the University of Exeter. She is also part of the Mothers of the Mushroom research project, contributing to a growing body of real world insights into microdosing during pregnancy and postpartum.

Her most important role to date is mothering her three boys, and she lives in Brighton with her husband Aidan.

Your Organiser

Ryan is the Online Events Coordinator for The Psychedelic Society and a life-long psychedelic enthusiast. He is completing his MSc in Psychedelics: Mind, Medicine & Culture at The University of Exeter where he specialised in the extra-pharmacological factors affecting psychedelic assisted therapy. Ryan also sits at the intersection of psychedelic research, education and therapy. He works as a Research Associate at Pneuma Science, Consultant at Psilonautica and Communications & Partnerships Associate at Beautiful Space.

Follow Ryan on LinkedIn.