Dr Simon Amar

I am a consultant psychiatrist with extensive expertise in psychotherapy and medicine-assisted therapy. I completed my medical degree and psychiatry specialty training at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Following my residency, I spent four years at the McGill University Health Centre, a leading tertiary care institution, before establishing a private practice focused on psychotherapy for depression, anxiety, trauma, and personality disorders.  

In 2016, I began working with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) as a Principal Investigator, setting up the Montreal site for the Phase 3 trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD, where I also served as a therapist.  

After relocating to Melbourne in December 2021, I joined the Psychedelic Research Lab at Monash University, contributing as a core therapist to groundbreaking clinical trials, including psilocybin-assisted therapy for Generalised Anxiety Disorder, MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD, and a multi-site trial of 5-MeO-DMT-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant depression. In the latter, I served as both a therapist and mentor for the three Australian trial sites.  

I have also played a pivotal role in advancing psychedelic therapy training in Australia, leading the Monash team that hosted two MAPS MDMA-assisted therapy training programs for Australian clinicians. I continue to supervise and mentor Authorised Prescribers and therapists involved in medicine-assisted therapy programs across the country.  

Beyond my professional endeavours, I am deeply passionate about fatherhood, community building, conscious dance, men’s work, healing, and connecting with nature.