Sociological Research

Current Study

“Embodied Euphoria of Ecstatic Belonging:

Exploring the potential impact of psilocybin-assisted therapy on individual perceptions of gender and sexuality”

JaDee Y. Carathers, Ph.D. (2026)

Oregon’s groundbreaking legal model for psilocybin-assisted therapy may be beneficial as gender-affirming care for queer and gender-expansive people. This qualitative study is based on in-depth interviews with 15 participants who have had a facilitated psilocybin session. Tentative themes include processes of embodiment, engagement with gender archetypes, healing traumas of sexualized violence and abuse, connecting with ancestral lineages of resilience, transforming shame and stigma into personal empowerment and self-actualization.

Funded in collaboration with the Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy Association of Portland, OR

Scholarly Publications

Areas of expertise: gender & sexualities, reproductive justice, queer and feminist theories, work

  • Kelly, Maura, JaDee Carathers, and Tristen Kade. 2020. “Beyond Tolerance: Policies, Practices, and Ideologies of Queer Friendly Workplaces.” Sexuality Research & Social Policy 1-16.

  • Carathers, JaDee Yvonne, "Radical Doulas Make "Caring a Political Act": Full-spectrum Birthwork as Reproductive Justice Activism" (2019). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 5496. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.7370

  • Carathers, JaDee, Miriam Abelson, Amy Lubitow, and Maura Kelly. 2019. “Gender Minority Transit Riders Experience Violence and Discrimination” The Gender Policy Report (https://genderpolicyreport.umn.edu/gender-minority-transit-riders/).

  • Carathers, JaDee. 2018. “Pregnancy and Parenting for Female Inmates.” In Caged Women: Incarceration, Representation, & Media, edited by Shirley Jackson and Laurie Gordy. Routledge.

  • Carathers, JaDee. 2017.  “The Breastfeeding Problematic: Negotiating Maternal Sexuality in Heterosexual Partnerships.” Women’s Studies International Forum 65:71-77.

  • Lubitow, Amy, JaDee Carathers, Maura Kelly, and Miriam Abelson.  2017. “Transmobilities: Mobility, Harassment, and Violence Experienced by Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Public Transit Riders in Portland, OR.” Gender, Place & Culture 24(10):1398-1418.