Matt Hamel lives in Toronto and has a background in broadcasting, news media, and podcast production. Before his career in the mental health field, Matt spent several years in media, where he developed strong communication skills both on camera and behind the scenes through producing, editing, and storytelling. This experience shaped his ability to connect with a wide range of people, listen deeply, and create space for thoughtful, authentic conversation.
As a volunteer with MAPS Canada, Matt is a host of the MAPS Canada Podcast, where he facilitates evidence-informed conversations about psychedelics and their intersections with mental health, medicine, neuroscience, education, and public policy. In his role supporting MAPS Canada’s YouTube and podcast platforms, Matt helps manage episode uploads, descriptions, titles, clips, and other digital content to make psychedelic education more accessible to the public.
Matt is currently completing his Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology at Yorkville University. His professional interests include mindfulness-based interventions, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), trauma-informed practice, crisis intervention, and psychedelic-informed psychotherapy. He is passionate about evidence-based psychotherapy and the integration of emerging research into compassionate and ethical care that promotes lasting well-being. Through both his clinical training and his work with MAPS Canada, Matt is committed to advancing public education, fostering meaningful conversations about mental health, and contributing to a more informed, accessible, and compassionate future for mental health care in Canada.
Matt Hamel has hosted four Episodes.
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Episode 56: Psychedelics, Cannabis, and Brain Health Research in Canada with Crystal Phillips
June 27th, 2026 | 27 mins 50 secs
In this episode of the MAPS Canada Podcast, host Matt Hamel speaks with Crystal Phillips, co-founder of the Branch Out Neurological Foundation, about the evolving landscape of brain health research and the role of innovative, non-pharmaceutical approaches to neurological disorders.
The conversation explores Branch Out’s funding of psychedelic and cannabinoid research, including studies on ibogaine for addiction and cannabis-based investigations into neuroinflammation, sleep, stroke recovery, and the endocannabinoid system. Crystal emphasizes the importance of building a rigorous evidence base for emerging therapies so that clinicians and patients can make informed decisions grounded in science.
Crystal shares the personal story that led her to create Branch Out after an early, aggressive diagnosis of multiple sclerosis transformed her life and career as an elite speed skater. What began as a deeply personal journey navigating conventional and alternative healthcare systems eventually evolved into a national funding organization dedicated to advancing neuroscience research across Canada.
The episode also highlights Branch Out’s broader commitment to holistic brain health, including prevention, precision medicine, optimization, and emerging fields such as longevity and brain health monitoring. Crystal speaks to the importance of exploring all viable avenues for improving neurological outcomes while maintaining scientific rigor and balance.
To learn more about Branch Out Neurological Foundation, current funding opportunities, or to support their work, visit https://www.branchoutfoundation.com/
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Episode 53: “The Next Chapter” | Psychedelic Therapy, Healing, and Hope with filmmaker Scott Paul Wright
June 5th, 2026 | 37 mins 37 secs
In this episode of the MAPS Canada Podcast, host Matt Hamel speaks with filmmaker Scott Paul Wright about his documentary The Next Chapter, an intimate and deeply human exploration of adults over the age of 55 who are turning to psychedelic-assisted therapy as a pathway to healing, meaning-making, and renewal.
The film follows individuals navigating depression, anxiety, grief, trauma, and existential questions later in life, often after conventional treatments have not provided sufficient relief. Through their stories, The Next Chapter highlights both the challenges and the possibilities of psychedelic-assisted therapy, while centering the importance of integration, human connection, and hope.
Scott also shares his own personal journey into this work, including his experience with psilocybin at age 68, and how that experience shaped his decision to create the film. What emerges is a reflection on vulnerability, transformation, and the shared human search for meaning.
The upcoming world premiere of The Next Chapter takes place on June 18, 2026 at The Royal Cinema in Toronto, followed by a live Q&A panel featuring the filmmaker alongside leading clinicians, researchers, and voices in Canada’s psychedelic medicine community, including Dr. Joshua Rosenblat and Dr. Blake Pearson. The event is designed as a community gathering and conversation, bridging lived experience with clinical and research perspectives at a time when psychedelic-assisted therapy is rapidly entering the public discourse in Canada. For more information about the documentary and how you can attend, visit https://thenextchapterfilm.com/
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Episode 52: CAN-PACT: Reimagining Cancer Care Through Psychedelic Therapy with Dr. Ron Shore & Dr. Linda Carlson
May 30th, 2026 | 49 mins 30 secs
In this episode of the MAPS Canada Podcast, host Matt Hamel speaks with Dr. Linda Carlson and Dr. Ron Shore about CAN-PACT (the Canadian Network for Psychedelic-Assisted Cancer Therapy), a groundbreaking national initiative exploring the role of psilocybin-assisted therapy for people living with advanced cancer. Dr. Carlson and Dr. Shore discuss the emotional and existential challenges many cancer patients face, including anxiety, uncertainty, grief, demoralization, and fear surrounding death and dying. They explain how CAN-PACT is building a cross-Canada network of researchers, clinicians, patient partners, and educators to investigate how psychedelic-assisted therapy may help address these deeply human experiences.
Learn more about CAN-PACT:
https://canpact.ca -
Episode 47: How LSD Research in Canada Helped Treat Alcohol Use Disorder with Dr. Erika Dyck
March 29th, 2026 | 39 mins 41 secs
In this episode of the MAPS Canada Podcast, host Matt Hamel speaks with Dr. Erika Dyck about the remarkable early wave of psychedelic research conducted in Saskatchewan during the 1950s and 1960s.
Researchers based in the Canadian prairies, including Humphry Osmond, developed an ambitious program investigating the potential of LSD as a treatment for alcoholism. During this period, Osmond also famously coined the term “psychedelic” in correspondence with Aldous Huxley, helping shape the language that still defines the field today.
Dr. Dyck explores the broader scientific and cultural context that allowed this pioneering research to flourish. The conversation also examines the social and political forces that abruptly halted this early wave of work, and how the insights from this era of Canadian research continues to influence today’s renewed interest in psychedelic science, including modern studies on psychedelics and alcohol use disorder.