Brandon Weiss, PhD

Assistant Professor

Brandon Weiss, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a licensed clinical psychologist. His research examines the effects of psychedelics in individuals with a history of trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, with a focus on the psychological and cognitive health of military Veterans, including those with a Special Operations Forces background. He earned his masters in psychology in 2015 at Wake Forest University, where he studied the measurement and course of borderline personality symptoms. He earned his doctorate in clinical psychology in 2021 from the University of Georgia where he studied the effects of Shipibo-led ayahuasca ceremony on personality and mental health. He completed his clinical training at the University of California San Diego / San Diego VA, where he specialized in providing Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure to Veterans experiencing PTSD, substance use disorders, and depression. Dr. Weiss has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on psychedelic therapy, ayahuasca ceremony, and personality pathology. His work has been featured in NPR and Forbes, among others. Brandon is currently exploring the therapeutic potential of classic psychedelics (psilocybin, 5-MeO-DMT, NN-DMT in ayahuasca) as well as atypical psychedelics (ibogaine, MDMA). One of his main interests is in understanding how therapeutic processes within psychedelic therapy for PTSD differ and/or overlap with conventional psychological and pharmacotherapeutic methods. As part of this goal, he is currently carrying out a clinical trial examining the effect of Psilocybin Therapy on maladaptive cognitive beliefs related to PTSD, and to what degree first-line trauma-focused psychotherapies are useful following Psilocybin Therapy.