Ibogaine for the Injured Brain: A New Model for Treatment - Jonathan Dickinson

Mar 16, 2026

Jonathan Dickinson, CEO and co-founder of Ambio Life Sciences and longtime ibogaine clinician, shares his work bridging Bwiti tradition and clinical safety. He discusses ibogaine’s use for traumatic brain injury, veterans’ recovery, Parkinson’s and MS cases. Conversation covers scaling treatment, dosing strategies, neural markers, and why preparation, integration, and regulatory pathways matter.

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ADVICE

Screen Thoroughly And Use Protocols To Reduce Risk

Screen and prepare extensively to reduce ibogaine-related mortality by identifying key risk factors and stabilizing patients pre-treatment.
Early GITA conferences focused on morbidity reviews leading to published clinical guidelines and safety protocols.

INSIGHT

Nagoya Agreements Protect Gabon's Iboga Heritage

The Nagoya Protocol frames iboga's export as biocultural heritage, requiring benefit sharing with Gabonese communities.
Ambio holds a Nagoya-compliant export license and routes profits and technical exchange back to Gabon.

ANECDOTE

SEAL Cohort Showed Rapid Symptom Resolution

Ambio treated a cohort of former Navy SEALs diagnosed with TBI and measured rapid symptom reduction after a single ibogaine session.
Self-report questionnaires showed 87% moved from severe PTSD to not qualifying immediately after treatment, sustained at one month.

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In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin speaks with Jonathan Dickinson, CEO and Co-Founder of Ambio Life Sciences, about the evolving role of ibogaine in psychedelic medicine.

Listen to the full episode: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-347/?ref=278

Jonathan shares his path from leading the Global Ibogaine Therapy Alliance to helping build one of the field's most prominent ibogaine treatment organizations. Together they explore ibogaine's expanding therapeutic potential for traumatic brain injury, addiction, and neurological conditions, along with the clinical realities of delivering this powerful medicine safely.

They also discuss the challenges of scaling ibogaine treatment, the importance of preparation and integration, and how traditional Bwiti knowledge from Gabon continues to shape ethical and culturally grounded approaches to this work.

Jonathan Dickinson is the CEO and Co-Founder of Ambio Life Sciences and a leading expert on ibogaine therapy. With more than 15 years of experience in psychedelic research, clinical care, and traditional practice, he has helped shape global safety standards for ibogaine treatment.

A Mexico-licensed psychologist and former Executive Director of the Global Ibogaine Therapy Alliance, Jonathan has published research on ibogaine's therapeutic potential for trauma, traumatic brain injury, and neurological conditions. He has also been initiated into the Bwiti traditions of Gabon and holds a Nagoya-compliant export license for Tabernanthe iboga root.

Highlights:

Jonathan Dickinson's path from the Global Ibogaine Therapy Alliance to Ambio Life Sciences
How ibogaine treatment expanded beyond opioid detox
The growing use of ibogaine for traumatic brain injury and veterans' recovery
Why ibogaine treatment requires extensive medical screening and preparation
The importance of integration and community support after treatment
What Bwiti traditions in Gabon teach about working with iboga
The challenges of scaling ibogaine treatment safely
Why ibogaine may create a longer window for lasting change