Hi, I'm Khaleel. I am a clinical bioethicist specializing in psychiatry & mental health, and an interdisciplinary psychedelic researcher. I'm currently pursuing a doctorate degree in philosophy and psychiatry, specializing in bioethics, at McGill University. I am a Canadian SSHRC Doctoral Fellow and Joseph-Armand Bombardier Scholar. I hold an M.A. (Thesis) in Bioethics from McGill, and a B.A. in Philosophy, with distinction, from Yale University. I am a member of the McGill Biomedical Ethics Unit and McGill Psychedelic Research Group.
My research explores ethical issues related to psychiatric practice, mental healthcare, drug use (including psychedelic substances), and transcultural systems of healing. My current research draws on interdisciplinary methods from practical ethics, critical theory, phenomenology, transcultural psychiatry, and psychopharmacology to critique the development of psychedelic-assisted therapies within Western psychotherapeutic healing frameworks and psychiatric institutions. My philosophical interests overlap with the fields of critical philosophy of race, neo-Marxism, psychoanalysis, post-structuralism, post-colonial theory, and Buddhist ethics. My recent work examines the ethics of including adolescents in emerging psychedelic research. My ongoing research more broadly examines exclusionary practices in psychedelic research and clinical practice, addressing specific patient groups including youth, people with a history of psychosis, racialized communities, and Indigenous peoples. My latest publication in the Canadian Journal of Bioethics explores issues in the ethics of recording technology in psychedelic therapy settings. I am also a community organizer and grassroots advocate for drug policy reform, racial justice, decarceration, and decolonization. I served as president of Yale Students for Sensible Drug Policy, and have advocated for harm reduction approaches to youth drug use at paediatric hospitals in Canada. You can contact me at khaleel.rajwani[at]mail.mcgill.ca |