Vilmarie Fraguada Narloch is a psychologist focusing on integrated treatment of co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, an activist working to end the war on drugs, and an advocate for science and reality-based drug education and harm reduction approaches for all. Vilmarie approaches her work from a harm reductionist and humanistic lens, focusing on the individual needs of the person, group, or community, and has dedicated her studies and clinical work to advance harm reduction as the standard for substance-use disorders.

Vilmarie earned an M.A. in Counseling and Psychological Services from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Roosevelt University in Chicago, where she was a graduate research assistant with Roosevelt University’s Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy. She has provided counseling and harm reduction services to students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and DePaul University and was a member of the Chicago Consortium on College Alcohol Harm Reduction. She completed a pre-doctoral internship in the Adult Behavioral Services department in a local public health department, and a post-doctoral fellowship in a small private agency, where she provided therapy for individuals, couples, families, and groups in addition to supervising interns.

Vilmarie has been an adjunct instructor teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in psychology and substance use disorder treatment. Her dissertation, “What Youth Want: Developing a Drug Education Curriculum Based on Youth Guidance and Evidence-Based Principles,” inspired her to continue to advocate for effective drug education on a professional level, which led to her current position as the drug education manager for Students for Sensible Drug Policy International (SSDP), an international grassroots network of students that mobilizes and empowers young people to participate in the political process and push for sensible policies as an alternative to the disastrous and punitive War on Drugs.

Vilmarie is currently pursuing a certificate in psychedelic therapies and research from the California Institute of Integral Studies. She also co-facilitates the Psychedelic Support, Safety, and Integration group in Chicago and is a co-organizer of the Chicago Psychedelic Community and Psychedelics and the Future of Psychiatry MeetUp group.

“Women's voices and experiences are essential in the work of psychedelics and cannabis and have been personally central to my own growth and learning in these realms,” Vilmarie said. “Historically, women have been strong leaders in this work, and it is important to me to ensure those stories and that history is not lost. Women are the true healers, leading with compassion and strength, and I strive to carry those qualities within me to pass on the knowledge and tools I have gained from them.”

“Women's voices and experiences are essential in the work of psychedelics and cannabis and have been personally central to my own growth and learning in these realms. Although the work has been dominated by men, when I consider the people that have had the largest influence and impact on me in the work that I do, it has been so many remarkable women that have led my way. Historically, women have also been strong leaders in this work, and it is important to me to ensure those stories and that history is not lost. Women are the true healers, leading with compassion and strength, and I strive to carry those qualities within me to pass on the knowledge and tools I have gained from them.” – Vilmarie Fraguada Narloch, Psy.D.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vil.murrays
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vilmurray
Integration group page: https://www.facebook.com/PsychedelicSupport/
Chicago Psychedelic Community: https://www.facebook.com/ChiPsychedelic
MeetUp: https://www.meetup.com/Psychedelics-And-The-Future-Of-Psychiatry/