Matt Thierfelder
Retired Battalion Chief - Psilocybin Facilitator
Retired Battalion Chief with the vancouver fire department 30 years. Trained psilocybin facilitator and psychedelic advocate and public speaker.
Feb. 11, 2026
Psychedelics and First Responder Mental Health: A Fire Chief’s Journey
In Episode 102 of Beneath the Helmet, retired Battalion Chief Matt Thierfelder shares his 30-year fire service journey and what happened when burnout, hypervigilance, and sleep deprivation finally caught up with him at retirement. We talk openly about identity loss after the badge, operator syndrome, and his personal exploration of psilocybin-assisted therapy, ketamine treatment, stellate ganglion block (SGB), and ibogaine in structured, medically supervised settings. This is an honest conversation about first responder mental health, nervous system reset, and finding renewal after decades of service.
Guest: Matt Thierfelder