Most folks who receive psychadelic-assisted therapy do so now because of a known and often severe issue — like depression, PTSD, or a form of addiction. Can either of you speak to an experience (personal or otherwise) of first realising or appreciatingsome issue through the use of psychadelics, in a way which helped resolve that issue?
More generally, how do you think about using psychadelics for treating the ‘well’?
Psychedelics can have great value for people who are not clinically mentally ill and I look forward to a time when they will be available to such people in the same way we make psychotherapy available to people who don’t have a DSM diagnosis of mental illness. People seek therapy who are sad or anxious, who have relationship problems, career questions, etc etc. We’re all on a spectrum at the far end of which is clinical depression or anxiety or obsession or addiction, so we stand to benefit from medicines that alleviate these symptoms. Watch the experiment on Oregon, which has legalized psilocybin therapy for any adult who wants it, beginning in two years or so.
We have conducted extensive research on healthy people (without disorders) at Johns Hopkins. Yes, sometimes these are extremely therapeutic for issues that didn’t have anything to do with why they volunteers. Several instances of past trauma being relieved and processed, for example.
Most folks who receive psychadelic-assisted therapy do so now because of a known and often severe issue — like depression, PTSD, or a form of addiction. Can either of you speak to an experience (personal or otherwise) of first realising or appreciating some issue through the use of psychadelics, in a way which helped resolve that issue?
More generally, how do you think about using psychadelics for treating the ‘well’?
Psychedelics can have great value for people who are not clinically mentally ill and I look forward to a time when they will be available to such people in the same way we make psychotherapy available to people who don’t have a DSM diagnosis of mental illness. People seek therapy who are sad or anxious, who have relationship problems, career questions, etc etc. We’re all on a spectrum at the far end of which is clinical depression or anxiety or obsession or addiction, so we stand to benefit from medicines that alleviate these symptoms. Watch the experiment on Oregon, which has legalized psilocybin therapy for any adult who wants it, beginning in two years or so.
We have conducted extensive research on healthy people (without disorders) at Johns Hopkins. Yes, sometimes these are extremely therapeutic for issues that didn’t have anything to do with why they volunteers. Several instances of past trauma being relieved and processed, for example.