Psychedelic Assisted Therapy
In spite the fact that Psilocybin (Shrooms) is still an illegal substance in South Africa, people have still been exploring and experimenting with the documented benefits of this substance. What is found to be the case is that the benefits far outweigh the risks.
As a professional, I can’t encourage the use of these substances, however, given the reality that people are desperately seeking “alternative” help, I believe that it is important that they have access to knowledgeable and experienced practitioners, to get informed information and support.
Reality
There are many people who have had psychedelic experiences in their life. Most perhaps have been in a non-supportive and/or recreational manner. Unfortunately, these experiences if left fragmented, can be difficult to understand. Often people talk about “bad trips” that end up causing more harm if left unchecked.
There is actually no such thing as a “bad trip”, these are just experiences that have happened in an unsupportive space and have not been integrated. Usually these so-called “bad trips” can be the most transformative once they have been integrated properly into the individual’s psyche.
Background
Mental disorders have been rising steadily over the years in our modern stress riddled societies, especially since “Covid” raised it’s ugly head. And as a consequence, more and more people have been questioning the efficacy of current psychiatric medications for a variety of personal and professional reasons.
Clinical results so far have shown safety and efficacy, even for “treatment resistant” conditions, and as a result these substances are very deserving of the increasing attention from medical, psychological and psychiatric professionals. These substances are more than novel treatments, they also shed important light on the psychiatric crisis that ensues. The current research challenges the existing nosological entities, and have been advancing novel explanations for mental disorders and their treatment, in a model considerate of social and cultural factors, including adversities, trauma, and the therapeutic potential of some non-ordinary states of consciousness.
Concurrently Scientific interest in serotonergic psychedelics (e.g., psilocybin and LSD; 5-HT2A receptor agonists) has dramatically increased within the last decade. Clinical studies administering psychedelics with psychotherapy have shown increasing evidence of robust efficacy in treating anxiety and depression, as well as addiction to tobacco and alcohol. There is also an ever-increasing emergence in literature on the use of professionally supervised use of ketamine, MDMA, psilocybin, LSD and ibogaine in elaborated psychotherapy programs.
Putting it simply, people in need READ and they have discovered the therapeutic benefits of psychedelic-assisted therapy. This arena has exploded internationally, with tens of thousands (and probably millions) of disgruntled and dissatisfied people in need that have been willing to explore these substances, in order to relieve themselves of their distress.
In summary, Psychedelics in the public sphere have undergone a profound shift in recent years, especially given the plethora of available information out there. In a short time the thinking has evolved from viewing them as recreational drugs to understanding the experiences as therapeutic, with an array of potential benefits. Thanks to publications such as that written by “Pollan” and published in 2018 – which covers research demonstrating that substances such as DMT (the active ingredient in ayahuasca), LSD and psilocybin may ameliorate the effects of post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), depression and addiction — writer Ayelet Waldman who published A Really Good Day. There’s even some preliminary, limited research on obsessive-compulsive disorder that looks promising.
The study we conducted on psilocybin for cigarette smoking at Johns Hopkins had a very high success rate — 80 percent of people were abstinent after six months, which is really off the charts compared to typical treatments. And with alcoholism, a pilot study found a strong effect as well.
What are some potential dangers of taking these drugs? Are “bad trips” a concern?
About a third of participants taking a high dose of psilocybin will at some point in time during the session have what you might call a bad trip. It’s going to be aversive — the person may be very frightened — but in the context of this type of trial, when they’re on the couch and being monitored, the person can’t do something stupid. We don’t see any evidence of prolonged psychiatric reactions or harm, or of the person “not coming back.”
However, people with active psychotic disorders or a strong predisposition for such disorders should not receive these treatments. We can reliably select out these individuals through careful psychiatric screening.