By Robin Carhart-Harris — 2020
At Imperial College we’ve been comparing psilocybin to conventional antidepressants—and the results are likely to be game-changing.
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Like most people of color in the United States, psychotherapist and researcher Monnica Williams has experienced myriad forms of racism. Early in her career, understanding its effects on her mind and body motivated her to help clients address their own racial trauma in therapy.
The first randomized controlled trial to compare the illicit psychedelic psilocybin with a conventional selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant found that the former improved symptoms of depression just as well on an established metric—and had fewer side effects.
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A new generation of research into psilocybin could change how we treat numerous mental health conditions.
Study participants at some of the country's leading medical research centers are going through intense therapy and six-hour psychedelic journeys deep into their minds to do things like quit smoking and worry less.
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Once considered the quintessential party drug, MDMA (also known as “ecstasy,” “X,” or “molly”) is now experiencing a surge of interest in a completely different area: psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.
LSD, or lysergic acid diethylamide, is a synthetic drug with potent psychedelic properties. Commonly known as acid, it was originally derived from compounds found in ergot, a fungus that grows on rye.
In the 1950s a group of pioneering psychiatrists showed that hallucinogenic drugs had therapeutic potential, but the research was halted as part of the backlash against the hippy counterculture.
The FDA is helping to speed up the process of researching and approving psilocybin, a hallucinogenic substance in magic mushrooms, to treat major depressive disorder (MDD).
Often, disabled people have their disability treated, but they don’t have their emotional or spiritual needs addressed.
The mind-altering drug has been shown to help people suffering from anxiety and depression. But how it helps, who it will serve, and who will profit are open questions.