2018
A documentary exploring plant medicines and psychedelics, with an attempt to show a different perspective than the current mainstream narrative. Some of them used for thousands of years as ...
84 min
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Amazonian healing traditions collide with Western medical sensibilities.
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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.
In the last two decades, researchers have started to reexamine psychedelics for their therapeutic potential. Though initial results seem promising, the research has a significant shortcoming: the lack of racial and ethnic diversity among research teams and study participants.
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A new study finds widespread exclusion of minorities in psychedelic research.
We’re seeing an explosion of medical research into psychedelics. Psilocybin, or shrooms, to treat major depressive disorder. Ayahuasca, a psychotropic plant medicine from the Amazon, and ibogaine, a potent hallucinogen from Africa, to treat addiction. LSD for anxiety.
Through this treatment plan, the patient was able to “reconceptualize her trauma” and “was able to move through difficult memories and emotions rather than letting them consume her,” explained U of O associate professor, Monnica Williams.
These substances are being touted as a game-changing intervention for mental health. But it’s not clear if their promise will be accessible to all.
A recent study found that even a single positive psychedelic experience may ease mental health symptoms associated with racial trauma experienced by Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC).
Panel: Jae Sevelius, PhD, Monnica Williams, PhD, Paula Graciela Kahn, and LisaNa RedBear, moderated by Ismail Ali, JD A six-day global gathering of the international scientific community in Oakland, California to explore new research into the benefits and risks of MDMA, LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca,...
Dr. Monnica T. Williams discusses her work in assessing racial trauma and mental health disparities in African-American communities.