{"id":31334,"date":"2022-07-28T20:18:42","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T20:18:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humnutrition.com\/blog\/?p=31334"},"modified":"2022-08-01T13:35:50","modified_gmt":"2022-08-01T13:35:50","slug":"mental-health-psychedelic-therapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.humnutrition.com\/blog\/mental-health-psychedelic-therapy\/","title":{"rendered":"Psychedelics Are Poised to Become the Next Big Thing in Medicine\u2014Here\u2019s What You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

Difficult-to-treat mental health and medical conditions may have finally met their match. Here, we dive into the world of <\/em>psychedelics for mental health<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

Imagine walking into your therapist\u2019s office and being prescribed magic mushrooms, LSD, or another hallucinogen to help you work through your problems. It sounds trippy, but it just might be a reality in the not-too-distant future. Once considered fringe\u2014and still illegal in most of the U.S.\u2014psychedelics are currently undergoing clinical trials with some of the biggest names in medicine, like Johns Hopkins, exploring their mind-opening possibilities. There\u2019s even one drug that produces psychedelic effects, ketamine, that clinicians around the country are using with greater frequency in conjunction with psychotherapy to combat traditional treatment-resistant psychiatric conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n

Since psychedelic-assisted therapy appears to provide relief to people who don\u2019t respond to traditional medication or therapy, it\u2019s easy to see why researchers are intrigued. Plus, psychedelics work quickly, their effects are long-lasting, and they have minimal to no side effects. Why are they so effective? Experts theorize that they release the brain from operating in its normal grooves, according to Greg Fonzo<\/a>, PhD, co-director of the Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy at the University of Texas at Austin\u2019s Dell Medical School. These grooves are created by repetitive thoughts or trauma, kind of like water running down a hill that follows the same well-worn path. \u201cPsychedelics seem to level the playing field, so to speak, allowing for the brain to operate in new and different ways,\u201d Dr. Fonzo explains. \u201cThis may provide individuals with an opportunity for a mental \u2018reset\u2019 and subsequent establishment of different ways of thinking, feeling, and relating to the world.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

While this may seem pretty far out, the psychedelic movement<\/a> has been underway for decades. In fact, various psychedelics were<\/em> used in therapy in the 1950s and \u201860s\u2014not to mention in indigenous rituals for thousands of years. But with the rise of the hippie counterculture movement and the potential for abuse, psychedelics got a bad rap and were ultimately classified as Schedule I drugs in 1970, putting an effective end to their use in medical and research settings.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

But with changing attitudes about both substances and science, psychedelics are back\u2014and they have the potential to revolutionize medicine. Here\u2019s what you need to know about psychedelics and mental health, from the conditions they may be able to treat to their current legal status.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

What Are Medical Psychedelics?\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Medical psychedelics are exactly what they sound like\u2014psychedelics used specifically in medical settings. Of course, you shouldn\u2019t just pick up any psychedelic off the street or in nature (even if that were legal, which it is not). \u201cAll of the current compounds utilized in research are synthetically derived, as opposed to naturally derived compounds [like you\u2019d find in] psilocybin mushrooms,\u201d explains Dr. Fonzo, noting that this ensures the purity of the product and that doses are standardized for clinical studies. \u201cBut from a purely chemical perspective, the molecules should be the same.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what psychedelic mental health treatment might look like: After preparatory psychotherapy sessions, a psychedelic is administered by a therapist in a carefully-controlled and cozy setting. It\u2019s generally ingested, though ketamine may also be given via injection or nasal spray. Dr. Fonzo says that patients are encouraged to wear eyeshades and listen to preselected music while turning their attention inward and focusing on the effects of the drug. Facilitators will check in to see if the patient requires any emotional or psychological support navigating the experience, and then afterward, therapists will conduct integration psychotherapy sessions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

That combination of psychedelics and psychotherapy is \u201cthe magic sauce,\u201d says Mike Dow<\/a>, PhD, PsyD, a psychotherapist at Field Trip Health<\/a>, which offers ketamine-assisted therapy, and the author of The Brain Fog Fix<\/em><\/a>. \u201cMental illness is a complex disease that requires bio-psycho-social-spiritual approaches for true root-cause healing,\u201d he explains. \u201cMedication or IV ketamine addresses the [biological aspect] without the psycho-social-spiritual; talk therapy does the opposite. Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy hits all four quadrants.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

How Does It Feel to Take a Psychedelic For Mental Health?\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n

In a word, trippy. While the experience will be different for everyone, those who use psychedelics for mental health often report a dissociative feeling, sort of like they\u2019ve moved outside of their body and are looking at themselves from a distance. Others describe the experience as \u201cmystical,\u201d \u201ccalming,\u201d or \u201ceuphoric,\u201d according to Field Trip Health\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

But it can also be disorienting and confusing, which is why trained mental health professionals guide patients along the way. If someone has taken psychedelics outside of a medical setting, they may want to look into integration therapy\u2014technically known as psychedelic harm reduction and integration (PHRI)\u2014which helps them sort through the feelings brought up during their experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

What Psychedelic Drugs Are Being Studied Now?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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