Magic mushrooms for your well-being? If you haven’t heard about the use of psychedelics as a treatment for mental health disorders, or the popular psychedelic therapy this year may change that.
Psychedelic Therapy: Treatments for Depression
Although this type of treatment will not be accessible to everyone in 2022 (and it will probably take a while to become widespread). Experts say you should expect to hear a lot more about this emerging wellness trend this year.
“For a long time, psychedelics have been frowned upon,” says Amy Morin, a psychotherapist and editor-in-chief of VeryWell Mind. “We thought it was more recreational drugs, but with a closer look. We’ve seen that they can actually be really good treatments for things like depression, anxiety, and even substance abuse issues.”
Dr. Matthew W. Johnson, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins and interim director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research. He has seen a gradual increase in interest around this area since he began studying it in 2004, but says there has been a “dramatic increase in interest recently”.
How does psychedelic therapy work?
Psychedelic therapy is more like a heightened talk therapy experience that requires special care and supervision than a typical psychiatric medication, Johnson explains.
“It’s not just giving the drug,” he says. “This is a therapeutic relationship, where one is encouraged to immerse oneself in the experience. And learn something from the experience you have about the substance and then process it, integrate it (and) discuss it in the days afterward.”
The data suggests that the benefit actually comes from the experience someone has and their conscious reflection. He adds, unlike more traditional psychiatric medications, such as antidepressants, which can make someone feel better more automatically.
Morin warns that there is a “difference between therapeutic use and recreational use” of psychedelics.
“Sometimes people use certain things as club drugs and they’re not necessarily getting better or they feel like they may have a bad trip or have an experience where maybe whatever they’re taking is mixed with other things.” “Talking to a therapist and really finding out how you make sense of what happened while you were under the influence of a psychedelic, that’s where the real therapeutic benefit comes in.”
What kind of drugs are being investigated?
Johnson says there are some “dramatically impressive results for a number of really hard-to-treat disorders.” Through the use of psilocybin (a compound found in “magic mushrooms”) and MDMA (also known as ecstasy or Molly).
When will psychedelic therapy begin?
Although Oregon is at the forefront of this method, Morin says, “it will probably be another year or so until they figure out exactly how we do this.”
But some parts of the US are already seeking greater access.
In 2021, Detroit decriminalized psychedelic mushrooms and other places like Denver have deprioritized enforcement of the hallucinogen.
There are people who are also testing things underground, says Morin, but he hopes this will change with regulation and accessibility.