The Future of Therapeutic Psilocybin is Inspiring
by MADELINE FERGUSON
Many of the biggest medical institutions in the world now have entire web pages dedicated to information about psychedelics with links to research studies and resources. Just to give you examples of a few, there is Johns Hopkins, NYU and Stanford. Those institutions don’t take into account the other smaller operations of licensed therapists and psychologists researching hallucinogenic treatment methods.
And, those are just some of the places in the United States, other countries are much more progressive in respect to psychedelic research like the Netherlands and other European countries. In many South American countries psychedelic substances used by natives for spiritual purposes have always been legal and cherished.
With so many struggling with mental illness, wellness, interpersonal conflict and relationship problems, psychedelics (including psilocybin) offer a solution where many people thought there were no more solutions to try, which is why research and education on the topic is so valuable.
Society and the scientific community are barely knocking on the door of the possibilities in using psychedelics for mental wellbeing, in this piece, I’ll focus on the therapeutic use for relationships and depression.
A new piece of news from Johns Hopkins features a study that demonstrated the power of psilocybin in treating “major depression.”
“In a small study of adults with major depression, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report that two doses of the psychedelic substance psilocybin, given with supportive psychotherapy, produced rapid and large reductions in depressive symptoms, with most participants showing improvement and half of study participants achieving remission through the four-week follow-up,” the study read.
Now, for anyone who’s ever struggled with depression or a depressive episode hearing the term “remission” could be life changing. Most people with depression manage the symptoms with antidepressants, therapy or other methods, but the idea of the depression going into remission seems like a pipe dream.
While there is not as much research regarding the use of psilocybin in couples therapy, it is still promising and there are plenty of anecdotal experiences being written and talked about when it comes to using psilocybin in couples therapy.
Much of the research I mentioned above is based in attachment theory. Attachment theory is a theory based on the assumption that early childhood experiences dictate how you will form relationships as an adult. Attachment theory is widely studied. There are a few types of attachments most people form according to the set of theories, the main three being an anxious attachment, avoidant attachment and secure attachment.
Most of the studies in psilocybin and attachment are regarding anxious attachment, so for this article I will focus there. Traits typical of people with an anxious attachment style include a fear of being alone, low self-esteem, not feeling secure in a relationship and becoming jealous easily.
In one study posted by the American Chemical Society, self-reported ratings of attachment anxiety decreased 3-months post-intervention. The intervention referenced was “a brief group therapy course, which included a single midtreatment open-label psilocybin session conducted individually.”
These results coupled with the endless number of personal anecdotes one can find simply through google search promise exciting things for the future of plant medicine in a therapeutic setting. Here is an example of just one of those personal stories.
I will leave you with a quote from Johns Hopkins that struck me the moment I read it.
“To expand research in healthy volunteers with the ultimate aspiration of opening new ways to support human thriving.”
So, not only do we have a future where disease can be treated with plant medicines but we have a future where humans can maximize their happiness using plant therapies to look forward to. How exciting.