23 Aug HOW PSYCHEDELICS MAY BE USED TO ACCELERATE PSYCHOTHERAPY | PSYCHCONGRESS NETWORK
The PsychCongress Network, a website devoted to news for mental health professionals, is featuring a series of articles on the use of psychedelics in psychotherapy. The most recent entry, “How Psychedelics May Be Used to Accelerate Psychotherapy,” covers research using psilocybin and MDMA for treating PTSD, cancer anxiety, and substance abuse. The author cites Heffter-sponsored research at Johns Hopkins University and the University of New Mexico.
“These findings are as fascinating as they are bewildering. Why should these fairly limited-time treatments bring about such enduring changes? Might the effect of the psilocybin be to disrupt overly rigid brain networks that support the behavior of tobacco or alcohol dependence? Is anxiety at the end of life a form of mental rigidity that results in existential distress? Or does the psilocybin bring about a spiritual experience that allows patients to be more at peace with their fate?
“There is much more research that needs to be done, but these findings should compel us to take these drugs seriously and see them as potentially important tools for making enduring change, a far more important use than their reputation as mere intoxicants would imply.”
How Psychedelics May Be Used to Accelerate Psychotherapy | PsychCongress Network