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special report
in both ancient Greece and India. Modern Western could have antidepressant benefits for up to five weeks,
psychiatry began to take an interest in the 1940s, when without side effects or the need to take daily medication.
chemist Albert Hofmann discovered the psychedelic Now, the team are looking at how psilocybin compares
effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), which he’d with escitalopram, a conventional SSRI. Participants are
first synthesised in 1938. Why the buzz? He believed it given psilocybin, then put on a six-week course of either
could assist in meditation, psychotherapy and spiritual escitalopram or a placebo, and MRI scans measure their
connection. In 1960, two Harvard psychs, Timothy Leary brain activity. The sessions are helping those clever
and Richard Alpert, began researching it and psilocybin folks in white lab coats to understand the role psilocybin
– both legal at the time – for therapeutic use. But their can play in depression. Previous studies revealed that it
controversial methods upset the medical establishment stimulates the 5-HT2A serotonin receptors in the brain’s
and they were sacked. Psychedelics made their way onto prefrontal cortex. This mimics the effects of mood-
the party scene and became inextricably linked to the boosting serotonin and reduces activity in the default
countercultural movement of the ’60s, before being mode network (DMN). “The DMN is the area of your
banned in most Western countries, including Oz, in 1971. brain that can become overactive and keep you trapped
Unsurprisingly, medical research slowed to a virtual ruminating on negative thoughts, which is what happens
trickle – until recently. A renewed interest in the in depression and anxiety,” Watts explains. “It seems
therapeutic potential of psychedelics, from MDMA to that temporarily deactivating the DMN in a psychedelic
mushrooms, has led to a handful of scientists lobbying session may lead to decreased rumination and more
to run clinical studies. The scientific advances that psychological flexibility. It may be due to a kind of
have unfolded as a result are so significant that this brain ‘reset’, although we’re hoping brain scan studies
period is being dubbed “the psychedelic renaissance”. will answer this question.” While talking therapies such
as cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) aim to get you
thinking differently, psychedelics have the potential to go
The bright side deeper by changing the way different areas of the brain
communicate with each other. It means you can end up
the trip, the more powerful the benefits may be.
The team working on this study at Imperial are among seeing life in a different way – and the more meaningful
those leading the charge. In a big way. Their previous The spa-like room plays a vital role. “A relaxed
research found that two doses of psilocybin – one at environment helps you to feel safe,” says Watts. “And
10mg, the second at 25mg – taken one week apart, when you feel safe, you’re more likely to go deeper
into the experience.” It begins with the participant
taking a psilocybin capsule before lying down on the
bed and slipping on the eye mask. There’s a playlist,
beginning with Indian music and moving into electronic
and classical tracks. Each genre is used to encourage
different experiences, though there’s no guarantee
everyone will respond in the same way. A patient may see
things in their mind, with visions becoming stronger as
the trip progresses, before gently fading. Two therapists
(“trip-sitters”) sit beside you the whole time. “The trip-
sitters are crucial; they’re not there to ‘guide’ the trip, but
to reassure you to trust the process and go with what you
see,” Watts explains. “Going deeper into the experience
is key to discovering where the suffering is coming from.”
Works like magic
While clinicians are attempting to understand
psychedelics in a lab setting, the promise of personal
growth and spiritual connection is providing a platform
for psychedelic tourism to thrive. Mushroom and
other retreats are now popping up anywhere that
psychedelics are legal, from the Netherlands to Jamaica.
Such retreats aren’t unlike the clinical sessions taking
place at Imperial. “We play a beautiful playlist of healing
music and have several professional trip-sitters in
the room at all times,” says Chi, co-founder of Dutch
retreat Truffles Therapy. Ceremonies here begin with
FEBRUARY 2020 womenshealth.com.au 75
