The healing power of psychedelics

When Melanie approached me to write an article – I was thrilled. I knew of her work and the beautifully compiled Gratitude Diary – full of love and heart. The power of gratitude is amazing! As a psychologist, I created and ran a program that introduced gratitude diaries into school classes for eight years. It was such a gift to watch these young people light up when they focused on what they are thankful for.

Melanie asked me to write an article about Psychedelics – my other passion. Psychedelics have helped me so much in navigating my personal and professional life. They have informed me about many truths I had not seen, shifted my emotions, given me new insights into, and healed many of my relationships and helped me to be a more present and loving mother. Thank you for the opportunity to share this valuable information Melanie. xoxo

Mental Health Crisis

The rates of depression and anxiety in Western countries today are alarmingly high. In Australia, over 2.2 million people out of a population of 26 million have been diagnosed with mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression. Despite this alarming statistic, there is something new (or not so new?) on the horizon in the way of treatment options: Psychedelics, which are currently going through what people are calling a renaissance!

Psychedelics are powerful psychoactive substances that alter perception and mood, and affect numerous cognitive processes. They are generally considered physiologically safe and do not lead to dependence or addiction.

The Modern History of Psychedelics

It is claimed that the ‘hippies’ of the 1960s and 1970s were birthed from their use of psychedelics, influenced by pioneers such as Albert Hoffman, Ram Dass (Richard Alpert), and Timothy Leary. The Beatles admitted, and then denied, their song ‘Lucy (L) in the Sky (S) with Diamonds (D)’ was actually about LSD.

These pioneers perceived that the ban on psychedelics was based on the establishment’s theory that the increasing use of psychedelics was leading to a rise in ‘awareness’ – making people less susceptible to the agendas that served those in power. This rise in awareness came to clash with the Nixon Administration in the United States (US) and resulted in a ‘war on drugs’, when citizens, for the first time in history, refused to go to war, and protested for ‘Peace, Love and No War’.

After decades of bans by governments around the world, psychedelics re-emerged in the mental health research sphere around the late 1990s. Since about 2009 the number of research studies into their therapeutic use has been rapidly increasing. The results are looking good, creating renewed hope for successful treatment of mental health conditions.

What’s happening in Australia

As of July 2023, approved psychiatrists have been able to prescribe and oversee the administration of psilocybin for Depression, and MDMA (entactogen) for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This was made possible by the Therapeutic Drugs Administration (TGA) rescheduling these psychedelics for these specific mental health conditions. Part of the reason MDMA and psilocybin were approved in Australia for these specific mental health conditions, was that the TGA received over 12,000 public submissions in rebuttal of their initial decision to not reschedule them for therapeutic use. This was the largest response the TGA has ever received for any drug being rescheduled. The TGA sat up and paid attention, then later swung their non-approval in the other direction.

Current Legal Psychedelic Use Overseas

In the US, many states have been progressively decriminalising psychedelics including psilocybin, iboga, ayahuasca, San Pedro cactus (mescaline), or entheogens in general. At the time of writing this, psilocybin and MDMA are being lined up for state-wide approval for therapeutic use through the clinical trial pipeline of the Federal Drug Administration (FDA).

In Canada in 2022, it became legal for prescribing Health Care Practitioners to access restricted drugs, including psilocybin, from overseas through a Special Access Program. The Western world is catching onto these substances that many cultures have used for thousands of years, often in ceremonies, to induce altered states and bring about healing.

Current Trends

Thanks to best-selling authors such as Michael Pollan whose book, ‘How to Change Your Mind’, (which was turned into a Netflix series), many people have been asking, ‘Is this for me?’ and ‘Where can I do this?’ A wave of people are travelling to countries where they are legal, becoming involved in psychedelic trials, or accessing underground therapy. Yet, with the capacity for people to now access psychedelics legally for therapeutic or personal use in their own country, a new phase of how we can psychologically help people is now being born.

Positive Effects

So, what are the positive results of these mysterious psychedelics? Psychedelics such as psilocybin can help us to integrate ourselves in new ways by disrupting rigid and repetitive thinking, thus creating an opportunity to direct or affect our healing.

They can help us to see things from a different, and sometimes, higher perspective. Psychedelics expert, psychologist and neuroscientist, Dr Robin Carhart-Harris says psychedelics offer us an ‘unconstrained and hyper-associative mode of cognition’. Studies show, and vast amounts of people also report, beneficial outcomes from taking psychedelics. These include improved mood, creative stimulation, increased empathy, compassion for self, profound insights into their own life or the world around them, improved relationships and greater wellbeing. Such positive long-lasting effects can be achieved from just 2-3 dose sessions, paired with psychotherapeutic preparation and integration sessions in the days, weeks and months afterwards.

What is Psychedelic Integration?

This is a term you should expect to hear more about in relation to psychedelics. The integration sessions support participants to process their experience of psychedelics in a healthy way – to draw the gold from it, and get the most out of the altered state experience over the long-term. Integration is really about giving yourself the time and space to digest, assess, consider, reflect and process your experience so that your life improves from it in a meaningful way.

Risks

Like anything, psychedelics do not come without their risks and there are some contraindications, including heart conditions, certain medications, and a personal history of psychosis. Lack of preparation, poor mindsets, unsuitable environments, and recreational use of these drugs can lead to situations where people are negatively affected by their psychedelic experience, especially if they opt out of integration or therapy support.

Having healthy intentions about what you aim to achieve from your psychedelic experience is also important. Taking Psychedelics on a night on the town with friends could lead to a difficult time and it is not recommended to use them without the support of a well-trained psychedelic facilitator. It is important that contraindications are checked, dosage is managed, the environment and personal mindset are good, and integration therapy afterwards is of a good quality.

Nonetheless, with preparation, the right mindset, a safe therapeutic setting, and follow-up integration, they can be profoundly healing and revolutionary.

Questioning Where We Are At

Today we want to enjoy all the benefits and technology of our ‘evolved’ world – although the escalating mental health conditions inform us that we are not doing as well as we could be. Not that long ago, our ancestors were much more connected and interconnected to each other and the earth; this was the time when we relied on plants, fire, and water for survival. Could our mental health crisis be a direct result of the present system we have created, serving us on so many levels, yet not our overall wellbeing?

Psychedelics Can Teach Us

Global warming and pollution are a reflection of our ways of living – choosing technology and money over the earth’s needs. Perhaps therapeutic altered states can teach us something new about how to be, and give us insights into our own decisions and traumas so that we can awaken, refreshed, revived and with greater wellbeing.

Hopes for our Future

What would a world look like if mental health was improving and national happiness was exploding? A joy-filled planet, free of repression and full of life? How can psychedelics help to improve our wellbeing in ways that we have not managed to achieve with all our advanced technologies? What does a future look like where two sessions with a psychedelic and 10 therapy sessions every two years are the new mode for improved wellbeing – rather than a daily dose of an antidepressant?

We are not so far away from a world where a psychedelic therapy centre is in every suburb with ethical therapists who are well educated in terms of preparation and integration. The hope for humanity is high not only for those with mental health issues, but also for mentally well people who wish to improve other areas of their lives as well.

If you are intending to use psychedelics to improve your wellbeing and have been advised they could help you, with good therapy and integration support, you may be surprised at how healing they can be.

Personal Note

Personally, I would really love to see all the cultures of the world move into states of higher belonging, self love, acceptance and forgiveness. I hope that psychedelics can support a transition to a way of being where we embrace each other and the earth more, heal more, cause less harm – understanding the truth of our own power and sovereignty. Psychedelics is an interesting field because it informs us of both the truth and the shadows. Power and financial games will play out, yet at the same time, they will be seen for what they are. There will be little hiding. The time of an evolved society, where wellbeing is valued over profits is hopefully upon us, with psychedelics to assist on the way.

x Allie

Allie Ackland-Prpic is a psychologist and supports people with Psychedelic Integration. Allie has released a Psychedelic Integration Journal