Daily Hive: We asked an expert to explain psychedelic-assisted therapy

Thanks to Daily Hive for letting me share my thoughts on psychedelic-assisted therapy and how we’re hoping to see these kinds of treatment become available in Canada. As we all know, the number of individuals who face mental health crises is staggering. One in two Canadians will experience mental health struggles before the age of 40. Often even after receiving some form of treatment, too may continue to suffer and this highlights the urgent need for new and improved treatments.

Medicines like ketamine, psilocybin, MDMA, and others are not only effective, but faster acting and get at the root cause of mental health conditions, rather than some of the traditional approaches that are just treating symptoms. Throughout my career, I’ve witnessed firsthand the game-changing and unique benefits of psychedelic-assisted therapy.

I remember one patient I worked with early in my career. This client came into the ICU after a drug overdose—an attempted suicide. I talked to my colleagues about what they thought about me giving a dose of ketamine to help them emerge from this state of severe hopelessness. At the time, we had read that ketamine had been a new treatment for severe depression, so we decided to try this new approach. And I was amazed at the impact it had on the mental health of this patient.

He felt as if there an enormous weight had been lifted off his shoulders and for the first time, he felt a glimmer of hope. Of course, these effects of ketamine don’t last forever, but they can be such important tools, especially when people are stuck, not responding to other treatments, or need something that works faster to help get them on the right path. Ketamine was a really important door-opener on this patient’s path towards wanting to get better.

Though we’re just at the beginning of this mental revolution, and more research is needed to fully understand the best way to use these medicines, it’s a great time to be doing this work. The need is so high, and we finally have new options to help people heal and grow. In Canada, ketamine-assisted therapy can be legally prescribed for off-label use to those with a medical need. In January 2022, Health Canada amended the federal Special Access Program to make other psychedelic-assisted therapies, including psilocybin and MDMA, available outside of clinical trials on a case-by-case basis to patients with severe need. As of October 2022, Alberta has also announced plans to provincially regulate and standardize psychedelic-assisted therapy.

In Canada, Numinus operates clinics in Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto, and also operates a fully licensed research laboratory in Nanaimo where cutting-edge research takes place. We also have clinics in the United States, located in Utah and Arizona. For more information about psychedelic-assisted therapy or the treatments offered at Numinus, click here.

Check out the full interview with Daily Hive below!