Plant Medicine Healing! Discovering the Roots of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in Mental Health

Abstract

Roughly over 700 million individuals suffer from a mental illness globally. In the United States alone, over 45 million individuals are afflicted with a mental disorder at any given point in their lives.  It is because of this that new methods of current therapies should be considered.  To date, major depression disorder (MAD), anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are treated with Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs). While current treatment shows some effectiveness, there are many negative and unfavorable side effects in addition to effectiveness being short in duration.  Currently, researchers have discovered the substantial benefits of utilizing psychedelic drugs under a controlled environment. Research has demonstrated favorable outcomes in the use of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) to treat many of these mental health disorders.  PAP is the supervised use of psychedelic drugs such as MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, and Ketamine by psychiatrists to patients as part of psychotherapy.  Under supervision, patients ingest a psychedelic drug consisting as part of the psychotherapeutic process. Combined with talk therapy, patients are observed for a therapeutic reaction. The three mental disorders that will be highlighted in this paper include MAD, anxiety, and PTSD. The psychedelic drugs featured in this paper include psilocybin, 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), ayahuasca, and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Naturalistic psychedelic use demonstrates to have astounding and fast results in mental health disorders.  A cross-sectional online survey-based study conducted confirms these findings in a cohort of psychedelic users with mental health disorders. The goal of this study is to shed light on the new and alternative treatment modalities to treat mental health illnesses.  Psychedelics are the new promise to the field of psychiatry and that spark of promise falls under the umbrella of psychedelic drugs.  Psychedelics serve as new tools for curtailing psychotherapy.