Psilocybin Assisted Therapy is one of the new buzzwords or news headlines people will see more and more in Behavioral Health. More universities are studying the effects of psilocybin on the brain and its use to treat conditions like addiction, anxiety, depression, PTSD, and trauma with promising results. We at Vital Reset, a licensed service center, are not currently involved in the university system or clinical trials. However, we have seen first-hand the progress and results of many clients seeking and finding relief through psilocybin treatments. Although we have seen firsthand, I’ll have to share the caveat that they are just anecdotal.
Since the passing of Measure 109 in 2022, the Oregon psilocybin industry has been at the forefront of legal psychedelic therapy in conjunction with a growing group of psilocybin therapists (although by law, they cannot be called “therapists” and refer to them as “facilitators“). In fact, before 2020, only a handful of universities were actively studying the effects of psilocybin in active clinical trials, with nearly a 5x increase in the last few years.
Something must be working because it seems like everyone is trying to get on the psychedelic mushroom train. We could talk about clinical trials all day and examine scientific studies and testing methodologies, but that usually makes people go to sleep, not in a good way. In most cases, we see people just looking for results or relief.
The majority of our clients come in looking for relief from Depression, followed by PTSD and trauma. We are also seeing individuals who suffer from OCD, dealing with addiction, and are on the neurodivergent spectrum. In many cases, a client will have a combination of conditions but only seek treatment for one. Still, the fascinating thing is that the mushrooms can work on several simultaneously. How?
The truthful answer is that we’re still learning. Still, science shows us that when psilocin (the psychoactive ingredient in psilocybin mushrooms) saturates the brain, it can increase neuroplasticity or repair or regenerate brain cells. Therefore, it is understandable to take the educated leap to say that brain cells that have been damaged due to trauma or abuse can be repaired or rejuvenated with magic mushrooms. Don’t just take my word for it; the National Institute for Health (NIH) did a study for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) in a 4-week, double-blind, proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial with the results posted here.
For example, three of our clients have regained their sense of smell that was lost due to a COVID-19 infection. To be transparent, we don’t and are not allowed to market treatments for that, yet these individuals came in for treatment for a completely unrelated condition and reported back to us that they regained their sense of smell. Interesting… It’s not just us whom have noticed these results, according to this article in TIME magazine, is showing promise as a treatment for most forms of Long Covid symptoms.
A clinician contacted us and wanted to send us their clients who suffered from tinnitus. We were not even aware that was a “thing,” but obviously, this medical professional saw some research indicating this was an effective treatment. Although science is still trying to discover if psilocybin mushrooms could either help or exacerbate tinnitus symptoms, the jury is still out on this one. We still have not seen clients with this particular condition, but we would happily serve them. If you or someone you know is/has been suffering from tinnitus and has had results either one way or another, we’d love to hear your story.
An important thing to add is that we cannot serve everyone. As unfortunate as that is, those suffering from Bipolar I, psychosis, or schizophrenia are at risk of exacerbating their symptoms of mania, and it may do more harm than good. Also, anyone who is pregnant, looking to get pregnant, actively taking Lithium, or is an active threat to themselves or others can exclude someone from treatment.
The tampering of expectations is usually one of the more challenging aspects of the work. Simply said, it is not a silver bullet for everyone. Even if you don’t have those ailments, there will always be a small subset of individuals for which the psilocybin will not have any effect. In most of these cases, it is usually because they are on a complex regiment of medications that typically involve SSRIs or anti-depressants. Again, this is a sub-set, and of the 230 clients we’ve seen thus far, it’s in the low single digits. Those who may be interested in seeing if psilocybin-assisted therapy is right for them should check our FAQ page.
The emerging field of psilocybin-assisted therapy has shown great promise, and we are learning more from additional clinical trials and getting better data from the existing service centers in Oregon; the tracks of this train seem long and disappear into the horizon. Individual anecdotes are potent stimulants for people’s imaginations and hopes, but adoption and acceptance can only come with analyzing complex data and research. We here at Vital Reset are hopeful and happy to be able to give our clients tangible results and know that the future of psilocybin treatments is not only bright but pulsating with colors.
