BROADCASTS.com

There\u2019s been an explosion of interest in psychedelics over the last 10 years, and phrases like \u201cpsychedelic-assisted therapy\u201d have gone from the relative fringes of the mental health conversation to bursting into the mainstream. Alongside a great deal of hype is a growing body of research revealing the potential of substances like psilocybin and MDMA as novel treatments for depression, addiction, and PTSD.\xa0\nOn today\u2019s episode of Being Well, Forrest is joined by Dr. Albert Garcia-Romeu from the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research. They explore the history and current state of psychedelic research, their subjective effects, the necessity of the \u201ctrip,\u201d how psychedelics work in the brain, why researchers are so interested in these substances, and what a psychedelic-assisted therapy session looks like.\nAbout Our Guest: Dr. Garcia-Romeu is a member of the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences faculty at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His research examines the effects of psychedelics in humans, with a focus on psilocybin as an aid in the treatment of addiction.\nWatch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You\xa0can watch this episode on YouTube.\nKey Topics:\n0:00: Introduction\n1:55: Dr. Garcia-Romeu\u2019s background\n3:00: What substances have been the focus of research?\n8:10: The history of psychedelics\n11:15: Usefulness and subjective effects of classical psychedelics (LSD/Psilocybin)\n17:35: Ego loss or \u201cego-death\u201d and the role of spirituality in mental health\n21:40: What is happening neurologically with Psilocybin?\xa0\n27:55: Psychedelics may be the best current treatment option for some conditions\n35:05: How close is the research to proving efficacy?\n38:05: The relative safety of psychedelics\n41:00: What does a psychedelic-assisted therapy session look like?\n47:00: Self-guidance in a session\n49:50: Duration of treatment, financial and legal access\n54:00: Using psychedelics for personal growth, spiritual practice, and even recreation\n58:00: Where is the field going?\n59:25: Recap\nSupport the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.\nSponsors:\nBombas designed their socks, shirts, and underwear to be the clothes you can\u2019t wait to put on every day. Visit bombas.com/beingwell and use code beingwell for 20% off.\xa0\nJoin over a million people using BetterHelp, the world\u2019s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!\nWant to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.\nReady to shake up your protein Ritual? Being Well listeners get 10% off during your first 3 months at ritual.com/WELL.\nConnect with the show:\n\nSubscribe on iTunes\n\nFollow Forrest on YouTube\n\nFollow us on Instagram\n\nFollow Forrest on Instagram\n\nFollow Rick on Facebook\n\nFollow Forrest on Facebook\n\nVisit Forrest's website