Podcasts Health FutureTech Podcast Hallucinating Your Way to Behavioral and Life ChangesMatthew Johnson, PhDAssociate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins

Hallucinating Your Way to Behavioral and Life ChangesMatthew Johnson, PhDAssociate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins

Published: Dec. 17, 2019, 9:51 a.m.

For many of us, the idea of addiction recovery and behavior change therapy might invoke images of a psychologist or counselor leading a one-on-one or group session, but these images probably wouldn\u2019t involve the use of\xa0psychedelic\xa0drug\xa0therapy.

On today\u2019s episode, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins and author of 47 articles on psychedelic drugs, Matthew Johnson, PhD, discusses how psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin pills can help people who face addiction, depression, and emotional or psychological disorders.

\u201cIt\u2019s not just a drug effect; it\u2019s something about the nature of this experience, the qualitative nature of the experience that\u2019s predictive of long-term beneficial outcomes\u2026even though it\u2019s prompted by a medication\u2026in many ways it\u2019s more like a learning experience. It has more in common with what we know about\u2026psychotherapy than it does with psychiatric medications,\u201d says Dr. Johnson.

On today's episode, you will learn:

  • How Dr. Johnson characterizes the commonality between people who benefit from the use of psychedelics (and it\u2019s not about religion or spirituality)
  • How psychedelic drug use with psilocybin could help those who suffer addiction to cocaine, alcohol, or tobacco, as well as cancer-related depression, anorexia, and PTSD
  • When\xa0psilocybin pills\xa0could become an FDA-approved option for clinical treatment of a variety of disorders

Press play for all the details.