Tuesday Brunch: New database for therapists and psychiatrists working on post-psychedelic difficulties
How's that for a catchy headline
One of the bits of the ‘psychedelic safety net’ which needs some improvement is the evidence base for how to help people recover from post-psychedelic crises. We know that roughly 8% of people report moderate-to-severe difficulties lasting longer than a month after taking psychedelics. What we don’t yet know is what’s the best way or ways for them to deal with those difficulties. There have been a handful of papers (we’ve published some) but not much. And the lack of evidence means there’s a risk that people don’t know there’s help out there, or they reach out for help and get substandard care.
That’s what happened to me when I had post-psychedelic PTSD when I was 20 - I went to see a therapist, who had no knowledge of psychedelics, and he told me I was suffering from teenage angst and would grow out of it. I didn’t start recovering for another four years. That’s why I’m passionate about trying to improve care for post-psychedelic issues today.
We’ve just launched one initiative which I hope might slowly begin to improve care. It’s a database where therapists and psychiatrists with experience of treating post-psychedelic issues can offer their services, so people in crisis can find support near them or online that fits their needs.
If you’re a therapist or psychiatrist who supports people with post-psychedelic difficulties you can sign up for free here.
And if you’re looking for support you can find therapists and psychiatrists here (although keep in mind we only launched last week, so we’re still populating the database).
The database is also a network - every practitioner in the database receives a monthly digest from us with the latest research or case studies on post-psychedelic difficulties / recovery, and gets invited to a monthly group where they can discuss cases and new findings. The first monthly group is next Monday.
The hope is the network will help the field to learn collectively about harms and how to help people recover from them. If you’re a practitioner, I hope you sign up, it’s completely free and hopefully will be of benefit to you and to clients.
After the paywall, looksmaxxer Connor Murphy’s tragic death connected to ayahuasca-induced psychosis; man sues OpenAI after ChatGPT tells him he’s the Messiah; good times for philosophers and the Talmud in AI; RIP Robert Thurman; a new paper on psychedelic safety; six government agencies make psychedelic announcements in one day (yesterday), and - is the VA providing adequate safeguards for veterans trying psychedelics?
