The Science of Psychedelics for Mental Health | Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris
In this episode, my guest is Robin Carhart-Harris, PhD, distinguished professor of neurology and psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. He is one of the leading researchers studying how psychedelics such as psilocybin, LSD and DMT can change the human brain and, in doing so, be used to successfully treat various mental health challenges such as major depression, anorexia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and addiction.
He explains how psilocybin induces sustained changes in adaptive brain wiring and cognition. We discuss the key components of safe and effective psychedelic journeys, the role of hallucinations, the use of eye masks to encourage people to “go internal” and music, as well as what effective therapist support consists of before, during and after the session (also known as integration). We explore microdosing versus macrodosing and how researchers control for placebo effects in psychedelic research. We also examine the current legal landscape surrounding psychedelic therapies. Psychedelic therapies are fast emerging as powerful and soon-to-be mainstream treatments for mental health disorders, but they are not without risk. As such, this episode ought to be of use to anyone interested in brain plasticity, mental health, psychology or neuroscience.
