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Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy and Primary Care

Primary care is at the front lines of mental healthcare and may soon be at the forefront of psychedelic-assisted therapy. For more on this topic, we invite you to watch our webinar “Psychedelics and Primary Care,” which was moderated by the author.  By Darron Smith Primary care medicine is the bedrock of the healthcare system: it plays a vital role...

Psychedelics and Primary Care Virtual Panel: REGISTER NOW!

Registration for our virtual panel on is now open, but space is limited. [maxbutton id="8" url="https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4UXnX6OCSOanSDyLa1klNw" text="REGISTER NOW!" ] Panel: Psychedelics and Primary Care  Primary care is at the front lines of our mental health crisis and is often the first point of contact for patients struggling with ...

Kathleen's Story

BrainFutures spoke with a real patient from a psilocybin-assisted therapy study to learn about the lived experiences behind the data on psychedelics. This is Kathleen's story. Kathleen is no stranger to depression, and usually “tends to see the negative side of life really easily.” So when Kathleen was first diagnosed with lymphoma, she found herself t...

Psychedelics in Palliative Care: Revealing and healing end-of-life distress

Written by guest writer Abbie Rosner For palliative care physician Lou Lukas, alleviating patients’ physical discomfort is the easy part. But when it comes to easing the existential fear, anxiety, and depression catalyzed by a terminal diagnosis, administering opioids and anti-depressants can dull—but not relieve—the root cause of the pain.   �...

Youth Executive Function and the COVID-19 Pandemic

What is Executive Function?  Every child must acquire fundamental life skills to successfully manage their schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and relationships. As they age, these skills carry them throughout life as they pursue higher education, join the workforce, and manage their adult relationships and physical and mental health. These abilit...

Press Release: The Future of the Field

Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Needs Innovation Psychedelic-assisted therapy is a promising new treatment paradigm, but it is costly and resource-intensive Innovation is needed to lower the expected cost and enhance the quality of psychedelic-assisted therapy The field must find ways to improve access to these groundbreaking treatments [videopack id="...

Context Matters in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy

If you have ever read or heard anything about psychedelics, you have most likely heard about “set and setting.” This term refers to internal and external elements that can impact a psychedelic experience. It was popularized by Timothy Leary in the 1960s, but the concept has been observed in indigenous and spiritual practices with psychedelics since the pr...

Therapeutic Alliance and Trust in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy

After decades of prohibition—even in tightly-controlled research settings—psychedelics are finally being explored in research institutions and clinical settings around the world. Research suggests that psychedelic compounds like MDMA and psilocybin, in combination with psychotherapeutic support, can cause transformative experiences for patients and potentiall...

The Evidence for Psychedelic Medicine

The United States is experiencing a long-standing mental health crisis. One in five U.S. adults experience mental illness each year, and 17 percent of individuals experience mental illness before reaching adulthood. The need for effective, long-term relief is clear, yet there has been limited progress in effective pharmacologic treatment for most behavioral healt...

BrainFutures Launches Multi-Part Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Initiative

BrainFutures, a citizen advocacy nonprofit dedicated to improving human outcomes by assessing and advancing the practical applications of new scientific understanding of the brain, announces the launch of an issue brief series and coalition building effort focused on psychedelic-assisted therapy.  Psychedelic-assisted therapies hold promise for treating some of...