A pioneering clinic in the emerging field of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is set to become the first healthcare facility in Quebec to legally treat depression with psilocybin, the hallucinogenic compound found in certain mushrooms.
For Dr Andrew Bui-Nguyen, of the Mindspace by Numinus clinic, “it is a privilege to be able to accompany people in the exploration of their psychological distress and to offer something different from conventional treatments such as antidepressants”.
Mr Bui-Nguyen said his clinic received approval from Health Canada on May 5 to care for a patient who had undergone several unsuccessful treatments for depression.
He added that the patient selection procedure is rigorous and that the Quebec health insurance plan does not cover the treatment.
“We look at the diagnosis, the medical history, if there is a risk of addiction, what treatments have already been tried […] Several treatments must have been done beforehand, so the application is solid. »
On January 5, Health Canada reinstated its “Special Access Program” — abolished under former Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2013 — allowing healthcare experts to request access to restricted drugs whose sale is not permitted. has not yet been authorized in the country.
Before January, people could only access psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy through clinical trials or medical exemptions. Now, certified experts can file claims on behalf of patients with mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety, but for whom conventional treatments have failed.
Health Canada says it has received 15 requests for the use of psilocybin or MDMA — a psychedelic drug with stimulant properties — since the program resumed.
In April, a clinic called Roots To Thrive in Nanaimo, British Columbia, became the first health center in Canada to offer a legal psilocybin group therapy program.
Thomas Hartle is among those who took part.
He says that when he indulges in a psilocybin treatment session, the end-of-life anxiety, distractions, and noises associated with his terminal colon cancer go away.
“Before the treatment, it’s like sitting in your car. It’s summer. You have the windows down, you’re stuck in rush hour traffic, it’s noisy […] It’s unpleasant,” said the Saskatchewan resident.
“Your favorite song is on the radio, but you can’t really enjoy it, because all the other distractions prevent you from even noticing that the radio is on. After a psilocybin treatment, (it’s like) you’re still in your car, in traffic, but you have the windows open, the air conditioning on and it’s quiet. It’s just you and the music. »
“The therapy part has a capital T in this whole process,” Hartle said. “It’s not just about taking psychedelics. It’s just a tool in the process; therapy is crucial to achieve a good outcome. »
Dr. Bui-Nguyen explained that psychedelic-assisted treatment requires several therapy sessions before patients experience the drug, and then more afterward. Patients will consume psilocybin under the supervision of two psychotherapists and remain in the clinic’s secure environment for up to six hours.
“It’s not miraculous,” Dr. Bui-Nguyen said. “You don’t take psilocybin and that’s it, a psychedelic trip and then the depression is over — no! The patient has a lot of work to do. But it opens up perspectives; it creates new pathways in the brain that we are not used to taking. The patient then explores new ways to get out of the depression. »
In the world’s largest study on the effect of psychedelics on the brain, published in March in the journal ‘Science Advances’, lead author Danilo Bzdok said psychedelic drugs may be the next big thing that will improve the clinical treatment of major mental health problems.
“There’s something like a renaissance, a revival of psychedelics,” Bzdok, an associate professor in McGill University’s department of biomedical engineering, said in a recent interview.
He said the evidence-based benefits are very promising. Patients, he said, report experiencing up to six months of lasting effects after a single session of psychedelic-assisted therapy. They also experienced a reduction in symptoms associated with mental health problems, Bzdok said, adding that there were fewer side effects compared to antidepressants.
Mindspace by Numinus CEO Payton Nyquvest said psychedelics have the potential to become mainstream treatment. As Health Canada continues to approve more applications, it hopes recognition will make treatment much more accessible.
“We haven’t seen significant innovation in mental health care for probably over 40 years,” Nyquvest said in a recent interview.
“We are in a time when new and better treatments for mental health are needed more than ever. No matter what you look at, depression, anxiety and suicidality […] these are all rates that continue to rise with no clear guidelines on how we are going to solve these huge societal problems. Psychedelics represent an opportunity to have a significant impact. »
Mr. Hartle’s own experience echoed those hopes. “Improving my mental health is so day and night that it would be hard to say how much it does for me,” he said.
“I still have cancer. I still struggle with what he does to me physically, but there are days when I don’t even think about it. What would you do to have a day where you just felt normal? »
This article was produced with the financial support of the Meta Fellowships and The Canadian Press for News.