Psychological Health Benefits

Psilocybin mushrooms are catalysts for personal growth and have successfully helped treat a wide range of psychological disorders and conditions. With more and more studies demonstrating psilocybin’s high success rate, medical professionals and regulatory entities are feeling more inclined to fund research and disseminate results to mainstream media.

One of the reasons psilocybin-assisted treatment is so effective is because it impacts the brain’s neuroplasticity- the ability to learn, grow, and change. When the patient possesses a healthy brain and sound mind, the increased neuroplasticity allows the brain to reset and “cross-talk” between regions that otherwise normally would not communicate, ultimately changing and remodeling synaptic pathways. One common manifestation of this phenomenon could be acute synesthesia, a condition in which stimulation of one sensory system leads to the involuntary reaction of another, but usually only while using the substance. For example, some users experience tasting colors or seeing music. A more lasting benefit of this increased nerve myelination has recently been shown in a 2021 study where psilocybin increased neurodendritic nerve density within 24 hours and lasted up to, and theoretically persisted longer than, one month. These serotonergic psychedelics are able to exert antidepressant and anxiolytic effects due to their proven benefits as “psychoplastogens,” which effect the propagation of neuritogenesis (sprouting of neurites from a cell) in patients with high levels of stress, mood disorders, or treatment-resistant minds.

The psychological health benefits of psilocybin-assisted therapy are just beginning to be explored in the context of modern Western medicine. Though psychotherapeutic research is in its infancy, it has shown much promise for the future across various studies, especially for treatment-resistant patients. If done properly, the results can be life-changing. Some psychological and physiological conditions psilocybin mushrooms help treat include:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• End-of-life Anxiety
• OCD
• Cluster Headaches
• Substance Abuse
• Alcoholism
• Spiritual Well-being

It cannot be overstated that these interventions are not meant as the first or last step in a mental health journey, nor are they meant to be abused or thought of as a one-stop cure for a mental ailment. Rather, psychotherapy and traditional behavioral therapeutic methods are the bedrock for beginning work into self-help and introspective education. Learning mental avenues, states and phases of being, as well as different beneficial channels for personal growth are all parts of taking accountability for one’s self and investigating consciousness. Science concerning psychedelics and mental health are rapidly evolving and though these recent findings may sound like miracle cures it is to be understood that these are “not your grandfather’s” modalities of supplemental cures, but rather these are our ancient ancestors’ entheogenic medical treatments to address mental health problems and life issues at the source. They are not cure-alls and should not be misinterpreted through the scope of modern medicine and the credo of creating new drugs. Where Western culture is concerned, this is a culturally new concept that deserves integration into our current medical and psychiatric systems. This is not to discount what modern pharmaceutical tools can do, as they are also medicinally invaluable for treatment-resistant patients who have exhausted other options on their journey to increased mental health and have their place separately in psychopharmacology.

Psychotherapy, behavioral cognitive therapy, or talk therapy, is the most common form of psychiatric therapeutic intervention for mental ailments which cannot be treated with antipsychotic drug intervention, or can be conducted in tandem with such substances and interventions. To think of classical psychotherapy as integration therapy would be crude, as comparing the two medications and therapeutic approaches would be unfair due to a pharmacological perspective and the lasting-impact psychedelics have on one’s life. However, for the sake of psychotherapeutic field acuity, it is relevant to the evolution of understanding mental abnormalities or interactions with our hierarchy of being (subconscious and ego). This is similar to comparing a psychedelic to an SSRI which will mask or numb the problem as opposed to fixing and working through it.

Integrated therapy

Integrated therapy is an approach that uses evidence-based practices from multiple healing modalities to enhance conventional care. In terms of psychedelic integrated therapy, providers do not provide substances or sit with patients who have taken substances during integration sessions. Instead, they offer harm-reduction strategies and client-centered care. After a patient experiences a psychedelic trip on their own, they will attend a psychotherapy integration session where they talk about the ways in which the trip affected them and how to use those teachings in everyday life.

Shadow work

Shadow work is used to address and heal psycho-emotional wounds and cultivate self-awareness, personal growth, and healing. In psychology, a shadow is the unconscious part of one’s personality they do not identify with. For example, one’s shadow can be the dark side of their personality that was brought on as a result of certain traumas. By identifying and taking on one’s shadow, individuals can expect to heal themselves of the past and move forward in the future without burden. One can work with their shadow in many ways, from deep meditation to psychedelic-assisted therapy.