9. The Promise of Psychedelics | Dr. Keith Heinzerling & Louie Schwartzberg

Addiction and depression are two of the most widespread conditions in all of medicine. After decades of research, doctors are still looking for alternatives for when medication and cognitive training don’t work, which is all too often. Dr. Dan Kelly, one of the founders of the Pacific Neuroscience Institute, thinks there is a game-changer in our midst: psilocybin. Better known as the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, psilocybin has demonstrated staggering results for people trying to kick alcoholism, relieve depression and PTSD, and master the existential dread that comes at the end of life. Addiction medicine specialist Dr. Keith Heinzerling runs PNI’s new Treatment & Research in Psychedelics program (TRIP). Starting in December 2020, consented and eligible patients will be given psilocybin for Alcohol Use Disorder in a controlled, clinical trials setting, and integrate the experience through talk therapy sessions afterward. National Geographic film-maker and psychedelic expert Louie Schwartzberg consults with TRIP at PNI, to offer patients the option of viewing his time-lapse cinematography during their treatment to augment the experience. Schwartzberg introduced many people to the new thinking about psilocybin in his acclaimed 2019 film Fantastic Fungi. Think Neuro sat down with Heinzerling and Schwartzberg to talk about the promise of psychedelic treatments and how they are likely to change the lives of people struggling with intractable addiction, depression, and PTSD. For more information: PacificTRIP.org