DeepSummary
This episode features an interview with psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr. Dave Rabin about the role of psychedelics in treating mental health conditions like depression and PTSD. He explains how psychedelics amplify awareness and activate neural pathways related to emotional processing and safety, allowing patients to process trauma in a therapeutic setting. Dr. Rabin contrasts this mechanism with conventional psychiatric medications that merely numb or stabilize symptoms.
The conversation touches on a recent FDA advisory committee vote recommending against approving MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD treatment, which Dr. Rabin sees as a setback despite promising clinical trial results. He expresses concern about the impact on patient trust in the medical system and hopes the FDA will conduct a full review recognizing the treatment's potential benefits.
Dr. Rabin also discusses his involvement in researching the epigenetic effects of psychedelic therapy and his journey from a young age questioning the nature of consciousness and reality. He advocates for further research and a legal framework to ensure safe, regulated access to these potentially paradigm-shifting treatments.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Psychedelics like psilocybin, MDMA, and LSD show promising results in treating mental health conditions like depression and PTSD by amplifying neural pathways related to emotional processing and safety.
- Psychedelic-assisted therapy appears to promote lasting remission of symptoms through just a few doses combined with therapy, working differently than conventional psychiatric medications.
- A recent FDA advisory committee vote against approving MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD highlights regulatory hurdles despite compelling clinical evidence of efficacy.
- There is an urgent need for innovative, effective treatments for conditions like PTSD given the lack of new FDA-approved medications in decades.
- Access to regulated psychedelic therapy is currently limited, necessitating a legal framework to ensure safety and proper therapeutic protocols.
- More research into the mechanisms and potential of psychedelic medicine is crucial to advancing the field and bringing new paradigm-shifting treatments to patients.
- Experiences questioning the nature of reality and consciousness from a young age put Dr. Dave Rabin on a path to studying neuroscience and psychedelics.
- Psychedelic therapy aims to help patients reframe traumatic events through a perspective of safety, rather than merely numbing or stabilizing symptoms.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “So ketamine is the only legal medicine, but the way they generally work is they amplify awareness.“ by Dave Rabin
- “If the results are the results, as far as I'm concerned, it goes without saying, like, this is not an if situation. This needs to be a when situation.“ by Dave Rabin
- “You know, like our SSRI's, like Paxil and Zoloft are our only two FDA clear drugs for PTSD, and we've had them for 25 years without a new one.“ by Dave Rabin
- “I was blown away by the quality of the science and the way that these results were really starting to look like paradigm shifting results for the field of psychiatry. And we could actually start to get to the root cause of what's going on underneath some of the layers of mental illness.“ by Dave Rabin
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Episode Information
Well, Now
Slate Podcasts
6/26/24
For years, psychiatrists have been researching new methods to help people with treatment-resistant mental illness. These include severe cases of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other debilitating diagnoses.
One type of drug has seen some positive results in clinical trials: psychedelics like psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine, and LSD.
In professional medical settings, they’re used as a part of a multifaceted approach to mental health treatment, including supervised therapy sessions while a patient is on a drug.
Recently the pharmaceutical manufacturer Lykos petitioned the FDA to approve the psychedelic MDMA as a part of caring for treatment-resistant PTSD.
Earlier this month, an advisory committee to the FDA released their vote of rejecting to approve the drug.
Now it’s up to the FDA to make the final call, but the odds are not in the favor of Lykos and many psychiatrists and patients who’ve seen positive outcomes as a result of these MDMA-assisted trials.
Psychiatrist and entrepreneur Dave Rabin is one of the doctors pushing to approve psychedelic-assisted therapy.
On this week’s episode of Well, Now we ask him about the results of his trials using psychedelics in therapy as well as what he thinks the future holds for this field as we wait for the FDA’s final verdict.
If you liked this episode, check out: “As Little Regulation As Guns”: How Social Media Hurts Youth Mental Health
Well, Now is hosted by Dr. Kavita Patel and registered dietitian nutritionist Maya Feller.
Editing and podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry, with support this week from Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola.
Editorial oversight from Alicia Montgomery, Vice President of Slate Audio.
Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to wellnow@slate.com.
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