Community Based Psychedelic Healing
Written by Barry Alexander
One does not need to look far to discover someone directly impacted by the failings of the American mental health system. According to a recent study by Mental Health Million Project 2021 45% of adult Americans do not seek treatment for mental health conditions. The top reasons provided were little to no confidence in mental health treatments and a limited knowledge base, with respondents stating that they did not know what kind of help to seek or where to get it. A lack of confidence in mental health treatments represented 28% of respondents. The remaining reasons cited were a preference for self-help, lack of affordability/access, and stigma.
I certainly can relate to all of those reasons. I lost confidence in established health care systems when I sought treatment for anxiety and depression. While searching for better options, I came across the promising research being conducted on psychedelics at academic institutions around the globe -- a movement being called the psychedelic renaissance. Having experienced psychedelics in my youth, I was willing to try them in a healing capacity because mainstream treatments had all failed me.
Although I initially found cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) useful, its benefits decreased over time. Furthermore, talk therapy had little benefit in resolving my deep-seated traumas. My tightly held defenses and apprehension establishing trust with my therapists were holding me back, which is why I was not surprised to find that some studies question the relative effectiveness of talk therapy. Not only is the impact of current talk therapy methods questionable, but the effectiveness of standard antidepressants is underwhelming with many known limitations. "Even the very best treatments we have, don't work for everyone," says Daniel Strunk, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology at Ohio State University stated in regards to psychiatric medications. "Those considering antidepressant medications should be aware that trying an antidepressant often involves trying more than one drug."
Thankfully as more people speak out about mental health, stigma is becoming less of a barrier to seeking treatment. However what is still lacking in the standard model of mental health care is preventative care, treating the entirety of the person and the root of their suffering as opposed to treating and masking the symptoms. It’s as if we have forgotten the individual and the community in which they inhabit. The issues and struggles in each community and how they interact with everyone's unique histories and deep-seated traumas are not being adequately addressed.
The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated Americans' preexisting mental health crisis. According to recent reports from Mental Health America’s State of Mental Health America 2021, 19% (47.1 million) of people in the U.S. are living with a mental health condition, a 1.5 million increase over last year’s reported numbers. The same study found that 60% of youth with depression do not receive any mental health treatment. This reflects the importance of outreach and education in the mental health space.
Ineffective mental health treatments and the COVID-19 pandemic have also caused a dramatic increase in overdose fatalities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug overdoses soared to more than 93,000 in 2020, a 30% increase from 2019. While much of that increase can be attributed to the infiltration of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the illicit narcotics market, we must ask ourselves honest questions:
Could this also be because people are suffering and seeking relief?
Could psychedelic therapeutics have prevented people from abusing narcotics?
Does the current model of mental health care adequately meet the needs of people with addictions in areas that most need it? Are these services accessible and available in the first place?
Veterans are hit particularly hard by mental health issues and the inefficient systems currently in place. A 2020 report from the Department of Veterans Affairs shows that the suicide rate among veterans, adjusted for changes in the population’s age and sex, increased nearly 50% since 2005. In 2018, the veteran suicide rate was 27.5 suicide deaths per 100,000 people — equating to an average of 17.6 deaths nationwide per day. While there are several active groups like Heroic Hearts, Veterans Walk and Talk, and Veterans of War engaging with veterans to help curb this unsettling tide, there exists more demand for mental health healing than these organizations can sustainably handle.
With so many people suffering and in need of effective, accessible, and affordable mental health treatments, what alternatives exist if today’s standard of care is lacking? Fortunately, with the psychedelic renaissance underway and a renewed interest in psychedelic research and medicine, there is now increased media coverage of clinical trials. These medicines are being evaluated as alternatives to treat mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, and PTSD and findings have been consistently positive.
With the increased media exposure of alternative treatments, people will naturally ask, “Where can I find treatments as effective as the reported trials -- today?” The urgency demands an immediate solution, there is no time to wait for FDA approvals and not everyone can afford expensive psychedelic treatment centers located outside the United States. Can a community-based healing approach address this urgent need? Studies have found that change on a micro/local scale can develop sustainable and effective models for treating daily mental/physical health.
Community-Based Healing & Indigenous Practice
To address this unmet need, community-based healing has grown along with an underground network of psychedelic facilitators that have roots in indigenous traditions and entheogenic medicines. The movement has recently gained more momentum with an influx of new laws decriminalizing entheogens in several U.S. cities. Since flaws in the current mental health system are a major barrier to treatment, many people are turning to alternatives such as psilocybin, ayahuasca, and other traditional medicines.
It seems that modern science and medicine are returning to what indigenous cultures have understood for hundreds of years. These compounds help heal the human condition through experience and the integration of a “spiritual journey” or “state of enlightenment”.
Exemplifying community-based healing is the Decriminalize Nature movement, which started in Oakland, California with unanimous city council passage of a 2019 resolution to decriminalize natural plant and fungi-based entheogens. The resolution instructs Oakland law enforcement to deprioritize the investigation and arrest of individuals involved with entheogenic plants and fungi on the Federal Schedule I list. This list includes psilocybin mushrooms, iboga, ayahuasca, and mescaline-containing cacti.
The resolution was followed by the passage of an ordinance called the Oakland Community Healing Initiative (OCHI) in 2020. The ordinance created a regulatory framework enabling practitioners and facilitators to receive legal protections. In exchange for agreeing to abide by safe practice guidelines and principles, providers can use adaptable structures developed by leaders and experts in plant-based healing ceremonies. In freeing practitioners from the fear of harsh legal repercussions, medical professionals and clinical therapists are now able to utilize effective plant medicines in controlled settings. This change has opened up a plethora of possible treatment options for those in need and helps facilitate studies on maximizing the effectiveness of plant medicine.
The Oregon Psilocybin Services Act (Measure 109) is legislation that will legalize and regulate psilocybin for therapeutic use by individuals with or without a diagnosed indication. This means that individuals who are seeking personal or spiritual growth can use psilocybin without a diagnosis of depression, anxiety, or PTSD. Facilitators would be trained and licensed to administer psilocybin to patients seeking treatment. Oregon’s legislation is primarily focused on a clinical-based approach as opposed to the focus on community-led healing seen in the Oakland OCHI ordinance.
One distinct difference, and potential advantage, of community-based healing, is that it provides peer support. Peer support from the community at large has been shown to provide patients many benefits while seeking treatment for mental health and substance abuse. Connections within these support networks provide the necessary knowledge base and sharing of resources to help inform an individual's healing process. Supportive peer environments reduce self-stigma, empower patients/healers through hope, and are a source of increased social functioning.
Summary
Community-based healing is a response to the unprecedented need for effective mental healthcare treatment. The current standard of care in the U.S. mental health system has left the needs of many unmet and left many searching for solutions. Fortunately, community-based healing has arisen to meet this unprecedented deficit. Communities can more effectively reach people remotely and provide access to healing modalities in a culturally appropriate and peer-supportive environment. Community-based healing is rooted in indigenous knowledge and traditions, supporting the patient through a journey of healing Entheogenic plants and fungi coupled with psychological facilitation and community support can be a potent treatment option and a worthy pursuit if one has exhausted the standard clinical care options available to them.
