FAQs & Resources

The classic psychedelics psilocybin, dimethyltryptamine, and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), are all part of a group of psychoactive compounds that share serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonist properties and which, at adequate doses, can induce profound alterations in thought, perception, and emotion, together with experiences of ego dissolution or mystical-type experiences. Expanded states of consciousness offer a broader frame of reality than the everyday physical reality that we tend to experience. By accessing this greater awareness we can open up to an inner intelligence and be guided towards opportunities for healing and greater wholeness.

Psilocybin is the main natural ingredient found in over 200 species of psychoactive mushrooms. It has been used for millennia by some indigienous communities for healing and spiritual growth. Research from major institutions around the world has shown psilocybin therapy to be a promising clinical treatment tool for a wide range of mental and psychiatric diagnoses including anxiety, addiction to alcohol and other drugs, depression, end of life anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In increasing numbers, medical and mental health professionals are turning to psilocybin therapy as an effective and natural treatment with minimal side effects.

In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the prevalence of psychological distress, specifically emotional and existential, that patients often experience towards the end-of- life.

The concept that psychedelics might be beneficial as a therapeutic tool for these individuals has been supported by research carried out in the 1950’s and 1960’s and again during the last decade. In 2016, two landmark studies of synthetic psilocybin for the treatment of cancer-related anxiety and depression were published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology by research teams at New York University (NYU) and Johns Hopkins using the same study methodology. The results of both studies were impressive, if not profound: immediate reduction of anxiety and depressive symptoms in participants in the psilocybin group (as compared with active placebo group before crossover). At 6-month follow-up these reductions were largely maintained in both studies (though long-term results are limited by lack of a comparison group after crossover; Griffiths et al., 2016, Ross et al., 2016).

In a phenomenological analysis of interviews with patients in the NYU study, Belser et al. (2017) reported typical themes found in the majority of most transcripts: exalted feelings of joy, bliss, and love; embodiment; ineffability; alterations to identity; a movement from feelings of separateness to interconnectedness; experiences of transient psychological distress; the appearance of loved ones as guiding spirits; and sharing the experience with loved ones posttreatment.

Additional qualitative analyses of interviews with the NYU patients, which related specifically to their cancer experiences, identified themes of reconciliations with death, an acknowledgment of cancer’s place in life, and emotional uncoupling from cancer. . . . Psilocybin therapy helped facilitate a felt reconnection to life, a reclaiming of presence, and greater confidence in the face of cancer recurrence. (Swift et al., 2017). Ultimately, these sessions enabled the participants to have powerful psycho-spiritual experiences.

As a result of research findings, we believe that these unique medicines hold incredible potential to help those facing their mortality when used responsibly and carefully. Our H.O.M.E model will assist with the preparation and integration of the psychedelic experience but also give those who do not want to, or are not able to use psychedelic medicines access to the same experiences and insights using other methods.

In a word - no. Whilst we believe that psychedelic assisted therapy has much potential and promise, especially when it comes to helping people find meaning at the end of their lives, in the face of a life limiting disease or once they reach remission, they will not be able to be used by everyone and will not be desirable to lots of people. 

We are advocates for enabling people access to psychedelic therapy, if that is what they choose, and part of our work will be to campaign for compassionate access to psilocybin, but we also believe that there are many, many other techniques and methods of supporting an individual with psycho-spiritual care.