Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies: Upcoming Moves In Montana, Colorado And Ontario

While psychedelics are still listed as Schedule I substances making them illegal under federal law, companies across North America are preparing to address patients’ needs in the hopefully upcoming psychedelics-assisted therapies (PAT) scenario.

Ketamine Treatment Center Opens In Missoula, MT

The Harvest Psychedelic Treatment & Wholeness Center is Missoula’s new wellness clinic offering ketamine-assisted therapy (KAP) through oral or intramuscular administration.

Ketamine, commonly referred to as a psychedelic although a Schedule III substance is legal and therefore used as an effective treatment for mental health conditions including anxiety, PTSD, OCD and addiction in an increasing number of clinics.

Importantly, while it may hold side effects such as nausea, dizziness and changes in sensory perceptions or hallucinations, no reports of addiction after ketamine treatment have been reported. 

The Harvest model involves preparation, KAP and integration therapy sessions. Patients are invited to work with a team of licensed medical and therapeutic professionals to create a customized treatment plan to address their individual needs and set goals in order to take full advantage of the neuroplasticity obtained from the psychedelic journeys. 

Co-founders Peterson and Burke explained that ketamine administration is not meant to be indefinite and that by combining it with therapy plus other healing modalities, such as reiki, art healing sessions, massage therapy, yoga and breathwork, they aim to help patients find a new path for their lives.

Yampa Valley Clinics Get Ready For Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy

Training for psychedelic-assisted therapy is moving forward at Minds in Motion care clinic as Colorado voters recently passed Prop. 122 creating healing centers offering psilocybin treatments as well as decriminalizing possession of natural psychedelics.

The Steamboat Springs facility intends to have its licensed psilocybin services ready by 2024 when the new legislation is expected to be implemented. Toward that goal and to have the proper regulatory structure, to-be providers at Minds in Motion are commencing their training sessions at MAPS. 

Univ. of Colorado school of medicine’s center for novel therapeutics director Prof. Scott Thompson who works on psychedelics research believes that they hold incredible promise as medicines, particularly psychedelic mushrooms as research shows minimal side effects and a “remarkably” safe, non-addictive profile. 

Thompson added that “talk therapy” included in the new statewide legislation is beneficial and essential. Minds in Motion clinical mental health counselor Cristen Malia agrees.

As psychedelic mushroom journeys bring about traumatic, “hard stuff” to deal with, Malia believes experience can be effective if delivered appropriately and supportively. “There is a lot of uncertainty now about how we can offer it, but it’s moving in the right direction,” she said.

Kingston Wellness Center Is Getting Community Psychedelic-Assisted Programs Ready

Neuma is Kingston, Ontario’s new facility aiming to bring healing and growth through community and psychedelic medicines.

The treatment offer entails legal “psychedelic sampler classes” that include mindfulness, music and breathwork with medicinal cannabis. That is, through 3-hour classes, participants are introduced to a “psychedelic experience” in a safe and group setting.

Co-founder Cory Firth stated that Neuma’s focus is set on the integration of psychedelics in a community setting. 

“We feel that psychedelics should be built inside of a container of group connection and community, not just one on one with a therapist. A lot of magic happens within the group container, and there’s a lot of research that shows group therapy and group coaching can really have a benefit on the individuals,” he said.

Neuma aims to insert itself within the Kingston community, particularly among students who might end up being the first cohort of psychedelic practitioners. Furthermore, the center is actively involved in providing sampler classes for different populations such as frontline health workers. 

“We think this is a really accessible alternative to that current experience for those on the frontline to help with a lot of the fatigue, stress, and burnout that’s happened over the last two years on that entire health care system,” Firth added.

Another of Neuma’s major goals is to help people better understand and deal with emotions to increase their resiliency and build skills for themselves to help improve their mental health symptoms.

“Psychedelics have the potential of not being this constant pill we pop, but a tool to be able to teach people how to take some sovereignty back into their health and wellness practices,” said the co-founder. 

Neuma’s clinical director Richard Tyo added that “the psychedelic way of healing” involves moving towards the symptom and dealing with the root causes. 

Nonetheless, these substances should be understood as an ally to help move toward one's intention and not as a definitive solution. “Without tempering that, you’re just going to have another sense of loss,” Tyo concluded.

Photo courtesy of Tim Swaan on Unsplash.