Psychedelic-Enhanced Psychotherapy Clinic Opens In Toronto

Field Trip Health, a wholly owned subsidiary of Field Trip Psychedelics, a mental wellness company focused on psychedelics and psychedelic-enhanced psychotherapy, debuted its first medical center in Toronto on Wednesday. The center will be dedicated exclusively to the administration of psychedelic-enhanced psychotherapy.

The clinic intends to provide an alternative to people seeking mental health treatment, in a context where many finde current pharmacologic options (like antidepressants) pretty ineffective.

Re-Branding Ketamine

The first psychedelic that will be administered to patients at Field Trip's clinic, in conjunction with the company's custom-developed psychotherapy protocol, is ketamine.

Ketamine is a dissociative psychedelic that the former director of the National Institute of Mental Health described as “the most important breakthrough in antidepressant treatment in decades.” His statement was based on evidence showing Ketamine is safe, provides almost immediate and enduring relief from depression symptoms, and improves neuroplasticity.

Most people probably best know ketamine as a party drug or an animal sedative.

“The opening of the first Field Trip centre in Toronto represents a pivotal moment in the treatment of depression, anxiety and PTSD. It brings psychedelic medicine to the forefront of mental health care and well-being,” said Ronan Levy, Executive Chairman of Field Trip. “Our clinic and patient experiences have been designed from the ground up to deliver the best therapeutic outcomes... We believe that psychedelic medicine will fundamentally alter the way mental health challenges are approached globally, and we are happy to be playing an important part of this movement.”

The opening follows Field Trip’s announcement of an oversubscribed Series A financing round that raised $8.5 million for the company. Those funds will be used to execute the initial stages of Field Trip's strategic plan to build out its network of medical centers in Toronto as well as in the U.S. with clinics in New York and Los Angeles set to open later this year.

Additionally, the financing will help fund the final construction of its research and cultivation facility at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica that is dedicated to the study of psilocybin-producing mushrooms and the discovery of novel therapeutic molecules.