Researchers are exploring how psilocybin can help healthcare workers recover from COVID burnout

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The University of Washington is partnering with psychedelic biotech company Cybin to investigate whether magic mushrooms can help treat health workers suffering from COVID-related ailments.

According to a recent survey published by The Lancet’s EclinicalMedicine, 49 percent of healthcare workers currently suffer from burnout. Of more than 20,000 respondents, 61 percent also said they were afraid of contracting the virus, 43 percent said they were overworked and 38 percent said they suffered from anxiety or depression.

The University of Washington, in partnership with Cybin, will conduct a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial to investigate how psilocybin-assisted therapy could help support frontline health professionals during this time of crisis. This research will specifically focus on treating symptoms of anxiety, burnout, depression, and PTSD among doctors, nurses, and other frontline health professionals.

Dr. Anthony Back, a physician and professor of oncology and medicine at the University of Washington, will serve as the primary investigator in the new study. The study will take place in Seattle, a city hard hit by an early outbreak of the virus.

“There is tremendous potential in a collaboration between the University of Washington and Cybin to advance the field, and this project is an incredibly valuable first step towards a productive future,” said Dr. Back in a statement.

To aid in this research, Cybin’s Chief Clinical Officer, Dr. Alex Belser, and PhD student Bill Brennan developed a transdiagnostic psychotherapy model called EMBARK. Doug Drysdale, CEO of Cybin, describes EMBARK as “a breakthrough model of psychotherapy that aims to deliver proven, supportive healing associated with psychedelic therapeutics”.

“Our country’s doctors, nurses and clinicians have carried the burden of COVID-19 by caring for the sickest among us,” said Dr. Belser in a statement. “You experience high levels of anxiety, depression and burnout. Now it’s our turn to help them. We are funding research to find out whether psychedelic medicine combined with supportive therapy from EMBARK can help clinicians recover from COVID-related stress. “

While this is the first study to specifically focus on frontline clinicians suffering from COVID-related stress, previous research studies have shown that psilocybin and other psychedelics are effective at treating many of the symptoms these professionals deal with can. Recent studies report that even a single dose of psilocybin can reduce anxiety for up to five years, and other research has shown that magic mushrooms can treat depression more effectively than ketamine or traditional antidepressants.