UK university is creating a postgraduate course in clinical psychedelics

The University of Exeter, a UK university, is launching one of the world’s first postgraduate qualifications in psychedelics, the Guardian reports. Titled Psychedelics: Mind, Medicine and Culture, the program aims to capitalize on Exeter’s highly acclaimed Psychedelics Research Center by sharing its expertise through training sessions with therapists, mental health advocates, medical professionals and anyone else in the psychedelics field . The University of Exeter recently unveiled the plans at Europe’s largest psychedelics conference, the Breaking Convention.

The “psychedelic renaissance” is taking place worldwide. Australia established itself as the first country to allow psychiatrists to prescribe psychedelics for treatment-resistant depression. And now we can appreciate other efforts like the University of Exeter’s education across the pond. In the United States, this is evident in ketamine-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant depression, in the legalization efforts of psilocybin therapy in states like Oregon and Colorado, in the soon-to-be secured legal status of MDMA as a treatment for PTSD. Of course, keep in mind that indigenous cultures, like their relationship with peyote, have consistently recognized the spiritual benefits of psychedelic therapy, so the word “Renaissance” is always used with a caveat.

With that in mind, everyone is talking about mental health as a result of the pandemic, whether they are struggling and looking for the right treatment or want to help others through psychedelics (or both). As such, any help in normalizing the psychedelics community is appreciated. This is especially true when the information is science-rooted and aimed at communities that need it most, e.g. B. those who treat mentally ill patients such.

With the growing interest and new (by our standards) acceptance of psychedelic medicine, the Guardian reports that the psychedelic healthcare market will be worth $8.3 billion by 2028. Psychedelics: Mind, Medicine and Culture aims to train medical personnel how to safely work with psilocybin, LSD, MDMA and other psychoactive drugs in therapeutic work to ensure money gets the best outcome for patients.

In addition to successfully disseminating scientifically recognized information about psychedelics through the creation of a certificate on the subject with support from the prestigious Exeter University, this program aims to gain the confidence of outside parties in the safety and efficacy of psychedelics-assisted therapies. Psychedelics: Mind, Medicine, and Culture also aims to pave the way for other programs and create a blueprint that could help introduce new therapies that will become available over the next five years as treatments reach their final stages of development complete clinical trials.

Celia Morgan, Professor of Psychopharmacology at the University of Exeter and co-lead of the programme, said: “As the world wakes up to the potential of psychedelics to become an important part of the toolbox to treat some of our most damaging mental health conditions, it is vitally important that.” we train the workforce to meet demand. The global body of high-quality evidence is now irrefutable – psychedelics can work where other treatments have failed.”

Morgan made sure that the main challenges in accessing psychedelic mental health care were legal rather than medical risks. She continued, “This shows how far we have come from the fear and stigma that has dogged this field for years, a shift that is also being reflected in leading universities around the world conducting gold-standard clinical trials… we remain optimistic that this could change in the UK as the evidence builds, as is the case in countries such as the US and Australia.”

The University of Exeter’s postgraduate program incorporates existing psychedelic therapies, psychiatry and neuroscience and philosophy, in addition to exploring the importance of decolonizing psychedelic research.