High hopes

HEALTH

The promise of psychedelic psychotherapy.

It is often a traumatic choice when faced with treating terminally ill patients. The wait is agonising for both sufferers and caregivers. There is still no miracle cure to offer them a ray of hope, but it looks like the care of such patients will soon get better.

Psychedelic psychotherapy has had its share of controversies. Its advocates gained visibility in the 1970s when they said that hallucinogenic agents could have a role in treating ailments. They are used in treating disorders of the mind, although they are resorted to only after exhaustive deliberation.

But, arguing in favour of making this treatment more common, the proponents have often traced history to claim that “elements of psychotherapeutic practice can be recognised in the entheogenic or shamanic rituals of many cultures”. The therapy has been used sometimes to treat alcohol addicts, but the results are a mixed bag.

The first scientific trials were conducted on the effectiveness of psychedelic psychotherapy in the 1970s by Swiss researchers. Today, it is the prestigious Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and Johns Hopkins that are lending their voice to the chorus. In a new set of exhaustive trials, the researchers used MDMA (acronym for the popular party drug Ecstasy), to experimentally treat symptoms of terminally ill cancer patients and those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

At Harbor-UCLA they used psilocybin to help patients cope with the pain that comes with terminal cancer. Actions of agents like LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), psilocybin and mescaline (the active ingredient in the peyote cactus) on the brain are quite well understood by science.

They stick to the chemical receptors on nerve cells leading to altered states of consciousness, perception and mood — which is known as the “trip”. Their findings, along with Johns Hopkins, showed that among volunteers in laboratory conditions, everyone had an increased sense of “feeling good”.

Thus, researchers say, by “expanding consciousness during a session on the drug, the patient is able to comprehend their thoughts and feelings from a new perspective”. This, it is hoped, can lead to a release of negative emotions that will leave them in a much more positive state of mind.

A word of caution, though: this research is yet to be published and is based purely on anecdotal reports from volunteers. But it must be said this is one study that comes with a feel-good factor for a very genuine reason.