Psilocybin-assisted Therapy: Patient Experiences
Episode Notes & Resources
Welcome to the second episode in our series on the potential of psilocybin-assisted therapy to help us live as well as possible with metastatic breast cancer.
In this episode, we talk to two women with breast cancer who had legal access to psilocybin-assisted therapy. Journalist and writer Erica Rex participated in a clinical trial at Johns Hopkins after being diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. Maari Singfield, a young Canadian woman living with MBC, gained access through an exemption to Section 56(1) of the Canadian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, a process facilitated by the organization, TheraPsil.
Both women shared with us the process that they went through to gain legal access to psilocybin-assisted therapy, what the treatment was actually like for them, and what, if anything, changed in their lives afterward.
The experiences of other cancer patients with psilocybin-assisted therapy
Videos:
Clark Martin, Ph.D., speaks on how his psilocybin-assisted therapy through a clinical trial at Johns Hopkins helped him to cope with his cancer diagnosis
Estalyn Walcoff speaks about her psilocybin-assisted therapy through NYU after being diagnosed with an untreatable lymphoma
Tony Head was living with metastatic prostate cancer when he participated in Johns Hopkins clinical trial on psilocybin-assisted therapy
Annie Levy, Ph.D., speaks on her participation in the UCLA-Harbor clinical trial on psilocybin-assisted therapy after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer
Thomas Hartle, a metastatic cancer patient after his legal access to psilocybin: “Having cancer feels like being dragged behind a horse…it’s out of your control. Maybe this [experience after psilocybin assisted therapy] would be a little closer to riding the horse as opposed to being dragged by it. You know, we’re still on the horse. We’re still going places, but it’s not as out of control”
“I feel like death doesn’t frighten me”. Psychedelics help a cancer patient overcome anxiety (60 minutes) Kerry Pappas, stage 4 lung cancer patient, talked about her psilocybin-assisted therapy experience at Johns Hopkins
to see more videos, please see Heffter Research Institute’s video page
Popular press articles:
One man’s psychedelic journey to confront his (metastatic) cancer (WebMD)
Mona Strelaeff, 67, used PSP to deal with lasting depression after a breast cancer diagnosis.
Academic articles:
Malone TC., Mennenga SE., Guss J, et al. (2018) Individual Experiences in Four Cancer Patients Following Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy. Frontiers in Pharmacology. Vol 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2018.00256
Belser AB, Agin-Liebes G, Swift TC, et al. (2017) Patient Experiences of Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Journal of Humanistic Psychology. 2017;57(4):354-388. doi:10.1177/0022167817706884
Legal access for advanced cancer patients in Canada through the Special Access Program is facilitated by the organization TheraPsil.
Frequently asked questions
Support for current legal battle
Current & upcoming cancer-related clinical trials on psilocybin-assisted therapy
Study of Psilocybin Enhanced Group Psychotherapy in Patients With Cancer (HOPE)
Pragmatic Trial of Psilocybin Therapy in Palliative Care (PT2PC) (Not yet recruiting as of June 2022)
Psilocybin Therapy in Advanced Cancer (Not yet recruiting as of June 2022)
The Safety and Efficacy of Psilocybin in Cancer Patients With Major Depressive Disorder (Active but no longer recruiting)
Psilocybin for Psychological and Existential Distress in Palliative Care (Canada)
Meet the Guests of this Episode
Maari Singfield
Maari recently completed her Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville
University and received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Saint Francis Xavier
University in 2016. She has worked as a producer, project manager and communications
officer in various tech start-ups and government departments. In 2019, Maari was
diagnosed with breast cancer and has been battling it since. The diagnosis set her on a
path of deep learning about a wide range of alternative therapies and taught her about the
importance of self-advocacy in the healthcare system. Maari currently lives in Aylmer QC,
with her fiance Jack and their dogs Bo and Fitz.
Erica Rex
Erica is an award-winning journalist, bringing her impressive 20+ years of medical and journalistic experience to the world of psychedelic medicine. She is deeply embedded in the field of psychedelic research, writing for prestigious publications such as Scientific American, The New York Times and Psychedelics Today on the re-emergence of psychedelic medicine. She converses regularly with the top researchers in the field in both Britain and the US. She regularly gives invited talks about her experience as a patient and thought leader on psychedelic medicine trials to professional conferences and federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health. She’s been interviewed on NPR, Sky News, and other news outlets. Her work lends a unique female perspective to the male-dominated field of psychedelic medicine, telling the story of psychedelic renaissance from two perspectives: patient/subject and highly accomplished science journalist.
Erica’s portrait is by photojournalist Pete Kiehart.
Calming a Turbulent Mind (Scientific American)
The Power of Psychedelics (Scientific American)
Could the Sonoran Desert Toad Cure Narcissism? (Psychedelics Today)
Clinical Trials and Spontaneous Mystical Experiences (Psychedelics Today podcast)
A Breast Cancer Patient’s Perspectives on the Uses of Psychedelics in Medicine *(Erica’s talk starts at 1:04:41 and lasts about 44 minutes)
