Season 2 Episode 01: Psilocybin at the End of Life with Dr. Paul Thambi
I remember the day my dad called me to tell me that I should come home. My mom was not getting better. There is something to be said about the mental state one goes into upon receiving a potentially terminal diagnosis. Everything changes in this one instance, when the end of life turns from an if, a possibility far off in the future, to a when with a ticking clock. It goes way beyond the physical symptoms that go along with a disease and has more to do with the feelings and emotions, the worry and isolation one might feel at this point in life.
Unfortunately traditional medicine pays little to no regard to the mental state of a patient, while all efforts focus on the physical needs.
But in recent years scientific studies have turned their attention to a humble little mushroom in search of a solution. I am talking about Magic Mushrooms. Their active component, Psilocybin, might be the answer to alleviating emotional distress and depression at the end of life.
I cannot even explain how exciting this subject is to me. When my mom was in hospital with cancer, I wish we had had that option. It might have made everything a lot easier – for her, for me and my dad. Who knows.
What I do know is that mental health problems are rising worldwide – not only at the end of life - and we must realize that our current traditional Mental Health models continue to fail our most vulnerable populations. Alternative approaches such as psychedelic psychotherapy with psychedelics such as psilocybin, MDMA or Ketamine have a huge potential and often alleviate symptoms with a single dose in a controlled environment.
Dr. Paul Thambi
In this episode I am speaking to Dr. Paul Thambi. As a medical oncologist for over 20 years, Paul witnessed the emotional distress his patients suffered upon diagnosis and during treatment, which led him to explore the benefits of psychedelic therapies to address the emotional and mental health of his patients fighting cancer. He is also the Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Sunstone Therapies. Sunstone is focused on developing psychedelic therapies and building modern centers of healing, treating mind and heart along with the physical body.
Links and Resources for this episode:
Medicine: Mushroom Madness
An article in Time Magazine from 1958 detailing Albert Hofmann’s discovery of LSD and his subsequent work with psilocybin in collaboration with Gordon Wasson.
Bill Richards
As Chief Therapist, Bill oversees Sunstone’s team of therapists and its training programs. He is a psychologist in the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, a consultant/trainer at sites of psychedelic research internationally, a teacher in the Program of Psychedelic Therapy and Research at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and also a clinician in private practice in Baltimore. From 1967 to 1977, he pursued psychotherapy research with LSD, DPT, MDA and psilocybin at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, including protocols designed to investigate the promise of psychedelic substances in the treatment of alcoholism, depression, narcotic addiction and the psychological distress associated with terminal cancer, and also their use in the training of religious and mental-health professionals. His book, Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences was released in English by Columbia University Press in 2016 and has since been translated into five additional languages.
Michael Pollan
For more than thirty years, Michael Pollan has been writing books and articles about the places where the human and natural worlds intersect: on our plates, in our farms and gardens, and in our minds. Pollan is the author of eight books, six of which have been New York Times bestsellers; three of them (including his latest, How to Change Your Mind) were immediate #1 New York Times bestsellers. Four-part series based on How to Change Your Mind (2022) is streaming on Netflix.
The Controlled Substances Act
One of the biggest obstacles in the research and development of therapies involving psychedelics is the Controlled Substances Act, which shut down the first phase of psychedelic research.
Books to dive deeper into the subject
