Vision

Psychedelics are powerful agents that can be used for many purposes. As a psychedelic coach, I feel comfortable working with psilocybin truffles when they are used for personal growth, for stimulating creativity or to feel more connected with people or one's environment. For healthy people who have one or several of these motivations for exploring an altered state of consciousness, I think psilocybin truffles are safe and suitable to use in the setting that I facilitate.

I also believe that psychedelics could help to alleviate many psychiatric conditions. In many cases, the combination of psychedelics and therapy (also called "psychedelics assisted psychotherapy") seems to be a more promising route than conventional psychiatric treatment. However: I do not guide psychedelic sessions for people with mental health issues. Some other psychedelic guides out there do.... and claim, for example, to be able to help people with PSTD.  Please read on if you want to know why I think this is irresponsible and dangerous.

Therapy with Psychedelic Truffles?

I believe psychedelics assisted psychotherapy holds great promise for dealing with a trauma, treating an addiction or attachment disorder. But the material that can emerge during such psychedelic sessions can be so intense and complex, and the session potentially so disruptive, that it takes an extensive arsenal of therapeutic skills to manage it. Without a qualified psychotherapist- who's also especially trained for psychedelics assisted therapy - patients' safety is at stake.

Several facilitators in the Netherlands offer guided psychedelic sessions to people with mental illness. In my opinion, this is not only unethical, but also dangerous. More often than not, such facilitators are not trained or qualified to work with serious psychological problems. During my work in psychedelic harm reduction at festivals (which comes down to helping people with "bad trips"), I have seen up close how irresponsible use of psychedelics can turn into very dangerous situations. Taking truffles with an unqualified 'therapist' while you have a serious trauma, does not equate with a safe setting. It equates with irresponsible use - for which the guide is to blame.

As an advocate of scientific research into psychedelics, I am extremely pleased with the influx of academic interest in these substances. I fear that unqualified individuals who "treat" serious disorders with psychedelics such as magic truffles, ayahuasca or iboga, could jeopardize the progress of scientific research into these substances.

Licensed therapists cannot legally work with psilocybin in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, there are no licensed healthcare practitioners who are legally allowed to work with psilocybin and / or truffles - outside the context of experimental studies. Research is currently being conducted into the use of psychedelics in treatments for a  number of mental disorders. The preliminary results of the studies are very promising and there is a great chance that substances such as psilocybin and MDMA will become registered medications this decade. Unfortunately, for patients this means they have to wait until then, if they want to use psychedelics safely.

Urging people who experience great suffering to wait a few more years - often when they feel that psychedelics are their only remaining hope -  is a lot to ask. I would like to emphasize to these people that the difficult task of waiting is not only in the interest of their own safety, but also in the interest of the development of psychedelics as regular medicines.

Finally, a word of hope: developments in the field of psychedelic research are moving at lightning speed. Psychedelics assisted therapy might become a realistic option for (some) patients in mental health care within the first half of this decade.