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Healthcare Workers Who Support Psychedelic Therapy
[WORK-IN-PROGRESS]
After experiencing the positive impact of psychedelics firsthand, these Washington State healthcare workers believe that psychedelic therapy could help with the mental health crisis, especially for individuals who were not able to find success with traditional treatments. Each of these professionals administer ketamine therapy for patients, and are now interested in the impact of psilocybin mushrooms. Some are hoping that Washington will adopt a model that is similar to the one in Oregon.
Dr. Darcy Constans (MD)
After growing up in an environment that rejected Western medicine, Darcy wanted to remove herself from that mindset and attend medical school. She is now a family physician who specializes in mental health. She believes that while there are many caveats and conditions, psychedelics such as Ketamine and Psilocybin could help with mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. She currently serves as a community advisory board member for the University of Washington's Center for Novel Therapeutics in Addiction Medicine, which explores how psychedelics could help manage addiction.
The photos below illustrate how Darcy typically prepares for an assisted Ketamine therapy session with a patient. She also demonstrates the patient's experience.
Noriko Brubeck (Registered Nurse)
When Noriko was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer, psychedelics helped her find peace, especially with past trauma. Now, she is cancer-free and feels a stronger connection to herself, her daughter, and the natural world. She is currently part of a cohort for the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics facilitator program. If psilocybin mushrooms are ever legalized in Washington State, she would be interested in facilitating sessions.
Psychedelics are a very personal experience, but the photos below aim to illustrate Noriko's experience with self-reflection and a reconnection with nature.
Dr. Sunil Aggarwal (MD, PhD, FAAPMR)
As a palliative care doctor, Sunil spends a lot of time with patients who have serious or terminal illnesses. He believes that everyone deserves to feel peace at the end of their life. Based on research studies, psilocybin is known to alleviate suffering and existential distress when a person knows that they are going to die. The "Right to Try" law gives terminally ill patients access to experimental drugs that aren't yet approved by the FDA. The DEA rejected Sunil's request to be able to provide psilocybin to his patients, stating that he could only do that if it was in a research setting.
As a result, Sunil filed a lawsuit and is requesting the DEA to re-schedule psilocybin mushrooms (they are currently a schedule 1 narcotic).
The photos below briefly illustrate Sunil's passion for reading a variety of topics in science, medicine, history, and law. He is also interested in learning about how psychedelics and cannabis used to be a part of pre-colonial Indian culture.
