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The monthly dispatch from the TPR production team $$PLAIN_TEXT_PREVIEW$$
Welcome to our March 2021 Newsletter
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Dear friends, With Spring well underway we are excited to see what fruits of the psychedelic movement will blossom, with new psychedelic-therapy clinics across the globe opening their doors, what changing culture shifts will accompany the changing season? Outline of this month’s newsletter: Project updates The latest updates in psychedelic science and culture Our featured contributor - Chris Timmermann Upcoming events by our Partners The Psychedelic Society
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Project UpdatesWe were delighted to host a panel of influential powerful women in celebration of International Women’s Day earlier this month. Check out our blog exploring the role of women, and gender inequality, in psychedelics, from past to present. We reached out to the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group (CDPRG) to learn about their rescheduling psilocybin project. Read more about their campaign and what you can do to reschedule psilocybin here. Our documentary director Anya Oleksiuk was interviewed for Women on Psychedelics this month, in the interview she tells us all about the documentary as well as her own personal experiences with psychedelics and cultural issues within the psychedelic movement.
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Psychedelic News & Science Round-UpBristol opens its doors to the UK’s first ketamine-assisted psychotherapy clinic Although ketamine is already being offered in clinics, such as the ketamine treatment service in Oxford, in the UK the dissociative drug has so far only been offered as a single treatment. The Awakn Clinic officially launched on Monday the 15th April and will provide a hub for patients to access a course of psychotherapy that includes i.v. ketamine infusions. Research has indicated that ketamine, in conjunction with psychotherapy, can treat a variety of mental health disorders including treatment-resistant depression, OCD and eating disorders. We visited the clinic earlier in December 2020 and published an article about Awakn and its aims as a company. We are thrilled to see how much progression has since been made and are excited to see how the organisation continues to grow.
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Our content curator, Martha, modelling as a patient prior to the official Awakn clinic launch |
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Microdosing or Placebo? Results from the largest placebo-controlled trial conducted by researchers at Imperial College London came out this month. The study investigated 190 people in their home-setting microdosing with either LSD or a placebo by following online instructions set out by the study team. Although the results showed those who microdosed LSD for several weeks saw improvements in mood, energy and creativity, those taking the placebo also saw similar improvements and there was no significant difference between the two groups. Read the full study here.
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Is microdosing LSD different from placebo? |
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A first-of-it’s-kind psychedelic therapy clinic opens in Canada ATMA Urban Journey Clinic Inc. is a company based in Alberta, Canda, whose official launch, announced in late February, marked it as the first non-ketamine psychedelic clinic to open in Canada. Currently the clinic only offers psilocybin-assisted therapy for those suffering mental health conditions related to terminal illness, however, they are planning an expansion to provide psychedelic-therapy programmes treatments for a range of other disorders that go beyond the scope of palliative care. Read more here.
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Image from the ATMA Urban Journey Clinic, where psychedelic-therapy sessions may be conducted |
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Ayahuasca increases emotional empathy but may not decrease depression and anxiety An article published in Psychopharmacology this month investigated the effects of taking ayahuasca compared to placebo in the same ceremonial setting. The researchers showed that following the ceremony, all participants had decreases in depression, stress and anxiety and there was no significant difference between the placebo and ayahuasca group. They did, however, show that ayahuasca significantly increased emotional empathy compared to placebo.
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Our Contributors and Partners: Chris TimmermannChristopher Timmermann PhD is based at the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London where he was responsible for conducting the first neuroimaging research on the effects of DMT in the human brain and consciousness. Born in Chile, he studied Psychology in Santiago, later becoming President of the Foundation for the Study of Human Consciousness. He obtained an MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Bologna in Italy before coming to the UK to embark on his studies with DMT. During the last 5 years in which Timmermann has been studying DMT, he has worked intensely on his debut record ‘El Valle’, developing a sound seeking to transmit the intense landscape he was exploring in his research. Both his research and his music attempt to uncover the fundamentals of embodied experience, its rootedness in emotion and developing beyond the margins of ordinary states of consciousness. Chris will be sharing his music in an immersive music event hosted by The Psychedelic Society on April 16th. The evening will consist of live music, showcasing the tracks from his latest EP, interspersed with conversations about the stories that have influenced the music.
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Footage of Chris sharing his music with us during filming of our documentary |
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Morning Ritual - 6th April Featuring our co-producer Haya Al-Hejailan and contributor Julian Vayne, this panel on morning rituals will be ideal for anybody seeking a morning routine to plant positive seeds for the day, bring greater structure in their life and create greater happiness and health. What can we learn from ancient practices, like Chinese Traditional Medicine and Yoga, in creating morning routines? What can behavioural science teach us about the physical, psychological, and social benefits of different morning exercises? How do we build and maintain worthwhile habits?
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Psychedelics & Chronic Pain - 8th April Featuring our co-producer Haya Al-Hejailan and contributor Julian Vayne, this panel on morning rituals will be ideal for anybody seeking a morning routine to plant positive seeds for the day, bring greater structure in their life and create greater happiness and health. What can we learn from ancient practices, like Chinese Traditional Medicine and Yoga, in creating morning routines? What can behavioural science teach us about the physical, psychological, and social benefits of different morning exercises? How do we build and maintain worthwhile habits?
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El Valle: Online Album Preview & Discussion w. Chris Timmerman - 15th April This April we will traverse the landscape of sound and experience in an exciting preview of Chris Timmermann’s upcoming debut LP ‘El Valle.’ We will journey with Chris as we explore the tales, culture and curiosities which have influenced his musical creation, and investigate how his experience as a DMT-neuroscientist has guided his creative endeavours. Cusping science, art and philosophy - this unique event will entail live music interspersed by contextual conversations with a dedicated portion of opportunity for listeners to ask questions of their own.
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Good Cop Bad War: Interview With Ex-undercover Operative Neil Woods - 19th April After spending almost 20 years befriending those most victimised by the illicit drug trade, infiltrating clandestine operations and busting vicious criminals, Neil Woods realised the fight against drugs was driving, instead of solving crime. This April Neil will be joined in conversation as we hear his first-hand experience of fighting in the front lines of the drugs war, and the devastating suffering he observed resulting from prohibition.
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