A first patient in Quebec will be treated for depression with psilocybin.

A pioneering clinic in the emerging field of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is on the verge of becoming the first healthcare facility in Quebec to legally treat depression with psilocybin, the hallucinogenic compound found in certain mushrooms.

For Dr. Andrew Bui-Nguyen of Mindspace by Numinus clinic, “it’s a privilege to be able to accompany people in exploring their psychological distress and to offer something different from conventional treatments like antidepressants.”

Mr. Bui-Nguyen stated that his clinic received approval from Health Canada on May 5 to treat a patient who had undergone several unsuccessful treatments for depression.

He added that the patient selection process is rigorous and that the Quebec health insurance plan does not cover the treatment.

“We look at the diagnosis, medical history, risk of addiction, what treatments have already been tried […] Several treatments must have been attempted previously, so the application is solid.”

On January 5, Health Canada reinstated its “Special Access Program” — abolished under former Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2013 — allowing healthcare professionals to request access to restricted medications that have not yet been authorized for sale in the country.

Before January, people could only access psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy through clinical trials or medical exemptions. Now, accredited experts can submit applications on behalf of patients suffering from mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety, for whom conventional treatments have failed.

Health Canada reports having received 15 requests for the use of psilocybin or MDMA — a psychedelic drug with stimulant properties — since the program’s reinstatement.

In April, a clinic called Roots To Thrive in Nanaimo, British Columbia, became the first healthcare center in Canada to offer a legal group therapy program with psilocybin.

Thomas Hartle is among those who have participated.

He recounts that during a psilocybin treatment session, end-of-life anxiety, distractions, and noises associated with his terminal colon cancer disappear.

“Before the treatment, it’s like you’re sitting in your car. It’s summer. You have the windows down, you’re stuck in rush hour traffic, it’s noisy […] It’s unpleasant,” shared the Saskatchewan resident.

“Your favorite song is on the radio, but you can’t really enjoy it because all the other distractions prevent you from even noticing that the radio is on. After a psilocybin treatment, (it’s like) you’re still in your car, in traffic, but you have the windows down, the air conditioning is on, and it’s quiet. It’s just you and the music.”

“The therapy part has a capital T in this whole process,” Mr. Hartle said. “It’s not just about taking psychedelics. It’s just a tool in the process; therapy is crucial to achieving a good outcome.”

Dr. Bui-Nguyen explained that psychedelic-assisted treatment requires several therapy sessions before patients experience the drug, and then more sessions afterward. Patients will consume psilocybin under the supervision of two psychotherapists and will remain in the clinic’s safe environment for up to six hours.

“It’s not miraculous,” Dr. Bui-Nguyen said. “You don’t take psilocybin and that’s it, a psychedelic journey and then the depression is cured — no! The patient has a lot of work to do. But it opens up perspectives; it creates new pathways in the brain that we are not used to taking. The patient then explores new pathways to get out of depression.”

In the largest study in the world on the effect of psychedelics on the brain, published in March in the journal “Science Advances,” lead author Danilo Bzdok said that psychedelic drugs could well be the next big thing to improve the clinical treatment of major mental health issues.

“There is something like a renaissance, an awakening of psychedelics,” said Mr. Bzdok, an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at McGill University, in a recent interview.

He said that evidence-based benefits are very promising. Patients, he said, have reported experiencing up to six months of lasting effects after a single session of psychedelic-assisted therapy. They have also experienced a reduction in symptoms associated with mental health issues, Mr. Bzdok noted, adding that there were fewer side effects compared to antidepressants.

The CEO of Mindspace by Numinus, Payton Nyquvest, said that psychedelics have the potential to become a widespread treatment. As Health Canada continues to approve more applications, he hopes that the recognition will make the treatment much more accessible.

“We haven’t seen significant innovation in mental health care for probably over 40 years,” Mr. Nyquvest said in a recent interview.

“We are at a time when new and better treatments for mental health are more needed than ever. No matter what you look at, depression, anxiety, suicidality […] these are all rates that continue to rise without clear guidance on how we are going to address these huge societal issues. Psychedelics represent an opportunity to have a significant impact.”

Mr. Hartle’s own experience echoed these hopes. “The improvement in my mental health is so much day and night that it would be hard to say everything it does for me,” he said.

“I still have cancer. I still struggle with what it physically does to me, but there are days when I don’t even think about it. What would you do to have a day where you just feel normal?”

Sources: Le devoir