What's the Buzz All About? 

While psychedelics have historically been used for thousands of years across numerous cultures, it is only in roughly the last 25 years that there has been a resurgence of research in this area, as well as an explosion of interest in the psychotherapeutic use of these medicines as an aid in treating a wide variety of clinical conditions. It is not yet clear if the enthusiasm and exuberance surrounding this modality are deserved, or like many other promising new treatments, will be found to offer much less than it seems to be promising. This talk presents some important and crucial facts about psychedelics, provides a critical assessment of some of the recent research, examines the prevailing model of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, and offers several explanations for the putative mechanisms involved in the remarkable effects being reported, with emphasis placed on the possibility, that psychedelics are a “super” placebo.      


LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this presentation, you will understand:

  • What is a Psychedelic?
  • What is Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy?
  • What conditions are psychedelics being used for?
  • What is the relevant research?
  • What are the risks?
  • Why you as a psychologist should know about this emerging therapy
  • What you should say to your patients who ask you about this for their own treatment?

COURSE STRUCTURE

Completing this on-demand course will result in a 2 CE (2 hours) credits certificate. 

In order to earn your credits, you are required to read the materials, watch the whole webinar, complete a survey and submit a small final assignment.

The Presenter

Dr.

J. Gordon Reid

Dr. Reid completed his post-doctoral training at Lakehead Psychiatric hospital in Thunder Bay Ontario in 1989, where for almost 2 years he worked as the Unit Psychologist on the Acute Treatment Unit and was introduced to the remarkable and confusing world of psychoses and mental illnesses. After 35 years of practicing as a therapist here in Vancouver, he has become interested in the emerging field of Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy, specifically as it relates to the use of Psilocybin as a therapeutic adjunct to help people suffering with existential despair following a terminal diagnosis with a life-threatening illness such as cancer.

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