- The COVID-19 pandemic has shattered the mental health of doctors, nurses, and medics.
- Researchers are enrolling healthcare workers for a study of "magic" mushrooms as a potential solution.
- Psilocybin-assisted therapy has shown promise in studies of depression and end-of-life anxiety.
Doctors who have been on the front lines of the pandemic since the first COVID cases appeared in the US now have the opportunity to try an unorthodox form of therapy: shrooms.
Therapy with the aid of psilocybin, the psychoactive component in "magic" mushrooms, has shown promise for treating forms of depression and end-of-life anxiety in a growing number of relatively small studies.
No study has examined the effects of psilocybin-assisted therapy in burnt-out physicians, but the pandemic presents a unique opportunity to do so — especially now that the substance is quasi-legal in some parts of the country, making it easier to garner support for research.
Months after Seattle's move to decriminalize all psychedelic substances, researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine began seeking out doctors, nurses, and advanced practice providers who have "clinically significant symptoms of depression and anxiety" resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trying to disrupt the cycle of negative thoughts built up over 2 years of pandemic
Two weeks after the first case of COVID-19 was reported in the US, Back said he remembers hearing about an ICU doctor in the Seattle area who had been intubated in intensive care after contracting the virus himself.
"Everyone just gasped, like, 'Oh my god, this is gonna hit everybody,'" Back told Insider. "I think there was a lot of fear in those days, especially when there wasn't enough PPE."
Shortages of masks and supplies added to the stress and uncertainty of the first months of the pandemic, Back said, not to mention watching countless patients struggle to take their last breaths.
As patients have continued to die of COVID-19 over the past two years, Back said many of their physicians have struggled with negative thought spirals — like, "I'm not a good doctor, I'm not a good nurse; no matter what I do, this person is going to die and it's going to be my fault."
For some doctors, this cycle of thinking has ended in suicide, he added. Even more healthcare workers have seen their mental health deteriorate in insidious ways, like burnout or substance abuse.
"What psilocybin can do is it disrupts that cycle of thinking long enough for someone to have some relief from it, and usually some insights about what is going on," Back told Insider.
Psilocybin could provide a break, at least briefly
When the trial begins, all 30 participants will begin with two one-on-one therapy sessions where they can discuss what they've been through, what they'd like to gain from the experience, and what to expect on medication day.
Then, half of the participants will receive a dose of psilocybin (about the equivalent of 3 g of dried mushrooms, Back said) while the other half gets a placebo, or false treatment. Participants and researchers both will be in the dark about who gets an active dose.
Psilocybin has been shown to help people with moderate to severe depression within less than a week, often with lasting benefit, said David Hellerstein, a research psychiatrist at Columbia University who has studied the drug along with therapy for treatment-resistant depression.
"Following treatment, people often feel more connected to others, to the natural world, and to have enhanced spirituality and optimism," Hellerstein, who is not associated with the upcoming study, told Insider.
Other studies have shown that psilocybin can offer "profound relief of anxiety, depression and existential despair" for terminal cancer patients, Hellerstein added.
The therapy component of psilocybin studies is vital for putting any post-trip realizations in practice, Back said. In addition to the initial two sessions, participants will have three counseling sessions after their psilocybin visit, and that same therapist will be present for the individual's "trip."
Back said that some participants might be disappointed when they realize they got assigned to the placebo group, but it's an important element of any controlled trial. Those who got the placebo will also have the option to repeat the therapy with psilocybin after the study has concluded.