• Examines the contemporary psychedelic phenomenon, including the history of criminalization and legalization, psychedelics’ effects on the brain, recent clinical research, and new therapeutic potentials
• Explores substances like psilocybin, LSD, DMT, ayahuasca, ketamine, and MDMA, including scientific evidence for psychedelics’ potential to treat addiction, depression, anxiety, trauma, and neurodegenerative diseases
• Includes extensive practical information on safety, risk, and harm reduction for both laypeople and mental health practitioners
Presenting a comprehensive guide to the exciting new landscape around psychedelics, psychopharmacologist Anton Gomez-Escolar examines the long history of criminalizing and (slowly) legalizing these substances and their increasingly demonstrable positive effects on body, mind, and spirit.
Exploring psilocybin, LSD, DMT, ayahuasca, ketamine, MDMA, and other substances, Gomez-Escolar looks at the multitude of scientific studies providing critical evidence for psychedelics’ ability to treat addiction, depression, anxiety, and trauma as well as their potential to treat neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. He provides key information for therapists and other health practitioners as well as explores the potential benefits and limitations of microdosing and how psychedelics could help with various neurological and mental health issues, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Breaking down substances by type, the author looks at the main risks of each psychedelic and its benefits, best harm-reduction strategies, and the neural pathways each affects. Gomez-Escolar also includes a large selection of resources for people seeking to engage personally with psychedelics for healing.