In 2023, Australia became the first country in the world to legalise the use of psychedelics to treat PTSD and treatment-resistant depression. Welcome to Episode #31 of The Intelligent Rebellion Podcast. Sporulation, Psychedelics and Healthcare. 

In this episode of The Intelligent Rebellion Podcast, I chat with Melissa Errey, founder of Sporulation Art Exhibition and healthcare professional, and Voytek Bereza, a Neuropsychopharmacist Prescriber and founder of The Transparent Company.

In this episode:

• About the Sporulation Art Exhibition (23 April 2024 to 5 May 2024)
• The role of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for mental health conditions
• Introspection, Intuition and psychedelics
• Psychedelic experiences during a trip and percolation from unconscious to the conscious mind
• Emergence of clinical research trials and harm minimisation

July 1st 2023 is when Australia became the first country in the world to legalise the use of psychedelics to treat some mental health conditions. From July 1st 2023 psychiatrists were authorised to prescribe products containing 3,4‑methylenedioxy‑methamphetamine (MDMA) or psilocybin for use in psychedelic assisted psychotherapy to treat specific mental health conditions.  

MDMA may be prescribed for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Psilocybin may be prescribed for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). For these specific uses, psilocybin and MDMA have been listed as Schedule 8 (Controlled Drugs) medicines in the Poisons Standard.

To be able to prescribe MDMA or psilocybin for these conditions, a psychiatrist must be an Authorised Prescriber (AP) under the TGA’s Authorised Prescriber scheme. Before seeking approval to be an AP, the psychiatrist must first obtain approval from a Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC).

It was quite serendipitous that I was to meet Melissa Errey in October 2023, only three months later. It’s turns out, Melissa a health professional by day, and an artist by night was already part of a community of people from all walks of life, who were exploring and discussing the role of psychedelics in healthcare and in medicine.

Melissa Errey: Linkedin 

Sporulation Exhibition: Sporulation Exhibition | Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin

Voytek Bereza: Linkedin | The Transparent Company and on Linkedin 

Sporulation Events & Tickets

1. EMPATHS: Integrative Psychedelic Somatic Psychotherapy
2. Workshops: Psychedelic Trees, Fungi and Cacti Workshops
3. Australian Psychedelic Society – Sydney Chapter Picnic

More information:

• Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in Australia: legal treatment options, clinical research trials and harm minimisation
• Therapeutic Goods Admistration Change to classification of psilocybin and MDMA to enable prescribing by authorised psychiatrists

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