Could psychedelics aid the therapy process? | Dr. Benjamin Lewis | TEDxSaltLakeCity

NOTE FROM TED: Experiments discussed in this talk should not be performed outside of accredited research settings. Research around psychedelics remains an emerging field of study. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/t...

Can psychedelic-assisted therapy be a cure for the public health crisis that is loneliness or a loss of connection? Using results from his clinical trial on group psilocybin-assisted therapy, Dr. Benjamin Lewis shares the ways that these emerging treatments, when utilized in a thoughtful, safe way that embeds medication in a psychotherapeutic process, can not only improve difficult-to-treat mental health conditions, but improve our overall approach to mental health care as well. Ben Lewis is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Huntsman Mental Health Institute (HMHI) where he practices adult inpatient psychiatry and is the medical director of the HMHI Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Clinic https://healthcare.utah.edu/hmhi/trea...

His research focuses on psychedelic-assisted therapies with an emphasis on psilocybin and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. He is interested in the overlap of mindfulness and psychedelic interventions and is deeply invested in investigating these practices for the alleviation of human suffering. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx