Clinical Developments with Psychedelics (Essay Sample)

Exploring the Efficiency of Psychedelics on Patients with Mental Illness in Clinical Trials
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Exploring the Efficiency of Psychedelics on Patients with Mental Illness in Clinical Trials
Introduction
Anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders are some of the most frequent psychiatric ailments that affect a huge population of people in the world today (McCann, Higgins & Perra, 2014). Even though various pharmacological management strategies exist, they are less effective in a given section of patients and often linked to some adverse reactions that could lead to a high mortality rate. As a result, there is a need to explore new areas to find the most appropriate scheme to treat these disorders in a bid to reduce the high rate of morbidity associated with some of the chronic mental illnesses. Mental disorders are increasingly becoming common while the advancement of medication approaches has continued to deteriorate.
Unipolar mood disorders commonly abbreviated as UMD, which comprises major depressive disorder (MDD) and (PDD) is one of the common mental illnesses linked to the high socio-economic problem, morbidity and rate of suicides (Rucker et al., 2016). Rucker and colleague found that the lifetime incidence of PDD and MDD are approximately 3.6 percent and 6.7 percent respectively. Accordingly, these mental disorders are the leading causes of disability globally when not treated using the most appropriate medication. Given that there is a section of patients who do not respond well to several medical treatments owing to poor prognosis, there is a need for the psychiatrists to focus attention on novel therapeutic interventions.
The current treatment approaches for psychological complications are sub-optimal, and there is little progress made in the pharmaceutical field to come up with sophisticated techniques. Many pharmaceutical organizations have stopped research efforts into mental disorders hence making few novel agents available in the area (Hyman, 2013). The inadequate growth in the field of mental health has forced most of the experts to look to history for ambition. In regards to the changes, psychiatrists and psychologist have explored the dissociative ketamine in treating disorders. Although there is some evidence for its application as an effective anti-depressant, its effects seem to be momentary. However, chronic usage of ketamine is linkable to urinary tract complications and has an established and aggregated possible exploitation by users globally (Naughton et al., 2014). Some of the psychedelic medications such as LSD and psilocybin were commonly used in the management of mood disorders and other mental health problems before healthcare sectors prohibited its use in the late 1960s.
One of the most debated techniques of treating mental illnesses is the psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. The procedure entails skilfully supervision of the application of small doses of psychedelics such as ketamine, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin, and ibogaine, which are part of the psychoanalysis programs. Clients with neurotic ailments accompanied by symptoms such as a negative system of thoughts, behavior, and feeling have shown different progress under the influence of psychedelics when administered in a therapeutically supportive environment. Additionally, some patient has termed a transformative condition of the mind, which allegedly revealed long-lasting changes that benefit the users (Grof, 2008). Consequently, the paper will focus on describing the efficacy of using small doses of psychedelics in treating and managing mental disorders. In the process analyze some of the drugs used to treat the specific ailment and their efficiency, cost, and benefits on the users and the community in general. Finally, the paper will provide a comprehensive summary outlining the main ideas and concepts discussed in the paper for policy-making and recommendation on better approaches to help reduce mortality and suicidal thoughts.
Clinical Developments with Psychedelics
Recent studies have substantiated that certain psychedelic substances can reduce or treat major disorders such as depression, anxiety, addiction, and posttraumatic stress disorder (Byock, 2018; Nicols, 2017; Araujo, 2013; Carhart-Harris, 2017). A single trip of psychedelic can bring about changes in a patient’s personality that could possibly last for a year or more. As a result, these substances have the possibility of improving the nature of treating deep psychosomatic wounds, which negatively influence the life of persons such as suicidal ideation. By exploring their neuropsychopharmacological mechanism, one is able to understand the unending application of these drugs to avert the adverse effects of mental illnesses.
LSD and psilocybin initially induced a temporary condition of the mind that was the same as psychosis. Later, extensive investigations confirmed that they were possibly not safe for the patients with recognized psychotic illnesses or those with a high probability of developing them. However, a number of studies have revealed that they are relatively safe and secure when administered in a medically controlled atmosphere (Michael & Bogenschutz, 2017; Sellers, 2017). In the same line, Schenberg (2018) revealed that several clinical results have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of psychedelics even in treating resistant conditions. Hence, the area necessitates increased attention of medical, psychiatric and psychological professionals. Even though most of the health experts have considered the use of psychedelics as a novel treatment, the psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) model also faces significant consequences for the diagnostics.
Psychedelic doses induce both subjective and objective transformation in thinking, feeling, and behavior that appears to be obvious both to receiver and psychoanalysts. However, a section of clients has developed adaptive personalities with specific sensitivities to various stressors while others have enduring and chronic patterns of learned helplessness. There has been a growing concern among users that using psychedelic agents among mentally-ill population could worsen the underlying syndrome or result in suicidal conduct though little medical data addressing the safety issue exists. Owing to some of the disputes, Johansen and Krebs (2015) researched the association between the use of psychedelic drugs and mental health problems and discovered there was no link. In the same line, Daniel and Haberman (2017) conducted a systematic review of the use of psilocybin in the Netherlands and established similar findings. Based on the scholars’ conclusion there was a low dependence potential and chronic toxicity, moderate acute toxicity accompanied with negligible public health risks.
Artificial substances such as methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), ketamine, LSD and other naturally occurring alkaloids such as psilocybin have proven to be useful in the treatment of disorders affecting a great population of people. They are orally active with different action mechanism that makes them suitable for use in the treatment of mind and emotions (Nichols et al., 2017). For instance, the effects of psilocybin and LSD considerably depends on 5-HT2A agonism, ketamine is an NMDA antagonist, while ibogaine binds with various receptors naturally. Mion (2017) established that ketamine, which has been applicable over the decades as an anesthesia momentarily modifies consciousness of an individual including changing their cognition and mood. As a result, it has provided an improvement in the health sector to clinicians and psychiatrists who monitor and manage the moods of a patient within a clinical environment. In the recent years, its mechanism of action has provided medical, psychological and psychiatric experts with hope in a new pursuit of therapies for bipolar disorders and treatment-resistant depression. Contrary to the general anti-depressants, the substance has shown signs of improving the mental status of a person often lasting up to a few weeks or more after few hours of ingestion.
Therapeutic effects of psychedelics
Clinical research trials and case studies have described a prevalent array of subjective experiences connected to the therapeutic significance for patients with severe depression and anxiety (Tupper et al., 2015; Johnstad, 2018). When the initial stage of psychedelic experience begins to diminish and people recapture familiar obstacles between tactile, auditory, olfactory senses, individuals encounter elevated level of cognitive clarity (Byock, 2018). Even though the experience associated with psychedelic varies considerably from one patient to the other, research participants as well as interviewees for journalistic articles frequently express significant traits. These attributes entail intensified confidence regarding their personal values and clarity. Moreover, they describe enhanced or renewed acknowledgment of intrinsic value and meaning of life. Patient has also voiced a sense of excitement, understanding, and strengthened association with others as well as a rich sense of connection with nature.
However, people who use psychedelics with the motive of meditation have testified that the medicines opened windows into deeper dominions of existential understanding. However, in a supportive and secure environment, these effects eventually encourage a shift of conceptual framework, a state of wonder, an expanded capability to exhibit love, and an enhanced sense of association with others. Clients who are hopeless or despair may experience a transformed shift in viewpoint and familiarity of intrinsic worth, meaning, and value. Nevertheless, not all psychedelic pills are...