Looking at Michael Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind: a Therapist’s Perspective

**Disclaimer** This piece was written for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace medical advice offered by physicians. Psychedelic substances remain illegal in most US states for use outside of specific medical and spiritual settings. Psychoactive substances are not safe for all individuals and should not be used by individuals without proper medical approval and supervision. ***

I read How to Change Your Mind earlier this year and I think it is a must read for mental health professionals and clients alike. I think this book is extremely relevant right now as the topic of psychedelics and psychedelic assisted treatment is increasingly entering our public discourse. This book explores the topic from several different perspectives including the history, science, legal issues and personal accounts of psychedelic use. This is a topic of discussion that has come up in my work with clients and I think that having an in-depth, well researched account of the landscape provides an invaluable tool for people looking to learn more about it.

Key takeaways:

Psychedelics are increasingly being used in therapeutic settings to facilitate insights and allow clients to heal from pain, depression, terminal illness, end of life issues, addiction and past traumas.
There was actually a “forgotten era” of psychotherapy in the late 1950s and 1960s when psychedelics were being used as part of research in therapy and psychiatry.
Unfortunately, psychedelics “got out of the lab” and the immense wave of psychedelic use among the general public was viewed as dangerous by the government at the height of the Hippie Era and the Vietnam War. The Nixon administration effectively shut down a lot of the promising research that was being done and outlawed psychedelic use in all settings from the late 1960s onwards.
It wasn’t until the 1990s through organizations like MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies), the rigorous efforts of world renowned scientists and researchers at institutions like Columbia University and NYU, and indigenous rights advocacy that psychedelics began gaining increasing acceptance within the world of psychiatry and therapy once again.
Michael Pollan discusses in his book how there are other ways to reach these insights without the use of psychedelics such as through therapy, meditation, spiritual type experiences, and breathwork but psychedelics seem to have an ability to speed up the process under the right conditions.

Pros:

Psychedelic experiences can be incredibly helpful for clients to gain insights, break free from rigid thought patterns, increase sense of connection to spirituality/sense of oneness with the universe, increase compassion for themselves and others, and have a mind/body experience unlike most others in daily life.
They can show individuals a window into a more adaptive mindset, and help them have more self compassion to engage in healthier behaviors but ultimately it comes down to the individual making their own choices about how to live their best lives.

Cons:

There is a strong desire for there to be a “magic bullet” in mental health research and psychiatry that places too much emphasis on medicine being a cure for human suffering. I don’t think that psychedelics are a magic bullet. I believe that it is a tool that can be used to facilitate profound insights that can be felt on a holistic level, but like any tool it is only as effective as people allow it to be.
There is currently a popular perception that psychedelics can be used casually to reduce mental health symptoms without proper medical approval, planning and oversight. I believe that these are powerful substances that can have very damaging consequences for an individual’s mental health and safety if not used within the right context under the supervision of trained spiritual guides or mental health professionals.