How Does Psilocybin Therapy Work?
Psilocybin therapy, also known as mushroom therapy, is an emerging mental health practice occurring in diverse spaces worldwide. This alternative modality traces back to indigenous cultures, where people embraced fungi as a ceremonial sacrament for spiritual and healing purposes. In the modern era, scientific communities are exploring psilocybin-containing mushrooms for pervasive mental health conditions like treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, and anxiety.
So, how does mushroom therapy work? This article delves into the underlying mechanisms, the history, and the contemporary applications of this fascinating holistic approach to wellness.
What Is Psilocybin Therapy?
Psilocybin therapy, or mushroom therapy, is the practice of ingesting hallucinogenic doses of psilocybin-containing mushrooms to address mental health concerns. Historically grounded in indigenous traditions, mushroom therapy is also an evolving modern phenomenon.
In the Western world, psilocybin mushroom therapy typically involves a guided session where the individual consumes psychedelic mushrooms under the supervision of a trained psychotherapist. The intention is to facilitate profound emotional, spiritual, and psychological insights, often leading to enhanced self-awareness and healing.
Ongoing research indicates that mushroom therapy, or psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAT), can alleviate depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance abuse disorders, and even chronic pain. But healing doesn’t just occur in clinical settings.
Mushroom therapy can also be a broad term to describe the ceremonial use of this intelligent fungi. Mushroom ceremonies are intentional experiences people engage in for therapeutic, personal growth, and spiritual purposes. These rituals don’t follow the Western model. Rather, mushroom ceremonies involve groups of people ingesting psilocybin, often in a sacred temple, guided by indigenous wisdom-led facilitators.
Reunion’s psilocybin retreats align with the ceremonial mushroom model, where guests arrive with personal struggles. And many leave with profound perspective shifts that support their lifelong healing journey.
The Science Behind Magic Mushrooms for Therapy
The science behind mushroom therapy is rooted in the way psilocybin interacts with serotonin receptors in the brain. This interaction creates altered states of consciousness, enabling individuals to access and address deeply embedded psychological issues.
Active Compounds in Psychedelic Mushrooms
Psilocybin and psilocin are the main psychedelic compounds in magic mushrooms, playing a pivotal role in their psychoactive effects. Other active constituents, like beta-glucans, contribute to the therapeutic process by enhancing the immune system, thus supporting overall wellness.
Psilocybin
Psilocybin is the most prominent psychedelic compound, found in concentrations from 0.37 to 1.3% in common magic mushroom species. Once consumed, the body’s digestive enzymes immediately break down psilocybin, converting it to the active metabolite, psilocin. This process activates psilocybin’s psychedelic effects.
Psilocin
Psilocin is a naturally occurring mushroom compound and active form of psilocybin. Psilocin is more lipid-soluble than psilocybin, meaning it can cross the blood-brain barrier easily. This attribute allows psilocin to interact with specific neural receptors to alter perception, thought patterns, and emotions.
Psilocin’s effects can manifest as:
Auditory hallucinations
Distorted sense of time
Enhanced introspection
Feeling of interconnectedness
Ego dissolution
Beta-Glucans
Beta-glucans are complex polysaccharides found in the cell walls of various organisms, including bacteria, fungi, yeasts, algae, and plants. They are also present in magic mushrooms.
Beta-glucans are not responsible for magic mushrooms' psychedelic effects. Instead, they exhibit immune-modulating properties that could support healing, given that inflammation and depression are inextricably linked. Beta-glucans bind to specific receptors on immune cells that can trigger a cascade of responses, enhancing the body's defense against infections and possibly malignant cells.
How Mushrooms Impact the Brain
Research primarily attributes mushrooms’ therapeutic benefits to how psilocybin and psilocin affect the brain. These potent compounds act on serotonin receptors, particularly the 5-HT2A found in regions like the prefrontal cortex, claustrum, cingulate cortex, thalamus, and hippocampus. This interaction alters the way neurons usually transmit signals, changing perceptions, emotions, and cognitive function.
Several studies suggest that 5-HT2A action induces a novel state of “hyperconnectivity” between brain regions that don’t interact during normal waking states. Experts theorize that this increased global integration explains why people experience profound consciousness shifts during mushroom therapy.
Where is Psilocybin Therapy Legal?
Mushroom therapy is legal under certain circumstances in specific places.
Legal mushroom therapy journeys are accessible in the U.S. through institutions like the University of California San Francisco, which conducts psilocybin clinical trials. Those called to this research-based path must seek and apply to studies, a process filled with layers of inquiry, consent, and interviews. Another U.S.-based option is to travel to Oregon or Colorado, the only states to fully legalize or decriminalize psilocybin.
Alternatively, people can attend legal magic mushroom retreats in countries that have regulated, decriminalized, or culturally accepted mushroom use within their borders. Reunion’s plant medicine healing center in Sugar Beach, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, is one example of a space operating within its country’s cultural norms.
How Does Psilocybin Therapy Work?
Psilocybin therapy is not simply a clinical encounter. It's an unfolding narrative, a series of stages beckoning the explorer to dive deeper into their unconscious mind. For many people, the process starts with an innate call to commune with plant medicine–an invitation from within. From there, mushroom therapy unfolds in chapters, each stage revealed below.
Screening
During the screening stage, doctors, therapists, or facilitators determine whether the person is a right fit for mushroom therapy. In clinical trials, screening involves questionnaires, interviews, and clinical assessments to confirm if an individual meets the eligibility requirements and can safely ingest the medicine.
Retreat centers like Reunion also conduct a screening process, requesting current medications and medical diagnoses before accepting guests. This process rules out pharmaceutical contraindications and helps Reunion determine whether the person is mentally prepared for a high-dose journey. For example, someone who experienced a recent, debilitating trauma may be best suited in a traditional psychotherapy setting before traveling to a Costa Rica retreat.
Preparation
The preparation phase ensures clients, guests, and patients are mentally and physically ready to transcend ordinary consciousness.
In clinical settings, eligible individuals must be briefed about the study, including expectations and rules pre-, during, and post-psilocybin treatment. This phase involves extensive information sharing and consent form signing.
Ceremonial mushroom therapy preparation typically looks a lot different. Those who feel called to healing mushroom retreats prepare by:
Setting intentions for their therapeutic outcome
Refining their diet by eliminating high-fat, high-sugar foods, coffee, and alcohol
Learning about psilocybin effects and experiences
Experimenting with non-psychedelic altered states of consciousness
Reunion guests prepare before they arrive at the center and during the first two days of the retreat. Onsite groundwork involves a psilocybin skills class and a breathwork ceremony to prepare people for non-ordinary states.
Psilocybin Ceremonies
Once prepared, individuals are ready to embark on an inward healing journey facilitated through multiple psilocybin ceremonies.
Psilocybin mushroom therapy ceremonies typically occur in comforting and serene settings, with soothing colors, soft furnishings, and gentle music or nature sounds. Some occur in temples with live music, incense, and natural sunlight. The ambiance aims to foster calm and openness during what can be an initially disorienting experience.
As the psilocybin effects take hold, journeyers perceive time, space, and memories in entirely novel ways. Hallucinations allow some to relive past traumas and explore repressed memories. Heightened sensory perceptions strengthen the mind-body connection, allowing people to identify and release trauma that manifests as physical pain or anxiety. Throughout the experience, therapists and guides are there to help those who need support.
The session, typically lasting three to six hours, offers a deeply personal and transformative inquiry facilitated by professional hands yet resonating with the unique nature of each participant.
Integration
The integration process following psychedelic therapy sessions is a vital phase where people assimilate psychedelic insights and experiences into daily life.
Guided by therapists or coaches, journeyers engage in discussions, journaling, or other holistic practices, like yoga and meditation. These modalities help to anchor the therapeutic gains, translating the ethereal experience into tangible growth and transformation. Integration bridges the mystical realm of mushroom therapy and the grounded reality of everyday life.
Potential Benefits of Psilocybin Therapy
Mushroom therapy offers a wide array of potential therapeutic benefits that have captured the attention of researchers, mental health professionals, and the world at large.
Mushroom Therapy and Mental Health
Depression Treatment
A study by Johns Hopkins University found that psilocybin therapy significantly reduced symptoms in patients with treatment-resistant depression. In a trial involving 24 participants, 67% showed more than a 50% reduction in depression symptoms after one week, with the effects sustained over several months.
Anxiety Reduction
Research carried out at NYU Langone Health revealed that psilocybin therapy could lead to substantial reductions in anxiety and depression in cancer patients. A single dose provided rapid, significant, and enduring anxiolytic effects.
Substance Abuse
Studies at the Beckley Foundation and Johns Hopkins have explored psilocybin's potential in treating addiction, including alcohol and tobacco dependence. A pilot study involving smokers found that 80% of participants remained abstinent six months after the psilocybin therapy.
End of Life Distress
Research indicates that psilocybin therapy can improve the quality of life for individuals facing terminal illnesses. A study at UCLA found that psilocybin helped reduce anxiety and depression in end-of-life patients, enhancing their overall well-being.
PTSD and Trauma
Preliminary research has shown that psilocybin therapy may help treat PTSD and trauma-related disorders. A study at the Medical University of South Carolina found positive trends in reducing symptoms of PTSD.
Neuroplasticity and Creativity
Some studies have investigated the impact of psilocybin on brain function and creativity. Research from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, found that classic psychedelics like psilocybin, LSD, and DMT can increase neuroplasticity, allowing for greater cognitive flexibility.
Existential and Spiritual Insights
Many individuals report profound spiritual insights and enhanced self-awareness following psilocybin therapy. A study conducted at Johns Hopkins found that 67% of participants rated their psilocybin experience as one of the top five most meaningful experiences in their lives.
Cluster Headaches
Preliminary studies have also shown that psilocybin could potentially treat cluster headaches. Researchers from Yale School of Medicine and the University of Eastern Finland published a survey review, revealing significant patient-reported success stories in reducing the frequency and intensity of this painful condition.
Risks and Side Effects of Psilocybin Therapy
Mushroom therapy, though overwhelmingly effective, carries certain risks and side effects.
Emotional Distress
The profound nature of the psychedelic experience can unearth intense emotions or traumatic memories, potentially leading to anxiety or panic with very high doses. Fortunately, experienced therapists and facilitators can help people manage these symptoms and transform challenging experiences into deeply profound encounters.
Medication Contraindication
Psilocybin might interact adversely with certain pharmaceuticals, leading to unpredictable and potentially unwanted effects. Proper screening and medical supervision can mitigate this risk.
Relapse or Worsening Mental Health Conditions
Many people experience long-term positive effects following mushroom therapy. However, others find that symptoms return or intensify within three or more months. This reality is why experts implore patients and journeys to seek integration support from trained psychotherapists and coaches.
Future Prospects for Mushroom Therapy
The future of mushroom therapy appears bright as psilocybin journeys toward FDA approval in the U.S. for treatment-resistant depression. At the same time, mushroom retreat centers like Reunion continuously emerge in breathtaking countries worldwide. These centers offer various mushroom practices tailored to individual preferences and needs. From guided group experiences to personalized sessions, plant medicine retreats provide diverse opportunities for those seeking healing, growth, or self-exploration through psilocybin.
Together, these developments reflect a broader movement towards embracing mushroom therapy as a legitimate and powerful tool in mental health care and personal transformation. At Reunion, we are immensely honored to be a part of this revolution.
Reunion is a leading not-for-profit plant medicine center, combining Indigenous wisdom teachers from diverse lineages blending the best of ancient modalities and modern science. Located in Costa Rica, Reunion is a medically licensed campus with a beach-front location and modern comforts providing a safe setting for personal growth, healing, and transformation. Rooted in reciprocity, 100% of proceeds support impact initiatives, including Indigenous medicine stewards, the replenishment of sacred plants for future generations, and scholarship programs to expand access.