Addressing Psychosocial Distress With Psychedelic-Inspired Therapies
About this episode
The episode discusses the potential of psychedelic-assisted therapy in addressing the emotional challenges faced by cancer patients and survivors.
As the number of patients and survivors of cancer grows each year, awareness of the disease's emotional toll—including depression, anxiety, and deep existential distress—is increasingly recognized as a critical aspect of cancer care. In response, psychedelic-assisted therapy is gaining attention as a promising alternative to traditional mental health interventions, providing relief for some patients. To shed light on the patient experience with this treatment, CANCER BUZZ spoke with breast cancer survivor Judy Wight; Jennifer Bires, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C, FACCC, executive director of Life with Cancer and Patient Experience at Inova Health System; and Manish Agrawal, MD, cofounder and CEO of Sunstone Therapies, about the human side of psychedelic-assisted therapy, promising existing research, and how it can shape the future of psychosocial care. "It's not that I'm a different person. It's more like I'm becoming the person I was meant to be. And all those layers of trauma and sadness...I've been able to shed a lot of that." – Judy Wight "When I started to learn about psychedelic-assisted therapy, read some of the patient accounts, and see some of the research, I said, 'I've got to learn…
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