Two Yale Department of Psychiatry residents will present posters at the three-day Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelics Research, which begins June 3 in Amsterdam.
Jordan Sloshower, MD, MSc; and Ryan Wallace, MD, MPH, both second-year residents, will make presentations on the formation last year of the Yale Psychedelic Science Group (YPSG), and on their proposal to study the therapeutic potential of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for major depression.
YPSG was organized so residents, fellows, graduate students, mental health practitioners, and faculty members can discuss psychedelic science and applied therapeutics in an academically rigorous setting.
Psychedelic science is enjoying a revival after nearly 50 years of dormancy in clinical research settings and clinical practice. Since January, YPSG has held six seminars led by leading scholars in the field, and students and faculty from several institutions and academic backgrounds have shown interest. Approximately 30 people have attended each session.
The YPSG poster to be presented at the conference is coauthored by all members of the organization’s core group.
Sloshower and Wallace will also present on their proposal for an open label pilot study that will explore the use of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) in the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Evidence suggests the drug can have a positive effect on a person’s mood and anxiety.
In the pilot study, 10 subjects will participate in six sessions of PAP. The residents expect the drug will have both a rapid and sustained reduction in a person’s symptoms of depression.
Sloshower and Wallace will join international researchers from many academic disciplines who will present their research on psychedelic substances at the conference.