logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2022
18m 18s

Healing the mind

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Psychedelic therapy could provide a major breakthrough in the treatment of mental health disorders like depression, and now it's caught the attention of start-ups and venture capitalists.

Laurence Knight hears from one man whose life was transformed by a single dose of the drug psilocybin - the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms - after he volunteered for a research project exploring whether it could cure depression. He also visits the research team at King's College London, who have just wrapped up the latest trials of the drug.

The trials are being sponsored by the healthcare start-up Compass Pathways, and its founder and chief executive George Goldsmith explains why he hopes to use them to bring this therapy to the general public. Plus Amanda Eilian of venture capitalists Able Partners describes how quickly attitudes in the investor community are changing.

(Picture credit: Getty Images)

Up next
Oct 9
Business Daily meets: Fani Titi, Investec CEO
The South African grew up under the racist apartheid system as one of 14 children. He looked set for a life in farming, until a chance event took him down a different path – ultimately becoming CEO of the multinational banking group, Investec. Presenter: Leanna Byrne Producer: El ... Show More
17m 27s
Oct 8
Small country: Big tariffs
We head to Switzerland, a small but very successful country with a population of just 9 million.And now coping with some of US President Donald Trump’s highest tariffs. In August the original threat of 31% tariffs was raised to 39%. Two months on, efforts to negotiate with Washin ... Show More
17m 30s
Oct 7
Should we expect more airline delays?
Passengers are suffering more disruption as technology at airports, airlines and air traffic control is failing.But why is aviation software becoming more prone to failure and vulnerable to cyber-attacks, and what is the solution to preventing delays?Presented and produced by Rus ... Show More
17m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2020
Microdosing, Biohacking Plant Medicines, Psychedelic-Enhanced Psychotherapy & More - How "Field Trip Health" Works For Ketamine, MDMA, DMT, Psilocybin & Beyond!
bengreenfieldfitness.com/fieldtrip Field Trip Psychedelics Inc. is the world's first mental wellness company focused on psychedelics and psychedelic-enhanced psychotherapy, is beginning to open the first medical centers - first in Toronto, New York and LA - dedicated exclusively ... Show More
1h 1m
Jul 2014
Mental Health
Would you tell your boss you had depression? In The Bottom Line this week, Evan Davis hears from three successful business people who talk openly about what it's like to experience severe mental illness whilst running their companies. They'll explain the risks and rewards of goin ... Show More
28 m
Dec 2022
#641: Roland Griffiths, PhD — Life’s Ultimate Glide Path, An Unexpected Stage IV Diagnosis, Facing Death, How Meditation and Psychedelics Can Help, and The Art of Living a Life of Gratitude
Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show. This is a very meaningful episode to me. It is probably the most significant interview that I've recorded in the last year, and it is with one of my favorite people and one of my favorite scientists in the world: Roland Griffith ... Show More
3h 22m
Apr 2021
Lucas Richert, "Break on Through: Radical Psychiatry and the American Counterculture" (MIT Press, 2020)
"Antipsychiatry," Esalen, psychedelics, and DSM III: Radical challenges to psychiatry and the conventional treatment of mental health in the 1970s. The upheavals of the 1960s gave way to a decade of disruptions in the 1970s, and among the rattled fixtures of American society was ... Show More
47m 4s
Nov 2018
Antidepressant withdrawal, Mates in Mind, Eyes that betray personality
Antidepressants are a helpful treatment for many, but some people do have problems when they stop taking them. A recent review of the evidence about antidepressant withdrawal symptoms found more people may experience them for longer than previously thought, and many people descri ... Show More
27m 51s
Jan 2023
Can Psychedelic Medicine Fix Our Mental Health Crisis with Rick Doblin
This episode is brought to you by Rupa Health, Cozy Earth, Beekeeper’s Naturals, and Levels. We’re in the midst of a psychedelic renaissance. Compounds that have long been considered recreational drugs by conventional standards are finally being recognized through science as powe ... Show More
1h 37m
Nov 2022
What Promise Do Psychedelics Hold As Therapeutics?
When psychedelics were first studied more than 50 years ago, researchers noticed that they were useful in helping people explore a greater sense of self. Now, after a half-century hiatus, scientists are studying psychedelics like MDMA, psilocybin, and ketamine as treatment for de ... Show More
33m 13s
Apr 2023
How deep brain stimulation is helping people with severe depression
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an experimental treatment strategy which uses an implanted device to help patients with severe depression who have reached a point where no other treatment works. But despite her involvement in the DBS collaboration, which involves neuroscientists, ... Show More
24m 47s