Jeffrey Guss: “A psychedelic drug to cure anorexia or alcoholism”

Substances that help fight depression, alcoholism and anorexia. They intervene on the mind to open a path towards healing. For some time, psychedelic drugs have been studied by researchers to combat psychiatric diseases. Jeffrey Guss, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, he is one of the leading experts in psychedelic therapy. He is part of the Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis at New York University and is a professor of Psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine.

Professor Guss, do these treatments work? Aren’t they addictive?

“In other cultures, these substances, as in indigenous ones, have always been used in religious or initiation ceremonies. But today, both LSD and hallucinogenic mushrooms are increasingly administered as support for psychotherapy. If taken correctly they accompany the patient on its path to healing, without creating addiction. But it must be remembered that an expert is always needed to manage this type of treatment. Do-it-yourself never works and has many contraindications.”

You have worked extensively with cancer patients to counter their anxiety with both psychotherapy and psilocybin, a psychedelic substance found in some hallucinogenic mushrooms. What happens with this treatment?

“By using psychocybin, accompanied by psychotherapy sessions, I saw that the patients felt better. Their state of anxiety decreased. According to recent research, psilocybin can be used, in some cases, to treat depression. A study, published in Nature, highlighted that after taking psilocybin the minds of depressed patients are more interconnected. Regions of the brain that were previously rigid and closed due to the disease would once again “talk” to each other. This substance works differently from conventional antidepressant drugs. It makes the mind more flexible and fluid, less tangled up in the negative thoughts typical of depression. But it is not yet clear how long its effects last.”

You published a study in the Journal of Contextual and Behavioral Science on the use of these drugs for major depressive disorder. What mechanism brings benefits to the patient?

“In the case of depression, psychedelic drugs work positively on serotonin receptors. They transform the patient’s self-perception. The individual is able to concentrate, reflect on his identity and recover emotions that seemed lost. In these cases, psychoanalysis, accompanied by a therapy like this, it brings us closer to an experience that I would define as ‘mystical’, ‘spiritual’. The patient recovers spiritual resources and this helps him to heal.”

You have also collected many testimonies from colleagues who work in the same field.

“They also confirm that if depression distances us from others, from family, from love and from work, psychedelics restore this connection. The self and consciousness expand.”

What are the other disorders that psychedelic drugs work with?

“I work a lot with people who are dependent on alcohol and here too, if accompanied by psychotherapy, the use of psychedelics works. To combat alcoholism, ketamine works. There are studies that tell us that if taken in combination with psychotherapy, increases the chances of doing without alcohol for six months. We are talking about low doses which must always be managed by a doctor. And there is also research on the use of psychedelic substances to combat anorexia.”

Let’s talk about eating disorders, what was discovered?

“In a recent study, it emerged that psilocybin can reduce behaviors linked to anorexia. Administered together with psychological support, it is a safe treatment for those suffering from anorexia nervosa. This drug manages to modulate the functioning of the brain’s serotonin system , which would have a role in the development of anorexia. But further research is needed to delve deeper into the results of this research.”

These drugs are also used to treat drug addiction. There is a lot of talk about ibogaine

“In some areas of Central Africa the root of this plant with hallucinogenic powers is taken during initiation ceremonies. Its effect lasts 12 hours. Already in the early 1960s it was accidentally discovered that the administration of this molecule can cause a interruption of heroin addiction, without causing withdrawal. Although its hallucinogenic effects have made it illegal in several countries, the clinical, even “informal” use of ibogaine is increasing throughout the world precisely to treat heroin addiction to narcotics, heroin and cocaine. However, it only has one limit: it can create some cardiac problems in some patients. It can cause tachyarrhythmias and a prolongation of the Qt interval, potentially fatal situations especially in subjects with pre-existing cardiac difficulties. For this reason it is better urge caution”.

Jeffrey Guss was a guest at the conference: ‘Altered states’, organized by the Italian Psicoanalitics Dialogues