Psychedelics, Therapy & Healing the Mind: Can Magic Mushrooms Cure What Pills Can’t?

What if the future of mental health treatment involves substances we’ve spent decades criminalizing? For years, psychedelics like psilocybin and MDMA were dismissed as dangerous drugs with no medical value. But a growing body of research suggests these substances, when combined with guided therapy, might help people struggling with depression, PTSD, anxiety, and addiction in ways traditional treatments cannot. The question is no longer whether psychedelics work, but how to integrate them safely and effectively into mental healthcare.

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Shahrzad “Sherry” Sadighim, a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in adult psychotherapy and psychological testing, who has unique expertise in the emerging field of psychedelics-assisted therapy, or PAT. While Dr. Sadighim can’t legally administer psychedelics to her patients outside clinical trials (they’re currently Schedule I substances), but she can support patients who choose to use these substances independently by educating them about risks and benefits, helping them prepare, and guiding them through what’s called the “integration” process afterward.

I wanted to understand how this process works. How do you psychologically prepare someone for a psychedelic experience? What makes the difference between a transformative journey and a terrifying one? And what happens in the days and weeks after, when someone has to integrate profound insights into their everyday life?

In this episode, we discuss:

• What psychedelics-assisted therapy (PAT) is and how it differs from traditional psychotherapy

• Why substances like psilocybin and MDMA are being researched for treating depression, PTSD, and anxiety

• The legal and regulatory landscape preventing therapists from administering psychedelics

• How harm reduction works when patients choose to use psychedelics independently

• The critical role of “set and setting” in determining whether an experience is healing or harmful

• What happens during the preparation phase—setting intentions and psychological readiness

• Why integration is the most important part of the process and how it ensures lasting benefits

• The future of mental health treatment if psychedelics are rescheduled for clinical use

This is a conversation about the frontier of mental health treatment, and whether healing sometimes requires venturing into uncomfortable, even illegal, territory.

🎧 Listen to the full episode: https://www.podpage.com/curiously/are-psychedelics-the-future-of-therapy/

💡 Learn more about Dr. Shahrzad Sadighim’s work: https://www.doctorsherry.com/

💡 About Curiously: https://www.podpage.com/curiously/about/