Dr. Rosalind Watts on Psilocybin and Depression

The Mindspace Podcast: Inspiring Wellbeing

"The real medicine is the therapeutic relationship and psychedelics beautifully amplify that."

In this episode of the Mindspace podcast, Dr. Joe speaks with Dr. Rosalind Watts. Dr. Watts is the clinical lead of the Imperial College of London's Psilocybin for Depression trials. Most recently, she designed the treatment protocol for and served as a guide for participants in a study comparing psilocybin to an antidepressant at the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London. This study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. And she is also a consultant psychologist for Small Pharma who are investigating DMT as a treatment for depression.

She is a clinical psychologist for more than 6 years, and now specializes in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. She is the clinical director for the Synthesis Institute, an organization dedicated to “training practitioners to safely, ethically and effectively support people on a journey for healing using truffles containing psilocybin.” She co-hosts a monthly Psychedelic Integration group, alongside Michelle Baker Jones for participants of psilocybin clinical trials. And she will be launching Twelve Trees Integration, a new 12 month psychedelic community integration program for anyone who has experience with psychedelics. More information on this program will be posted on her site in the near future and you sign up for the waitlist there as well: www.drrosalindwatts.com

She also developed the psychedelic therapy model ‘Accept, Connect, Embody (ACE)’ and an iteration for group-based integration of psychedelic experiences 'Accept, Connect, Embody, Restore' (ACER). It is based on the Hexaflex model in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

Dr. Watts and Dr. Joe spoke about:

• The surprising results from Dr. Rosalind Watts’s recent study comparing psilocybin to an antidepressant
• The importance of the therapeutic relationship in healing
• The role of psychological flexibility in mental health
• The ‘Accept, Connect, Embody’ (ACE) model she developed
• Her evolving approach to psychedelic integration
• The integration online groups she co-founded and co-facilitates
• How psychedelics allow people to explore their darkness, whereas antidepressants can hinder that exploration
• A guided visualization exercise based on the ACE model
• The challenges of integrating psychedelic-assisted therapy into mainstream society

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