Dr. Frederick Barrett presented his work with music and psychedelics on the TEDMED 2020 stage. He discussed music’s capacity to evoke powerful emotions and memories, and emphasized the importance of music in successful psychedelic therapy sessions. He believes that music and psychedelics have the potential to open our minds and connect us with our most authentic selves.

Dr. Alan Davis was interviewed by JAMA in their author interview podcast to discuss the newly published study titled Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy on Major Depressive Disorder.

The New York Times spoke to Dr. Matthew Johnson about the risks associated with psychedelic retreats. Although Dr. Johnson highlighted the therapeutic potential of psychedelics in clinically controlled environments, he cautioned that international retreats may be ill equipped to prevent vulnerable people from experiencing dangerous trips.

Mary Cosimano was featured as a keynote speaker at TEDxKC this past June. She discussed the overwhelming importance of love in psychedelic therapy, and unpacked the implications concerning love as a continual psychedelic motif. Cosimano also outlined how psychedelic trials are conducted, and stressed the importance of psychedelic therapy in the field of mental health.

NPR highlighted the findings of our recent paper on the effects of psilocybin-assisted therapy on depression. NPR interviewed Dr. Alan Davis who speaks to the rapid effects that were seen one day after the treatment.

This September, Dr. Roland Griffiths delivered a presentation at Harvard Divinity School outlining the psychological, spiritual, and religious implications of psilocybin induced mystical experiences. The presentation draws from a series of studies conducted at the Center, and demonstrates the importance of mystical experiences in clinical settings.

Johns Hopkins Media released a story describing the methods and results of our newly published study exploring the effects of psilocybin-assisted therapy on major depressive disorder. Dr. Roland Griffiths describes his surprise that most study participants found the treatment to be effective, and Dr. Alan Davis comments on the large effect sizes, which were four times larger than what is seen in clinical trials for traditional antidepressants.

An inside look into the development of the playlist used many of our psilocybin sessions. Dr. Bill Richards describes his process in choosing music, and the article includes a Spotify link to the playlist.

Dr. Roland Griffiths was interviewed by Dr. David Nutt on the Drug Science Podcast, and discussed topics ranging from caffeine dependence to psychedelic phenomenology.

Dr. Manoj Doss and Dr. Frederick Barrett spoke with Wired about the effects of salvinorin A on the brain. The researchers discussed the novelties of salvinorin A compared to other psychedelic drugs, and how their recent fMRI data challenges Freudian interpretations of the default mode network.

Dr. Matthew Johnson outlined his work with psychedelics and smoking cessation on the Drug Science Podcast. His interview with Dr. David Nutt addresses the potential of psychedelics to not only treat nicotine addiction, but a whole spectrum of addiction disorders. 

Dr. Matthew Johnson spoke with Inverse concerning the ambiguity of cancer depression in the field of psychiatry. He notes that cancer-related psychological distress is a common condition, however current treatments such as antidepressants offer little hope for remission. Clinical trials at Johns Hopkins have implicated psychedelics as powerful tools in the battle against cancer depression, and offer hope to those facing cancer diagnoses.

Dr. Albert Garcia-Romeu spoke to WJZ-TV Baltimore about our ongoing survey study of real-world psilocybin use.

The CPCR team spoke to John Semley at the New Republic about growing commercial interest in psychedelic therapies.

Mic interviewed Matthew Johnson about psychedelic treatment of PTSD, including our upcoming psilocybin PTSD study.

Johns Hopkins Media released a story about our recently published survey study that characterized experiences and their enduring effects of encountering seemingly autonomous entities after inhaling the powerful short-acting psychedelic drug DMT (N,N-dimethyltryptamine). Drs. Griffiths and Davis were quoted in the news release.

Dr. Frederick Barrett spoke to Psychology Today regarding claustrum dynamics during the psychedelic experience. Dr. Barrett’s work has shown decreased claustrum activity in patients under the influence of psilocybin. This finding elucidates the underlying neural mechanisms of the psychedelic state, and implicates the claustrum as a region of interest for future psychedelic studies.

Being Patient spoke with Dr. Albert Garcia-Romeu about the link between psychedelics and brain health, and what it might mean for Alzheimer’s research.

Mad in America covered the work of Dr. Natalie Gukasyan and Dr. Sandeep Nayak regarding the integration of the common factors theory in psychedelic research. The article underscores the importance of challenging biomedical perspectives of placebo by validating the common factors theory.

Johns Hopkins Media released a story about a recently published study that provides information about what motivates people to use psychedelic drugs. Dr. Griffiths described results of a double-blind study comparing psilocybin and dextromethorphan. The study concluded that several unique features of psilocybin account for its non-therapeutic use including psychological insight, increased awareness of beauty, awe/amazement, meaningfulness and mystical-type experiences (e.g., a highly valued sense of unity), and positive social effects. 

Dr. Natalie Gukasyan discussed her work with psychedelics and anorexia nervosa in an interview with Seven Health. She outlines the intricacies of anorexia nervosa in the context of psychedelic therapy, and explains the psychological mechanisms underlying the psychedelic experience.

PsyPost covered Dr. Alan Davis’ work regarding mental health in Special Operations Forces (SOF) Veterans. In the article, Dr. Davis emphasizes the increasing need for novel strategies to combat the mental health crisis among SOF members. His research demonstrates that Ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT therapy has the capacity to relieve SOF veterans suffering from PTSD, depression, anxiety, and suicide ideation.

Generation Anthropocene interviewed Dr. Albert Garcia-Romeu about the methodology of psychedelic administration, and touched upon his experience as a clinician in psychedelic trials.