Psychotherapist Uses Marijuana to Unlock the Mind
If you’re a regular cannabis consumer, you’ve likely experienced what struck you as moments of piercing insight and emotional depth while you were high. Could those aha moments be harnessed for self-growth in a professional therapy session? Some psychotherapists believe they can, and a small number are practicing what they call cannabis-assisted therapy.
In scientific literature and pop culture mythology alike, the power of mind-altering substances to produce insights has been met with disdain and delight alike. Recently, however, some researchers are investigating the beneficial aspects of cannabis and how its so-called psychedelic properties can work therapeutically. Famed American psychologist James Fadiman explored its potential in the 1960s and other researchers have continued to build on his findings.
“The term psychedelic is definitely hard for the public to discern,” said neuroscientist Adie Wilson-Poe of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who studies the addictive and pain-relieving properties of opioids and cannabinoids.
“There is still a lot of misinformation and stigma out there. Experts would agree that the term psychedelic means the ‘mind-manifesting’ or consciousness-expanding properties of a substance,” Wilson-Poe said. “Cannabis fits some of the criteria, but not all, and probably only under the right conditions or in certain individuals.”
Now other professionals are ushering cannabis into new realms of treatment. Marijuana.com spoke with Sara Ouimette, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Oakland, California, who explained how cannabis is useful in psychotherapy.
