IPHA NEWS recently nominated Ms. Mary Nielsen to the PMCC (Post Military Crusaders Coalition) for establishing "Uphold our Troops"- a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships for military veterans and their families so that they can become psilocybin facilitators. In this interview, we share Ms. Nielsen's heartfelt drive to bring a remarkable form of support to the many cases of military trauma and as a supplemental initiative to suicide prevention.
IMPACT
* 67% No longer qualified for a PTSD diagnosis after two months of treatment. “What makes this moment different from 20 years ago is the widespread recognition that we should leave no stone unturned in identifying new treatments for PTSD,” -Dr. John Krystal, the chair of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine
* “We currently deal with PTSD as something that needs to be managed in an ongoing way, but this approach represents real hope for long-term healing,” -Rachel Yehuda, professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.
4/25/2023: From an exclusive interview with MARY NIELSEN
WHAT IS PSYILOCYBIN? They're crudely called "magic mushrooms"-- they're psychedelic mushrooms classified as a schedule 1 drug in the 1970s by Richard Nixon with the Controlled Substances Act. There was been a lot of research prior to this legislation that was completely shut down. Universities and organizations that were studying this and conducting clinical trials could not have access to psilocybin. So an underground psilocybin network continued and some recent push with John Hopkins University Hospital initiated some clinical trials that show absolutely clear evidence of medicinal effect from three doses of psilocybin.
This isn't an SSRI medication that you are going to have to be on the rest of your life, then you'll need other meds to counteract the side effects. It's one to three psilocybin journeys with a guide and then some talk therapy in between has psilocybin rewiring your brain. It creates greater neuroplasticity, creates greater neuron activity, and allows you to look and have different creative problem solving a abilities. Within three months, the patients are no longer showing signs of having PTSD. They are off of their medications. They are able to function in the world without the anxiety and the deep depression-- and they're able to hold jobs. On their own, they are getting off of alcohol, narcotics and whatever other substances they were on. It's truly remarkable and things have moved into phase two clinical trials, and we are hoping that it is going to be declassified as a Schedule one drug by 2024.
UPHOLD OUR TROOPS is In the state of Oregon, where psilocybin has received a legal framework (as of January, 2023) this allows veterans who have struggled with anxiety, PTSD and substance use disorders to work with other veterans who are also struggling with those same issues to get some of the healing benefits of psilocybin.
Psilocybin has been proven in clinical trials to alleviate many symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, substance use (etc)- the very issues that our veterans are struggling with. The reason why I established this foundation is because I learned about these occupational issues in the military from the many reports of our soldiers' experiences during our 20-year military intervention with Afghanistan. During those 20 years, a little over 7,000 military personnel died in combat or some type of military interaction. But in that same 20 year period of time, 30,000 veterans committed suicide-- that's four times more deaths by their own hands than getting killed in battle!
It broke my heart to learn that our country, the VA, the medical system and the mental health system has not done much for our men and women who served their country. To underserve those who have gone off to fight for the ideals that our country is based on. How is it that we can't do anything better, that we just keep doing the same old thing and throwing the same old money at it? It's unconscionable.
Psilocybin is a plant-based medicine and it has been around for centuries with a proven track record of its healing properties. It is not addictive. It's out of your system in 24 hours. As a chemical based psychedelic MDMA or LSD, which is made with chemicals versus a plant and something that's in nature creates more of a connection really with us as human beings in nature. Culturally, some of the indigenous tribes were using it for ceremonial or religious purposes to create a bond between humans in nature
Right now, clinical use of Psilocybin is approved and available in the state of Oregon. It is in the works in Colorado, Washington DC, Hawaii, Washington State, Montana, Arizona, New Mexico and Pennsylvania. There's just been such a voice coming out from different research organizations and people's own anecdotal findings lately as far as evidence of what psilocybin and other psychedelics can do to address these disorders.
In Oregon (as the first state in the country with a legal framework), people are concerned about the growing lot of misinformation-- that it is like a dispensary model with cannabis. This is not its intent. A person who wishes to have psilocybin services doesn't need a mental health referral from a mental health professional. They can go to a service center where all psilocybin must be consumed on the spot and the person must stay on site for a certain period of time based on the dose of psilocybin that they receive. They spend their time with a facilitator (but prior meeting with a facilitator for a consultation is optional) and then there's a 24-hour waiting period.
AFTERTHOUGHT
More and more members of the healing community find psychedelic entheogenic medicine to have the potential to heal and
help so many and could shift the mental health crisis in our country.
The slow cogs of government change need to engage a little more, but I
think grassroots efforts in individual pockets of our country will make
an impact- perhaps anywhere from five or ten years. Its
incredible (to me) that the COVID vaccine could get FDA fast-tracked to
save lives, yet psychedelics can't get fast-tracked for life saving
mental health.
Suicide Prevention Hotline; Text 988 or call 1-800-273-TALK
AUTHOR: Mary Nielsen is the entrepreneurial founder of Clinical Cognitive Facilitator Training. Mary is the Executive Director and founder of Spectrum Advanced Aesthetics Institute (www.spectrumlasertraining.com), the OG of Fearless Beauties (www.fearlessbeauties.org) and an author of several textbooks. She believes in the empowerment found in education and in supporting complementary methods for enacting the highest level of healing, including psychedelic facilitator training. Mary serves on the Advisory Board for Private Career Schools in Oregon.
Meet our Sponsor: RESPONDER RESILIENCE
As we enter a new phase of understanding and healing trauma, we need to upgrade the tools and approaches we use to help people move forward in their lives. Psilocybin is one of these tools that is now finally gaining traction in our modern world as research validates what indigenous healers have known and observed for thousands of years: psilocybin can provide powerful healing.
Mental and emotional health are linked with our spiritual and physical health, and one of the reasons psilocybin may be so effective is that it addresses these multiple layers. Psilocybin essentially “rewires” the brain by reducing inflammation and changing dysfunctional patterns in the brain that occur with trauma - including PTSD. It also enables profound spiritual experiences that enable seeing one’s life from a different perspective. Research shows that these changes are fairly rapid and permanent. But the impacts of trauma and PTSD go beyond the individual.
One of the major areas of stress and dysfunction that people experience in their lives is in relationships. We all live in relationship – to ourselves, our families, people in our workplaces and communities. This is even more evident when people have experienced trauma. When a person is suffering from the effects of trauma, their interactions with others suffer too. Therefore, once the initial healing occurs, there is much more that needs to be addressed to restore full health.
We are each unique, and the scientific advances of genomics and epigenetics have shown us how our DNA impacts physical, emotional and mental health – and why people have different responses to the same types of experiences. This includes trauma. How we approach trauma needs to reflect the commonalities of experiences while honoring the uniqueness of each person.
Just as psilocybin is revolutionizing how we address PTSD and other trauma on multiple levels, so is Human Design revolutionizing how we support health and healing for each individual. It is also a powerful tool to extend that healing to relationships.
HUMAN DESIGN is a relatively new modality that integrates many ancient wisdoms with modern science. A synthesis of astrology, the Kabballah, the I’Ching, and Hindu chakras along with the neutrinos of modern quantum physics, this provides deep insights into how we are energetically designed to be and move through the world – including our relationships.
While not a replacement for effective integration and therapy, I have found that Human Design can provide a deeper level of insight to personalize strategies for approaching relationships from a different perspective. Human Design provides an energetic and spiritual blueprint that goes below the surface of who we think we are supposed to be, and whom others expect us to be. Similar to the breakthrough insights with psilocybin, Human Design shows us who we are at our core. This enables us to see ourselves from a new perspective, free of the identities and beliefs we’ve adopted through our life experiences in order to survive but aren’t really supporting our long-term emotional and spiritual health.
One of the things I find so refreshing about Human Design is that it provides a living, breathing framework for people to experiment with. The tapestry created by the many layers is not a fixed set of external rules or expectations. Rather, it provides a compass for each person to discover their own inner wisdom and access their own decision-making process. As they experiment with this new way of seeing and being themselves, the affirmation and locus of control is internal. This shift from external events over which we have no control to an internal one that is always available and aligned with our true self is such a stark contrast to what most of us have experienced throughout our lives – especially those who have experienced trauma.
As each person starts to reclaim themselves from the effects of their traumas, understanding their design can help them they can fast-track healing of their relationships as well. They have a practical framework and new tools to understand the concept of relationships being made up of three distinct energetic entities: me, you, and us. It is no longer me against you, my needs vs yours because it becomes clear what those needs are – and how to meet those needs in a conscious way.
So much of the hidden agendas and beliefs of how things should be are now revealed, and the relief is instantaneous. Now each person understands how to be themselves, without blame, without the unconscious need to control that leads to power struggles. The relationship becomes a curious experiment, a safe place to explore, with a transparent framework that illuminates the gifts and challenges inherent within their relationship as well as the tools to navigate them effectively.
CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR:
ROBERTA KLINE, MD (Educational Dir. /Women's Diagnostic Group)
Dr. Kline is a board-certified ObGyn physician, Integrative Personalized Medicine expert, consultant, author, and educator whose mission is to change how we approach health and deliver healthcare. She helped to create the Integrative & Functional Medicine program for a family practice residency, has consulted with Sodexo to implement the first personalized nutrition menu for healthcare facilities, and serves as Education Director for several organizations including the Women’s Diagnostic Health Network, Mommies on a Mission. Learn more at https://robertaklinemd.com/
PERSONALIZED NUTRITION: GOING BEYOND VITAMIN B12 FOR VEGAN DIET SUPPORT - by: Dr. Roberta Kline
The research is pretty unequivocal: eating a plant-based, whole food diet is overall one of the healthiest strategies. But there are many ways to implement this into one’s diet. For some people, this looks like a Mediterranean Diet. Paleo is another common choice. Others opt for a vegetarian or even vegan diet. And many people will thrive on their chosen version. But did you know your genes play a large role in what foods best support your health, and if you don’t choose accordingly the best intentions can actually harm you? Fortunately, there is an easy way to solve this problem: know your genes.
IPHA NEWS recently nominated Ms. Mary Nielsen to the PMCC (Post Military Crusaders Coalition) for establishing "Uphold our Troops"- a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships for military veterans and their families so that they can become psilocybin facilitators. In this interview, we share Ms. Nielsen's heartfelt drive to bring a remarkable form of support to the many cases of military trauma and as a supplemental initiative to suicide prevention.
AUTHOR: Mary Nielsen is the entrepreneurial founder of Clinical Cognitive Facilitator Training. Mary is the Executive Director and founder of Spectrum Advanced Aesthetics Institute (www.spectrumlasertraining.com), the OG of Fearless Beauties (www.fearlessbeauties.org) and an author of several textbooks. She believes in the empowerment found in education and in supporting complementary methods for enacting the highest level of healing, including psychedelic facilitator training. Mary serves on the Advisory Board for Private Career Schools in Oregon.
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