Thinking Outside the Pillbox

Our current approach to mental health, focused on diagnosis and medication, is doing more harm than good. We need a revolution in how we understand and respond to problems that affect our mental health. Instead of viewing psychological distress as a symptom of biological illness, we should understand how we respond to and are affected by the events and circumstances in our lives. Rather than relying solely on medication, we must prioritise psychological and social solutions. As the United Nations and World Health Organisation argue, we should tackle power imbalances, not chemical imbalances.

Chronic pain is poorly managed by current drug therapies. Their lack of efficacy, distressing side effects and possibility of addiction make them unfeasible in the long-term. Fortunately, the advent of human neuroimaging has given us new insights into how pain is processed in the brain and how it can be manipulated. In this talk, I will show how we can harness the brain’s own power to change the experience of pain in chronic conditions, such as phantom limb and low back pain, and how technology is being used to provide alternative therapies for the management of long-term pain.

Enter the illuminating world of psychedelics to question whether they can really promise a transformation in therapeutic approaches for mental health and well-being. We will explore what psychedelic-assisted-therapy involves and the mechanisms by which it might address unresolved emotions and psychological distress through increased introspection and psychological flexibility. We will discover how psychedelics represent a potential paradigm shift within mental health; offering promising avenues for people to get themselves better. This is not a talk about another drug-based ‘silver bullet’, but an opportunity to step outside the pillbox and learn just how much the mind can do for itself.