Researchers look to once-taboo frontier ? psychedelics ? to treat ...

“These are physicians and nurses who experienced so much death firsthand.”As health care professionals across the U.S. look for ways to deal with the mental and emotional anguish that has been wrought by the pandemic, Back is looking in a new, once-taboo, direction.In a first-of-its kind clinical trial at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Back’s research team will treat 30 depressed medical professionals with a dose of synthetic psilocybin — a psychedelic drug — to see if the drug, along with psychotherapy, can reduce their mental anguish. The research also highlights concerns over burnout and depression among the workers the nation has leaned on for nearly two years.“This is a serious crisis within medicine,” said Dr. Charles Grob, a professor of psychiatry at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. “The unique thing we’re finding with psilocybin is that it works rapidly to diminish depression and anxiety, and it has a long-duration therapeutic effect,” said Ross, who gave Back input on his clinical trial’s design but is not part of Back’s research.In an August JAMA article, two prominent psychiatrists — William Smith of the University of Pennsylvania and Paul Appelbaum of Columbia University — urged caution about moving hastily with psychedelics. Now, he added: “We’re entering into a new era where we’re taking a fresh look at psychedelics, where we’re not encumbered with the negative connotations that arose about psychedelics in the ‘60s because of its close connection with a politically active counterculture.”  Private funding opportunities have increased, and the regulatory agencies that decide what work to allow with these drugs have become more amenable to research, Grob said. “Not every promising treatment pans out, and doing more to people isn’t always the best thing,” Back said.The use of a substance that was once effectively verboten to treat doctors and other medical workers is a signal of both psilocybin’s promise and the severity of the pandemic’s impact on caregivers’ mental health.