Psychedelics: From 'Magic' to Medicinal

Adam Bayes | Wayne Hall | Sana Qadar 

Could psychedelics unlock the answers to managing complex mental health issues?

Once associated with cults and hippies, psychedelics are now becoming an evidence-based treatment for psychiatric disorders. In Australia there are numerous psychedelic trials taking place and come July, psilocybin and MDMA will be available for prescription by authorised psychiatrists for the first time. This is on the back of ketamine recently being approved for severe depression. 

Who will get access to psychedelics, and what are the ethical considerations of these treatments? Could new psychedelic treatments revolutionise the way the psychiatrists treat mental health, or has the Therapeutic Goods Administration jumped the gun? 

Join UNSW research fellow and psychiatrist Dr Adam Bayes, Emeritus Professor Wayne Hall and others as they unpack the stigma, the myths, the benefits, and the path forward in a conversation chaired by the ABC’s All In the Mind host, Sana Qadar. 

This event is presented by the UNSW Centre for Ideas, UNSW Medicine & Health and UNSW Science as a part of National Science Week.