Psilocybin in mental healthcare: what we have learnt and where we are going

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• Dr. Meg Spriggs
• Monday 29 November 2021, 18:30-20:00
• Lightfoot Room, Old Divinity School, St John’s College.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Bianca De Sanctis.

For our next in-person talk of the year, we’re delighted to welcome Dr. Meg Spriggs to talk about her ground-breaking work at the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London, and to give some wider context on the use of psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) in psychiatry. Following the talk, there will be time for questions, and a trip to the pub if anyone is interested.

This event is being co-hosted by CamBrain: The Cambridge Neuroscience Society – check out their page here: https://www.facebook.com/CamBrainCNS

This talk will be a broad discussion of what we have learnt and where we are headed in deepening our understanding of psilocybin in mental healthcare. The talk will focus on trials conducted by the Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, including a recently completed RCT comparing psilocybin to escitalopram in the treatment of major depression, and our ongoing trial assessing psilocybin as a potential treatment avenue for anorexia nervosa. We will explore what past research has taught us about the potential mechanisms of this therapeutic approach, and will finish with a discussion of the importance of Public Patient Involvement to the development of the psychedelic trials of the future.

Dr. Meg Spriggs completed her PhD in psychology at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, where she focused on neuroplasticity in Alzheimer’s Disease. Following this, her passion for mental health research led her to the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London. Here she has worked across numerous projects including as co-ordinator and guide on a study of the acute and long-term psychological and neurological effects of psilocybin in healthy volunteers. However, her main focus since joining the group has been in developing and leading the first study of psilocybin assisted therapy for anorexia nervosa in Europe, which commenced in May 2021.

The Cambridge Psychedelic Society was started last year as a platform to encourage discussion and education about psychedelic substances, their use in medicine, as well as their cultural, legal, philosophical, and artistic impacts. Everyone welcome. Advertising or soliciting illegal drugs is strictly prohibited.

Join our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/psychedelicsoc/

This talk is part of the Cambridge Psychedelic Society series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• Cambridge Psychedelic Society
• Lightfoot Room, Old Divinity School, St John’s College

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