People First Radio – February 20, 2025People First Radio – February 20, 2025
People First Radio
Psilocybin and MDMA-assisted therapies are discussed alongside concerns about social media-driven self-diagnosis, with a focus on safety, trauma, and careful assessment. Guests share how emerging treatments and critical thinking about online content might shape mental health and chronic pain care.
0:00•21 Feb 2025
Psychedelics, Chronic Pain, and TikTok Diagnoses on People First Radio
Episode Overview
- Psilocybin trials for treatment-resistant depression are tightly controlled, combining medication or placebo with psychotherapy and close medical oversight.
- Eligibility for psychedelic trials involves rigorous medical and psychological screening to focus on safety and the right patient population.
- MDMA-assisted therapy is being studied as a way to address trauma-related roots of chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia.
- Psychedelic medicines are framed as tools that can enhance, rather than replace, ongoing talk therapy and broader wellness habits.
- Social media self-diagnosis can increase anxiety and lead to unhelpful self-treatment, so checking credible sources and seeking proper assessment is strongly encouraged.
“We know that emotion and trauma can, of course, make pain in the body because the brain is attached to the body.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety, mental health, and beyond? This edition of People First Radio pulls together three big conversations about psychedelics, chronic pain, and the impact of social media on how people see their own mental health. First up, Adam Watson from the Medical Arts Health Research Group talks about a psilocybin-assisted therapy trial for treatment-resistant depression in Nanaimo.
He explains how the study pairs psilocybin or placebo with close psychological support, careful medical monitoring, and a rigorous screening process. For anyone who’s tried multiple antidepressants without relief, his description of a tightly supervised option, rather than going it alone with mushrooms, stands out. As he puts it, access is being offered in “a very carefully governed medical setting.” The episode then shifts to a replay with Dr.
Pamela Crisco from Roots to Thrive, focusing on MDMA-assisted therapy for chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia. Drawing on years in pain medicine, she explains how unresolved trauma can show up as very real physical pain.
One line sums up her view: “We know that emotion and trauma can, of course, make pain in the body because the brain is attached to the body.” She walks through how MDMA sessions, combined with intensive preparation and integration, may help people reframe traumatic memories and potentially ease long-standing pain. Finally, psychologist Dr. Christine Korol weighs in on social media self-diagnosis.
She talks about TikTok waves of “diagnosis” trends, the worry they can cause, and why context and proper assessment matter.
She urges people to check credentials, watch out for fear-based content, and remember that a diagnosis, if accurate, “doesn’t say anything about who you are or your worth as a human being.” If you’re curious about new treatments, cautious about online mental health content, or juggling both, this conversation might give you plenty to think about – and a few questions to take to your own care team.
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.