Handbook of Medical Hallucinogens

This handbook reviews promising applications of psychedelics in treatment of such challenging psychiatric problems as posttraumatic stress disorder, major depression, substance use disorders, and end-of-life anxiety. Experts from multiple disciplines synthesize current knowledge on psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine, and other medical hallucinogens. The volume comprehensively examines these substances' neurobiological mechanisms, clinical effects, therapeutic potential, risks, and anthropological and historical contexts. Coverage ranges from basic science to practical clinical considerations, including patient screening and selection, dosages and routes of administration, how psychedelic-assisted sessions are structured and conducted, and management of adverse reactions.

About the Author

Charles S. Grob, MD, is Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Harbor–UCLA Medical Center. He previously held faculty positions at the Johns Hopkins University and the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Grob has conducted approved clinical research with psychedelics since the early 1990s and has published numerous articles on psychedelics in the medical and psychiatric literatures, as well as several books. He is a founding board member of the Heffter Research Institute. Jim Grigsby, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Psychology, and in the Division of Health Care Policy and Research of the Department of Medicine, at the University of Colorado Denver. His research and over 250 publications have focused on neuropsychology, cognitive neuroscience, telemedicine, and other areas of health services research. His work in neuroscience includes extensive research on executive functioning and on the clinical phenotypes of fragile x-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS), of which he was a co-discoverer. Dr. Grigsby's current research interests include the the therapeutic use and mechanisms of psilocybin and MDMA.