https://vimeo.com/399959098 in urlDr. Rosalind Watts is the clinical lead of the Imperial College of London’s Psilocybin for Depression trials. Prior to joining the Imperial Psychedelic Research Group led by Robin Carhart-Harris, she trained as a clinical psychologist and practiced psychotherapy for the National Health Service in the U.K. for six years. Designer of the therapy protocol for the first Psilocybin trial (Psilocdep 1), she works as a lead guide and manages the day-to-day aspects of the trials.
We visited Dr. Watts in London, squeezing our equipment into her very narrow houseboat. She shared her experience at the NHS, the selection of participants for the psilocybin trials, how they are prepared, the setting for their experience and the support they receive afterward.
She also revealed to us the results of the first trial (Psilocdep 1) and emphasized the importance of an Integration phase following the experience to optimize its transformational potential. She is now managing the much larger (Psilodep 2 trial), which is comparing Psychedelic Assisted Therapy with antidepressant medications (SSRIs).
Last but not least, Dr. Watts described how she would design an ideal psychedelic therapy session and how that would differ from the dictates of their standardized double-blind trial at Imperial College.
