The Mission Within is committed to providing proven research into the effectiveness of psychedelic therapies not just to treat, but to heal veterans, their families and others suffering from PTSD, Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries, (mTBI), Depression and Anxiety.
In collaboration with Heroic Heart Project, The Mission Within will be the first program will be the site for at UT-Austin clinical study that will assess the efficacy of two psychedelics — psilocybin mushrooms and 5-MeO-DMT — on spouses of dead U.S. service members or veterans who meet the diagnostic criteria of prolonged grief. The study will involve two sets of 15 participants; one will be treated with 5-MeO-DMT and one with psilocybin.
Additional studies that are being planned are an ibogaine brain imaging study as well as one looking at the effectiveness of ayahuasca for PTSD in combat veterans.
“These are the most dramatic drug effects I’ve ever captured in an observational study,” said Dr. Williams, who is the director of the Brain Stimulation Lab at Stanford University.
“I think it’s unreasonable to believe that there’s no signal for potential benefits of psychedelics at this point,” says David Yaden of Johns Hopkins University. Researchers believe the drugs work by making the mind more flexible, helping people to see their lives and actions in a new light.
“Ibogaine seems to be resetting the brain pharmacologically, and at the same time, it’s producing deep psychological insight into the underlying drivers of addiction,” said Dr. Joseph Peter Barsuglia, a clinical and research psychologist who advises ibogaine clinics in Mexico.
The Mission Within is a clinical psychedelic retreat providing specialized treatments for PTSD, mTBI, depression, and anxiety helping participants breakthrough past trauma to become their best selves.