10/30/2021
In my clinical work as a Psychologist I teach people coping skills and strategies to manage their mental health issues, and the traditional model of mental health treatment relegates Psychiatry to medicating the patient. Research demonstrates that antidepressant medications often do not help the patient when compared to placebos, are not a cure, and they often bring many side effects to the patient during their course of treatment. These points have led me to seek out other ways to help my patients address their problems.
With the legal status of medical cannabis and psychedelics interfering with the ability to research these compounds and their usefulness, clinicians have had to rely on observational data for decades in order to learn more about them. I am pleased to see such an esteemed institution as John's Hopkins University embracing the use of observational clinical studies to support the efficacy of medical cannabis in treating the symptoms of mental health disorders.
"Though antidepressant effects of CBD have been consistently reported preclinically..., our work contributes to the literature by showing a potential for translation across species without many of the negative side effects associated with traditional antidepressants...". There's a lot more to this study, and there were some limitations noted as well. The stigma from the War on Drugs is hard to beat down, which is why we need to keep the education coming. Research is the language of the clinician, and the journals are the way to communicate to them. I can only hope that the majority of clinicians embrace plant medicine as a viable treatment for a myriad of mental health and medical disorders.
What do you think about cannabis helping with anxiety and depression?
To learn more about my Clinical Services, please contact my office. Teletherapy sessions available. Link in bio. 😎🤙💚
