Ep. 302: Psychedelics in Therapy

Guest: Dr. Evan Wood and Payton Nyquvest, Numinus

The numbers are staggering. Mental health is crippling Canada.

Here are the estimated costs both human and financial: One in five Canadians suffer from an addiction in any given year. Fifty percent of us will experience a major depressive episode. PTSD affects close to 10% of the population and 4,000 Canadians will take their own lives this year.

Payton Nyquvest – the founder of Numinus, a Vancouver-based company – is working with Dr Evan Wood to address these pressing issues, utilizing the potential of psychedelics in mental health treatment. Nyquvest openly admits he was struggling with depression. He says, “I had to get treatment, lasting treatment. I sought it out internationally and it worked.” It worked so well, he set out to provide the same opportunity for others in Vancouver.

Dr Evan Wood, a leading figure in addiction research and treatment, is the company’s Chief Medical Officer. Wood says, “Studies at Johns Hopkins University and other institutions are showing tremendous gains in mental health and addiction outcomes when psychedelics are added. The therapeutic outcomes are significantly better than current common treatments. It’s cutting edge but it is an exciting development in treatment.”

We invited Dr Evan Wood and Payton Nyquvest of Numinus to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the positive outcomes psychedelic treatments are offering in therapy.