Research

Why Psychedelic Research is Booming: Current Trends and Hurdles

November 8, 2024
Featuring: Floris Wolswijk

There is more psychedelic research happening today than ever before, but is anyone collecting it all into one place? And can we find trends in all that data?

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There is more psychedelic research happening today than ever before, but is anyone collecting it all into one place? And can we find trends in all that data?

In this episode, David interviews Floris Wolswijk: senior project manager at Delphi; co-founder of FLO coaching; and founder of Blossom, an online informational hub collecting psychedelic courses, trials, companies, and over 2000 categorized research articles.

When Wolswijk began Blossom, he was barely able to fill a weekly newsletter, and now he’s adding a new study nearly every day, perfectly illustrating the exponential growth in psychedelic research. He talks about why so much research is happening (and why more isn’t), the trends he’s seen, the benefit in research changing people’s minds, and what he hopes for in the future. What can the research community learn from existing real world evidence, and how can retreat centers and underground communities contribute?

He also discusses:

  • What culture is like in the Netherlands, where psilocybin truffles are legal
  • Drug development and the possibilities of adjusting existing molecules
  • What we can learn from the Lykos and FDA situation
  • The economics of psychedelics and how insurance will likely be the next big conversation
  • His work with FLO coaching, and how coaching, acceptance and commitment therapy, and psilocybin can work together

and more! 

Links

Blossomanalysis.com

Delphi-circle.com

Flocoaching.nl

YouTube: Psychedelic Research: The Current Landscape & Future Directions, with Floris Wolswijk (a PT webinar)

QRI.org

Why Did the FDA Reject MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD?, featuring: Ingmar Gorman, Ph.D.

Painscience.com: A fascinating landmark study of placebo surgery for knee osteoarthritis

Psychedelicalpha.com: The Psychedelic Drug Development Pipeline Bullseye Chart

The Economics of Psychedelics, featuring: Elliot Marseille, DrPH, MPP

Thelancet.com: Effect of psilocybin versus escitalopram on depression symptom severity in patients with moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder: observational 6-month follow-up of a phase 2, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial

Microdosinginstitute.com

Bbrfoundation.org: Small Preliminary Trial of Psychoactive Drug Ibogaine Yields ‘Initial Evidence’ for Powerful Therapeutic Potential in Traumatic Brain Injury

Psychologytoday.com: David Drapkin, LCSW

Floris Wolswijk

In this Episode

Floris Wolswijk

Floris Wolswijk is the founder of Blossom, which serves as an informational hub for psychedelic insights, documenting psychedelics from research to the implementation of psychedelic-assisted therapy. Floris has also co-founded FLO coaching with his wife, Lotte. They provide psychedelic-assisted coaching with a focus on adequate preparation and integration. Finally, Floris is a core team member of Delphi, a U.S.-based consultancy that advises organizations both in the psychedelic ecosystem and the incumbent system, focussing on the medical introduction of these medicines.

Floris studied Psychology at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and graduated with a master’s degree in 2014. Through his decade of personal experiences with psychedelics and subsequent engagement with scientific literature, he fell in love with the psychedelics field. He is helping make psychedelics more widely available and hopes they can be widely used both as therapeutics and for self-development.

Floris is also a local leader in the Effective Altruism movement, where he encourages people to do the most good they can. He donated his kidney to a stranger and gives away 10% of his income to effective charities like StrongMinds, which helps people battle depression and anxiety. Floris lives in the Dutch countryside with his wife, Lotte, their two dogs, and six chickens.

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