A psychedelic therapy centre recently opened its doors in Alberta’s capital city. The province was the first in Canada to start regulating the alternative mental health treatment modalities at the beginning of 2023.
Reunion Therapy provides a safe space for people to receive ketamine, psilocybin and MDMA healing sessions. They are intended to aid conditions like depression, PTSD and end-of-life anxiety.
“We are focused on helping patients access the root cause of their suffering in ways that traditional therapies may not reach,” the healing centre says.
Reunion received its license to administer these drugs from the provincial government on Nov. 29 and has been getting its clinic organized for the past couple of months. It now joins a small group of other clinic owners in Alberta like ATMA CENA Psychedelic Healthcare Solutions, SABI Mind and the Envision Mind Care & Research Institute.
Reunion offers custom-tailored group ketamine therapy programs for women and first responders. Unlike ketamine, those seeking to experience psilocybin and MDMA must obtain permission through Health Canada’s Special Access Program before partaking in usage of the psychoactive drugs at Reunion’s clinic.
Read more: Alberta university kicks off major study on psilocybin for alcohol use disorder treatment
Read more: ATMA CENA opens Alberta psychedelic therapy clinics, Ontario locations to follow
Major insurance provider starts covering ketamine therapy
This notable development in the province occurred in March last year.
Alberta Blue Cross now includes psychedelic-assisted therapy in its health coverage options. It has over 1.7 million Albertans covered under its plans.
This will begin with ketamine and potentially expand to MDMA and psilocybin-assisted therapy once they become regulated for therapeutic use and don’t have such stringent access requirements.
“This pivotal decision by Alberta Blue Cross marks a monumental leap forward in advancing access to cutting-edge mental health solutions for Albertans,” ATMA CENA said in a statement last year.
The province has been home to some influential psychedelic research too. Last spring, the University of Calgary started a major study on psilocybin for the treatment of alcohol use disorder.
A graduate, Jim Parker, donated C$3 million in 2021 so that the school could appoint a Psychedelic Research Chair to lead extensive studies like this. Leah Mayo currently holds the position.
Parker was inspired to make the contribution after seeing the profound impact ketamine therapy had on his niece. She was suffering from PTSD before receiving the treatment and has been thriving since.
rowan@mugglehead.com
