ID: HR19-1070

Presenting author: Eric Eligh

Presenting author biography:

Eric Eligh is a Registered Nurse at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, BC, working in an outpatient clinic for people living with HIV. At the clinic, Eric specializes in providing primary care for clients managing both HIV and substance use disorders.

Case Study: Assisted Somatic Psychotherapy for Treatment Resistant Stimulant Use Disorder

Eric Eligh

Issue- Illicit methamphetamine use is an ongoing and growing concern as the fastest rising abused drug globally, and amphetamine-type stimulants remain the second most widely used class of illicit drugs worldwide. Of further concern is the lack of medical intervention in this area. Currently, the most effective interventions are psychosocial, such as Contingency Management, however these interventions have a range of substantial limitations.

Setting- Vancouver, British Columbia has been a leader in Canada for harm reduction and the development of novel therapies to address the needs of people with substance use disorders. Psychedelic-assisted therapy has recently gained resurgence through preliminary successes for mental health and addictions in the areas of depression, anxiety, alcohol use and tobacco use.

Project- Through a case study, the differences between conventional therapies for methamphetamine use and the use of 3MMC and 5-Meo-DMT as aids in somatic psychotherapy for methamphetamine use will be reviewed. One client’s experience with the Canadian healthcare system, and specifically addictions resources, is chronicled and contrasted against the unregulated and novel approach of guided psychedelic assisted somatic therapy. The differences in the patient’s substance use during therapy, time allotted to interventions and number of resources utilized will be reviewed.

Outcomes- Following psychedelic assisted therapy, the patient achieved more than 60 days of abstinence from methamphetamine use, which had previously not been achievable for this individual. A significant barrier to ongoing care, however, is the unregulated and unstudied nature of the substances being used for the therapy. In the future, we hope to collect additional data on objective markers to better support the subjective experience of patients. The potential benefits of psychedelic-assisted somatic therapy for the treatment of stimulant use disorders are compelling, and this case study highlights an otherwise unexplored modality of care for a disorder which desperately needs more effective treatments.