Mind Medicine Australia Celebrates 2-Year Anniversary
By: Mind Medicine Australia
Tags: Mental Health, Psychedelics, Depression, Healing, Mind Medicine Australia

This week Mind Medicine Australia turns two years old! In our two years, we have made remarkable progress in growing public awareness of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in Australia. We are already seeing a paradigm shift in the curiosity, acceptance and interest into the use of medicine-assisted therapy for depression, addiction, PTSD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anorexia and other mental and physical illnesses in our communities.

In order to help those who are suffering with mental illness we have focused on four key strategic areas. Please see our strategic objectives to build the ecosystem in Australia for these medicines here.

What we have achieved in our two years with your support:

Awareness and Knowledge Building

Successful launch event with Professor David Nutt at the University of Melbourne

120+ webinars, screenings and special events attracting 20,000+ participants globally

200+ regular donors

100+ media appearances

120,000+ visitors to our websites and over 21,800+ followers on our social media channels

2000+ downloads of our e-book about psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies

20,000+ people in our database

27+ local Chapters around Australia and New Zealand with 600+ members and growing

20+ world leading speakers for our International Summit on Psychedelic Therapies for Mental Illness to take place in Melbourne in November 2021

150+ partner organisations for our Summit so far

Created a video animation explaining the mental health problem in Australia and the benefits of psilocybin and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy with over 50,000+ views

Collating Australia’s first book of Psychedelic Healing Stories

Part-funder of St Vincent’s end-of-life trial using psilocybin-assisted therapy

Access to Medically Approved Therapy

Submission of our TGA application to reschedule MDMA and psilocybin from Schedule 9 (Prohibited Substances) to Schedule 8 (Controlled Medicines).

Australia’s TGA has granted approvals through SAS-B for psilocybin and MDMA assisted therapies for patients on a case-by-case basis

Partnership announced between Emyria Limited (which owns a network of Emerald Clinics around Australia) and Mind Medicine Australia to develop a gold standard national care program, clinical protocols and standard operating practices for psychedelic-assisted therapies

Submissions made to the Victorian Royal Commission on Mental Health and to the Productivity Commission

Launch of our Psychological Support Service offering expert support in relation to psychedelics and plant medicines in terms of client emotional health and wellbeing

Built national team of 11 practitioners including 1 psychotherapist, 5 psychologists, 1 GP, 1 nutritionist, 1 Trauma informed yoga teacher, 1 counsellor and 1 social worker

370+ sessions by all practitioners including 17 NDIS sessions

116+ current patients and 759 patients in our database

65+ general practitioners in our GP database

60+ participants in our study and integration groups

10 social work student placements with over 5000 hours

Key university partnerships with University of Melbourne, Victoria University, Deakin University and Australian Catholic University

Contract signed with manufacturer of medical grade GMP standard psychedelic medicines for import to Australia when all necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained.

Review of Federal and State legislative and regulatory requirements

Professional Development Program (Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies)

Confirmed world-leading facilitators for our Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies professional development course

First intake fully subscribed and other intakes filling fast

100+ therapists in training annually including GPs, psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, mental health nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, addiction specialists and counsellors.

Asia-Pacific Centre for Emerging Mental Health Therapies (CEMHT)

Developing partnerships with Australian Universities to create an Asia-Pacific Centre of Excellence in Emerging Mental Health Therapies

Discussions with key stakeholders continue

The progress we are making in public education was exemplified in several headline media articles including in the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the Age, Herald Sun, The Saturday Paper and Vogue Australia and media interviews including with The Project, ABC and other stations.

Our primary focus over the next couple of years will be on psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, given their “Breakthrough Therapy Designation” with the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) in the United States and the strong clinical evidence that supports both their effectiveness and safety. We are also interested in developing other medicines to treat a variety of conditions.

Behind the scenes, we are working closely with key stakeholders to ensure that these therapies will be accessible and affordable to all Australians needing these treatments in medically-controlled environments, so that cost and geography doesn’t become a barrier.

In the last year, we have assembled a comprehensive leadership team with expertise in mental illness including psychology, neuroscience and pharmacology, non-profit development, business practices and networks, public health, events and educational development.

Mind Medicine Australia is also supported by an outstanding Board, Ambassadors and an Advisory Panel of over 60 local and international experts in medicine, psychiatry, psychology, pharmacology, research, science more broadly, ethics, law, policy, anthropology, business and therapeutic practices.

We are currently preparing for our International Summit on Psychedelic Therapies for Mental Illness to be held at the Sofitel in Melbourne this November. We have a global line-up of world leaders in medicine-assisted psychotherapies and other outstanding thought leaders on topics ranging from medicine and anthropology to neuroscience and ethics. We are now confirming financial, endorsing and media partners and would appreciate as much support as possible to produce a brilliant event.

Our much anticipated Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies launched in January 2021. We are thrilled to welcome a wonderful group of GPs, psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, mental health nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, addiction specialists and counsellors.

As we begin 2021, our vision and capacity continues to grow, as does the need to make medicine-assisted psychotherapy a legally available treatment through our medical system for the increasing number of individuals suffering as a result of the pandemic, environmental challenges and global trends which challenge social cohesiveness and social inclusion.

We ask for your continued and expanded support so that we can fund the path for psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to help treat the millions experiencing mental illness in Australia. This is personal for every one of us.

“Psychedelics are to the study of the mind what the microscope is to biology and the telescope is to astronomy.” — Dr Stanislav Grof

Enormous gratitude to all of our supporters, partners, Board, Ambassadors, Advisory Panel, Team, Chapters and volunteers.

This is a collective mission and we need all of you by our sides.

On behalf of Mind Medicine Australia

Peter Hunt AM, Chair & Tania de Jong AM, Executive Director