Saundra Jain, MA, PsyD, LPC and Rakesh Jain, MD, MPH: We live and practice in Austin, Texas. Rakesh is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and I am a psychotherapist. We’re both involved in research focusing much of our time on the study of wellness. We both hold adjunct clinical affiliate positions at the University of Texas, Austin, School of Nursing, and Rakesh is a Clinical Professor at Texas Tech School of Medicine – Permian Basin, Midland, Texas. We're both actively involved in peer-to-peer education both domestically and internationally. As discussed below, we’re very interested in the intersect between psychedelics and wellness and are committed to educating our colleagues about the use of psychedelics in the treatment of mental health conditions.
History of our previous research project: We recently completed a preliminary survey investigating the interrelationship between psychedelics and wellness. The results were presented as a poster at the second-largest mental health conference in the US – Psych Congress – in early October 2019. We have since launched an expanded psychedelics and wellness study (PAWS), which can be accessed at
www.psychedelicsandwellness.com. To participate in the study and be eligible to complete the online anonymous survey, subjects must be 18 years old or older and have taken a psychedelic at least once in their lifetime.
Reason behind this research project: Following a four-decade moratorium, the therapeutic use of psychedelics has once more captured the collective attention of the medical community and the public at large. Now, at the forefront of a renaissance in psychedelic research, this study is investigating the interrelationship of psychedelics and mental wellness – a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. This work will be unique in that it will collect both objective and subjective data to assess the interrelationship between psychedelics and wellness. It will lend support to the growing body of research in the use of psychedelics for both mental health conditions and the pursuit of overall mental wellness. It is expected that this anonymous online survey will support our hypothesis that there is a robust interrelationship between past psychedelic use and its impact on wellness.
