About this episode
In this episode Matthew Hicks, ND, MS joins to dive into the topic of psilocybin-assisted group therapy for depression. Dr. Hicks is a research Investigator at the National University of Natural Medicine as well as a Naturopathic doctor and licensed psilocybin facilitator at Synaptic Institute. In this conversation, Dr. Hicks shares findings from one of the first studies investigating psilocybin-assisted group therapy for depression, conducted in Oregon's new legal psilocybin framework. He explains how the high cost and labor-intensive nature of psychedelic therapy inspired him to explore a group model that could make treatment more financially accessible while preserving - and even enhancing - its therapeutic potential. Dr. Hicks describes the structure of the study and discusses how initial participant hesitancy about group work transformed into deep connection and shared healing. He also highlights the study's significant reductions in depression scores, improvements across quality-of-life measures, and the potential for group-based approaches to pave the way toward insurance reimbursement and broader access to psychedelic care. In this episode, you'll hear: Why affordability and accessibility were central motivations for developing a group-based psilocybin protocol The benefits and challenges of conducting psilocybin sessions in a shared group setting How Dr. Hicks' study balanced inclusion of low-income participants with safety and stability criteria The details of the group treatment structure for Dr. Hicks' study Why Dr. Hicks believes group formats may be inherently therapeutic in addition to their economic efficiency Dr. Hicks's vision for future efficacy and cost-effectiveness studies that could enable insurance coverage Quotes: "In terms of the group dynamic, almost everyone in the intake process was very reluctant. They were trepidatious. They were a little worried about the group part of it. And almost everybody at the end of it, when we did the follow ups at the group, was amazing. People made friends. They felt really supported. They felt really seen by the process of hearing other people's journeys and the growth that they went through—and seeing some other examples of transformation was really powerful and was really encouraging to me." [10:29] "So [there are] really positive aspects to doing this in a group format that's not just economic—it's not just cheaper to do this in group, it actually has therapeutic benefits that you miss out on when you only do this one on one." [11:12] "That was always my question in the follow up sessions: 'did your participation in this study change the way you engaged in psychotherapy? Did it change the relationship with your therapist?' And a l
