Help make legal psilocybin therapy accessible for Canadians in medical need.
Pictured above is Christian, a resident of British Columbia battling stage 4 cancer, who recently received an exemption to access psilocybin therapy to treat his end-of-life distress.
Your donations will help us advocate for psilocybin therapy for more Canadians, like Christian, who are in medical need and could benefit from this treatment option.
What is TheraPsil
TheraPsil is a non-profit patient advocacy group based in Victoria, BC. Our primary mission is to help Canadians in medical need access legal psilocybin therapy.
Another individual we have supported is Laurie Brooks from British Columbia:
“Immediately after my psilocybin therapy trip I was able to see my cancer in a box beside me on the floor instead of this black cloud hanging over me all the time. I have been able to be happy and anxiety-free and not worry about what’s going to happen tomorrow. I’m able to live in the day and in the moment. I wish that psilocybin therapy was available for everybody because it was just such a huge help for me. It changed everything for me” - Laurie Brooks
What is Psilocybin Therapy?
Psilocybin therapy is the professionally guided and clinical use of psilocybin (‘magic mushrooms’) in combination with psychotherapy. Several robust clinical studies have shown psilocybin therapy to be a safe and effective treatment option for end-of-life distress and cancer-related anxiety.
Since August 4th, 2020, TheraPsil has successfully supported 13 Canadians to legally obtain, possess and use psilocybin for medical purposes through Health Canada Section 56 exemptions.
Mona Strelaeff
On October 4th, 2020, the first non-palliative Canadian, Mona Strelaeff, was granted access to psilocybin to treat her distress, as a result of a former terminal cancer diagnosis and additional traumas. On November 5th, 2020, Mona was successfully treated with psilocybin therapy by TheraPsil’s founder, Dr. Bruce Tobin, a registered psychotherapist.
“Throughout my life I have suffered from depression and anxiety, not understanding the under-laying causes. All through my life I went from one form of therapy to the next. At forty eight I was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. After a year of chemo, radiation and hormone therapy I was cleared of my terminal diagnosis, but It made no difference to my psyche, I faced death head on and I started to suffer from extreme sense of despair and depression. Years and years of talk therapy and medications cannot open some doors locked tight since early childhood.
During my psilocybin therapy, I went deep. All the unresolved trauma, it came back and I was beyond terrified, shaking uncontrollably and crying, however with my therapist Dr. Tobin, I conquered those tough memories and after a while I realized…. I ain’t scared of Jack S**t….For the first time, I feel like I have won the battle in my mind and my anxiety and depression seem to be gone. I have found peace. ” - Mona Strelaeff
The problem we are facing, and why we are fundraising
We are a small non-profit organization with limited resources and we rely on the support of generous donors so we can carry our mission forward.
TheraPsil has been overwhelmed by requests for support from Canadian patients, who are seeking access to legal psilocybin therapy to treat their end-of-life and illness-related distress.
TheraPsil is seeking to fundraise so we can keep up with the increase in patient demand and facilitate an expanded mandate to ensure that all Canadians in medical need can access psilocybin-assisted therapy.
We have secured a generous donor who will match donations up to $250,000.
As such, our goal is to raise $250,000 through Fundrazr to unlock our donor’s $250,000 donation, raising a total of $500’000 by December 31st 2020.
Thomas Hartle
Another individual that we have had the honor to support is Thomas Hartle from Saskatchewan.
Thomas was the first person to access legal, psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy and was treated by TheraPsil’s founder, Dr. Bruce Tobin, on August 12, 2020.
Your donations will help us ensure safe and equitable access to psilocybin therapy for more Canadians, like Thomas.
In order for TheraPsil to grow and support more Canadians in accessing legal psilocybin therapy, we need a larger team.
We need nurses and physicians who can triage patients and facilitate intake to ensure we are facilitating safe and equitable access to legal psilocybin therapy. In other words, we need human resources.
We also need funding to help complete and launch our psilocybin therapy training program for Canadian clinicians, with an aim to roll out this program in 2021.
TheraPsil’s training program aims to be the first legal training program in Canada to offer experiential training – where trainees take psilocybin mushrooms and enter this non-ordinary state of consciousness first-hand to better understand how to support, guide and hold space for their patients.
Through the generous support of our donors, we have already been able to help 13 Canadians access psilocybin assisted therapy to treat their psychological distress, but this is just the beginning, and so many more need our help.
Every small step forward and every patient who is granted an exemption, is a win for compassionate access and we are deeply dedicated to continuing the pursuit of our four pillar mission, for the benefit of all Canadians in medical need:
- COMPASSIONATE ACCESS: Establish safe, compassionate, and legal access to psychedelic-assisted therapy for those in medical need.
- PUBLIC EDUCATION: Increase awareness among the general public and health care professionals about the merits and limitations of psychedelic-assisted therapy.
- PROFESSIONAL TRAINING: Develop safe, simple, and effective protocols for credentialed health professionals across Canada to deliver psilocybin-assisted therapy, in collaboration with other active organizations.
- RESEARCH: Facilitate research and evaluation, in collaboration with Canadian and international partners.
With your generous support, we can continue to make legal psilocybin therapy a reality for Canadians who need it most. We deeply appreciate every dollar that is donated so we can continue to pursue our mission.
Thank you,
The TheraPsil Coalition
