Help TheraPsil Legalize Psilocybin Therapy for Canadians in Medical Need
Contribute to this fundraiser for TheraPsil to Help Canadians Access Life-Changing Psilocybin Therapy
When effective therapy involves a prohibited/controlled
substance, we challenge the laws that are in conflict with science
and compassionate care.
Pictured below is Thomas Hartle, a father of two, a loving husband and resident of Saskatechewan who is battling a terminal cancer diagnosis. In August 2020 Thomas was the first person in Canada to undergo legal, psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to treat his end-of-life anxiety and depression, supported by TheraPsil.
To date, TheraPsil has helped a total of 31 Canadians apply for and access legal psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy.
THE PROBLEM WE SEE: Today TheraPsil is in contact with over 1000 Canadians asking for legal access to psilocybin but:
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The Minister has stopped granting exemptions, except for
palliative patients
- This process is slow (over 140 days), resource-intensive and does not guarantee a response
- Non-palliative Canadians who are equally suffering (TRD, PTSD, Substance use disorders, cluster headaches, etc.), deserve access to legal psilocybin therapy, but their section 56 exemptions are being ignored by the Minister
- Healthcare professionals are no longer getting exemptions for access to psilocybin for training purposes
Our Solution: Regulations by Fall 2021
This summer we are working towards getting Minister Patty Hajdu to adopt regulations for psilocybin in Canada to replace section 56 exemptions. Our Summer of Advocacy will include:
- Letters to Minister Hajdu, Justin Trudeau, MPs
- Webinars,
- Press releases,
- Media coverage,
- Public perceptions polls,
- and a very loud social media presence.
We will continue to amplify patients' voices, educate Canadians, and advocate for regulations. Last year this strategy worked for us and this year we have the grounds to become even louder.
Our summer initiatives will cost our organization roughly $200’000.
TheraPsil is a non-profit Canadian organization that relies on donations to continuously advocate for Canadians in medical need. Every dollar donated will help us advocate for psilocybin regulations in Canada through public education, research, and patient advocacy. Corporate donors who are interested in becoming one of our Core Spore Supporters are encouraged to reach out to me at Robyn@therapsil.ca .
Our goal is to fundraise this $115k through Fundrazr and unlock our matching donor’s $115’000 donation, raising a total of $230’000 by Sept 16th 2021.
OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT OUR CAUSE
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Follow us on social media. Twitter , Facebook , Youtube , Instagram , and LinkedIn .
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Share our fundraiser with your community on your social platforms.
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Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date with upcoming fundraisers, events, and news. (Scroll to the bottom of our home page to enter your email information).
Every step forward and every individual who is granted an exemption is a win for compassionate access. 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 improve access to legal psilocybin therapy for Canadians who need it most. Helping Canadians overcome financial barriers, we continue to push our mission forward with the end goal to legalize psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for medical purposes in Canada.
We deeply appreciate every dollar donated to help more patients access this life-changing therapy and continue to pursue our mission.
Thank you for contributing and sharing this fundraiser with a friend.
The TheraPsil Coalition
donations@therapsil.ca
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THERAPSIL
Why We Exist… Our Vision
- Canadians with severe psychological distress deserve access to effective new therapies, in consultation with a physician, which can improve their quality of life/death.
- When effective therapy involves a prohibited/controlled substance, we challenge the laws that are in conflict with science and compassionate care.
- Care providers must work collaboratively with patients toward healing vs merely the suppression of psychological trauma, addiction, illness, and pain.
TheraPsil’s Values
- Freedom of citizens to exercise their right to try therapies and make their own choices about their personal health and wellbeing
- Courage to fight for that right
- Compassion for patients in medical need
- Responsibility to mitigate suffering and promote the well-being of patients
Campaigns
Highlights
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Who / What is TheraPsil?
TheraPsil is a non-profit patient rights advocacy group in Victoria BC, Canada. We support and advocate for legal, compassionate access to psilocybin therapy for Canadians in medical need, beginning with palliative patients and Canadians experiencing distress as a result of a life-threatening illness such as cancer.
TheraPsil, supports individuals with their applications for approval from the Minister of Health, The Honourable Patty Hajdu, to use psilocybin for medical purposes. TheraPsil then connects approved individuals with qualified practitioners to receive psilocybin-assisted therapy treatment.
It is our end-goal to legalize psilocybin for medical purposes in Canada, so that all Canadians in medical need can access this treatment option with the support of their healthcare provider.
Donate today: TheraPsil's Operations rely on donors like you.
TheraPsil has made rapid and tangible progress in the fight to legalize psilocybin therapy for medical purposes, in Canada, and we are just getting started…
Our organization uses your generous donations in the following ways:
We are dedicated to helping sponsor Canadians overcome financial barriers with 12% of fundraised dollars going towards our Compassionate Access Fund.
August 4th 2020 - Four terminally-ill cancer patients experiencing end-of-life distress are the first individuals to be granted exemptions to section 56 of the Canadian Drugs & Substances Act, allowing these patients to use and possess psilocybin mushrooms for medical purposes. These are the first personal-use exemptions since psilocybin was made a controlled substance in Canada in 1974. This historic decision came after 104 days of TheraPsil’s advocacy work, and sets a precedent for future initiatives. Since August 4th at least 30 patients, supported by TheraPsil, have now been granted exemptions,
“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, one of the first 4 individuals granted an exemption, August 2020
October 4th 2020 - The first non-palliative Canadian, Mona Strelaeff, is granted a section 56 exemption. Mona is in remission from a former life-threatening cancer diagnosis, while also overcoming a multitude of life traumas. On November 5th, 2020, this patient was successfully treated with psilocybin therapy by psychotherapist and TheraPsil’s founder, Dr. Bruce Tobin. This exemption represents a progressive move by Minister Hajdu and the Office of Controlled Substances signifying the inception of improved access to legal psilocybin therapy in Canada.
“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, Psilocybin-therapy Patient and TheraPsil Board Member
December 2020 - 19 healthcare professionals associated with TheraPsil are approved by the Federal Health Minister, Patty Hajdu, to possess and use psilocybin for professional training in psilocybin therapy. The approved healthcare professionals include psychologists, psychiatrists, clinical counselors, social workers, general practitioners, and registered nurses. Similar to patient exemptions, these approvals were granted through exemptions to section 56(1) of the Canadian Drugs & Substances Act and the decision came after 166 days of TheraPsil’s advocating for access.
March 1, 2021 - TheraPsil launches Canada’s first legal, experiential psilocybin therapy training program (beta/pilot version) where healthcare professionals will ingest psilocybin mushrooms as part of their training in this unique modality to first-hand understand the effects, to best help their patients.
"Our training program is designed to train healthcare providers in how to safely and effectively guide a client on a therapeutic psilocybin experience. While a scholarly and didactic foundation is essential, the focus for our training is on the therapeutic skills required to achieve that objective. After 30+ years as a practicing therapist, I have felt firsthand the limitations of my field to consistently relieve people of the often devastating symptoms of conditions like depression, addiction, and PTSD. Psychedelic therapy is showing promise to significantly increase our effectiveness for these clinical populations. But it is a new way of treating clients so we must learn these new ways - this is what our training hopes to do.”
- Dave Phillips, Clinical Counsellor, TheraPsil Training Beta-Program Lead Facilitator
Your donations change lives
Through the generous support of our donors, we have already been able to help 31 Canadians access legal psilocybin assisted therapy to treat their psychological distress, launch a historic and precedent-setting training program for healthcare professionals, and educate thousands of Canadians on the merits and limitations of psilocybin therapy. But this is just the beginning, and so many more need our help.
