October 20, 2022
As we’ve discussed in the past, many people will agree that psychedelic therapy is the most exciting thing to talk about in medicine these days, even making its way into Netflix and the mainstream news media.
The benefits of psychedelic therapies are widely discussed and have become part of the current zeitgeist. Recent studies illustrate that psychedelic therapies are proven to be highly effective in healing complex and single event traumas, and MAPS is leading the way with their MDMA studies showing unprecedented results for treating PTSD.
With all the excitement and growing demand for psychedelic therapy, there is a major barrier to entry that is hardly ever discussed. That barrier is financial cost.
Most ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) treatment protocols cost $5,000-$8,000, and MDMA protocols may cost upwards of $10,000-$15,000. These treatments are not covered by insurance, making it inaccessible for populations that often experience the highest rates of trauma and are most vulnerable.
While the need for these healing modalities is gaining public support, many clinicians are beginning to see that such a high cost of treatment has created a major gap in accessibility. This is why we have created our nonprofit, Thank You Life, as a solution to fill this gap and make these treatments accessible for everyone.
Thank You Life is a psychedelic therapy nonprofit fund co-founded by myself and my colleague Kevin Cannella, to help bring access to psychedelic therapy to underserved communities.
The mission of the Thank You Life fund is to eliminate financial barriers to psychedelic therapy for those who need it most. We raise money to make psychedelic therapy affordable for people priced out of current models.
Applicants accepted into our program work with us to find a price point they can afford and are then matched with a local, carefully vetted, psychedelic therapy clinic, while Thank You Life funds make up the difference.
In addition, we will be tracking the outcomes of each person who goes through our program, in order to contribute to the ongoing body of clinical research in the interest of further refining the best practices, as well as to tell the larger story about this type of transformational work: what I’m calling the Healed Human Impact.
Not only will we look at the financial burdens and symptom scores of people undergoing psychedelic therapy, but also their relationships, their sense of purpose, and their engagement in their community. Thus, we are actually tracking the ripple effect of positive change that extends from the “healed human” and impacts the culture at large. This is the biggest piece of the puzzle that eludes the traditional data tracking and science research.
It’s a tall task, but it’s one that I am excited to undertake with the help of a number of colleagues and research partners. I feel it captures the essence of what we’re doing with Thank You Life. When a person has a medicine experience and they get “turned back on” to their life, they often find themselves filled with gratitude for their life and all aspects of it.
What I’ve noticed is that many of these people immediately adopt a “pay-it-forward” mindset. Their experience was so significant and trajectory-shifting that they want to help someone else experience that “thank you life” moment, too. That’s the essence of Thank You Life: a way for people to pay it forward and support others to have the chance to enter into a medicine experience who otherwise could not afford it.
Psychedelic therapy work is much needed to help humanity heal from the mental health challenges that are pervasive throughout our world at this time. Thank You Life will work to ensure everyone who is in need of healing will have access to these life-giving modalities.
We are initiating our pilot program this Fall, with a seven city rollout set for next year. Currently, ketamine is the only legal psychedelic therapy available. We are positioning ourselves to offer immediate funding and access to MDMA and psilocybin therapies as they become available, beginning with psilocybin therapy treatments in Oregon in 2023.
Thank You Life is built off of large and small donations. If you feel compelled to give personally, feel free to visit thankyoulife.org. If your business or organization can contribute, please reach out to us – we would love to partner with you. Thank you to everyone who is doing their inner healing work. Thank you to everyone who is able to support us. Thank you to the clinicians helping us heal. Thank you life for this opportunity to help others find their way back home.
To your health,
Dr. Dan
Get healthy. Stay present. Help out.