UB School of Nursing to bring psychedelic medicine into curriculum

BUFFALO, N.Y. – A University at Buffalo School of Nursing researcher plans to bring scientific, evidence-based education on psychedelic-assisted therapies into the university’s nursing instruction programs.

Leading the initiative is Clinical Assistant Professor Zoe Spyralatos, DNP, a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. She has extensive experience assessing, diagnosing and providing pharmacological treatment and education for patients with a variety of mental health disorders, including addiction.

She also has become an advocate for the increasingly popular field of psychedelic-assisted mental health care.

“Studies have shown psychedelics can have a rapid antidepressant response and other benefits for mental health,” says Spyralatos. “When working with depression, it may take patients a long time to achieve those effects with therapy and antidepressants. This may be a way to work a little faster and can be used as an adjunct to treatment.” 

Spyralatos was recently appointed a faculty fellow in the University Psychedelic Education Program (U-PEP), which will meet June 2-7 at the Usona Institute in Wisconsin. U-PEP aims to broaden education about the therapeutic use of psychedelic medicines by providing faculty with knowledge and resources to develop and integrate this evidence-based content into nursing curriculums. 

“We are pleased that Dr. Spyralatos has been selected as a U-PEP Faculty Fellow to advance our efforts to equip our nurse practitioner students and faculty with the most recent approaches to the use of psychedelic-assisted care, and then integrating this knowledge into our programs based on evidence,” says School of Nursing Dean Annette B. Wysocki.

“The program was first piloted by the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University schools of nursing and social work. As a fellow, she will foster the development of innovative care to address ongoing and unmet needs in mental health care, and act as a community resource for other psychiatric and mental health service providers.”

Spyralatos acknowledges the unconventional nature of psychedelic research, but says there is ample research in peer-reviewed scientific journals of patients experiencing dramatic results from the supervised use of psychedelics. The improvements have been known to last for weeks or months after a single or a few treatments.

Kwasi Adusei, DNP, who graduated from UB’s School of Nursing with Spyralatos in 2019, piqued her interest in psychedelic medicine when they both were graduate students at UB.

Psychedelics can act as a “phenomenal adjunct to therapy,” according to Adusei, who says he has seen almost 1,000 patients specifically for ketamine-assisted psychotherapy while working for various health care groups.

“The reason psychedelics are really promising is because yes, again, it can help with the symptoms – and the research supports that significantly. But the way it can help with symptoms is by helping people become aware the root of their issues and helping them become more investigative about their lives,” says Adusei, co-founder of the Psychedelic Society of Western New York and owner/founder of Mosaic Medicine, which is a private practice offering integrative and holistic psychiatric care to patients in New York and California.

Spyralatos agrees and is excited to bring this novel form of care to help patients who have struggled with conventional psychological treatment.

“Psychedelics are not new, but they are being recognized for their healing potential, and I am honored to have been accepted into the program and to have the support of my school,” says Spyralatos. “I look forward to learning new insights, skills and perspectives I can share with colleagues and students, as well as applying this into my clinical practice.”