Breakfast Session
Topic: Psychedelic Assisted Therapy – an Australian Perspective
Date & Time: Monday 28 October 2024 0645-0745hrs
Venue: Room 103, Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre
Booking: Advance booking is necessary with limited places available. Open to Congress
Delegates only.
Session Overview: The recent changes to the regulation of psilocybin and MDMA by
Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) have created a unique scenario for
Australian Psychiatrists. Under an Authorised Prescriber (AP) scheme, underpinned by
treatment protocols approved first by a human research ethics committee and then the TGA,
psychiatrists who achieve AP approval may now prescribe psilocybin for patients with
treatment resistant depression (TRD) and MDMA for patients with post traumatic disorder
(PTSD), in both instances as part of a program of psychedelic assisted therapy (PAT).
Australia is the first country in the world to allow use of MDMA and psilocybin outside of
clinical trial or special access schemes. This symposium will provide the audience with an
overview of key clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of PAT, insights into the
potential modes of action of psilocybin and MDMA in the management of treatment resistant
mental illness, and discuss the critical role of psychotherapy in this integrated treatment
regimen.
Prof Sundram will draw on his own clinical experience to discuss key aspects of translating
clinical trials to practice. Learning outcomes are for attendees at the symposium to have
greater understanding of this emerging therapeutic area, how patients in their own practice
may benefit from treatment, what the current referral pathways are in order to access
treatment, and what steps they may take if they decide to become involved in PAT themselves.
Sponsored By:
Speaker:
Chair and Head, Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Sciences
Monash University