Why Deepak Chopra Wants to Shift Public Perception About Psychedelics

Alternative medicine advocate Deepak Chopra’s nonprofit, The Chopra Foundation, is teaming up with Mind Medicine (MindMed) to help break down the outdated stigma surrounding psychedelics and raise public awareness of the therapeutic benefits of the medicines for mental health conditions. Ultimately, the two organizations plan to design and conduct research on the overall impact of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy on mental wellbeing. 

As part of that effort, Chopra and J.R. Rahn, CEO and co-founder of MindMed, spoke together on the role of psychedelic medicines at last week’s Never Alone Summit. Chopra also spoke this month about the partnership and his commitment to understanding the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics on CNBC’s The News with Shepard Smith. 

It was no coincidence that the announcement came in May, which is designated as Trauma Awareness Month. Chopra told Smith that mental distress is “the No. 1 pandemic in the world,” and that recent studies are proving psychedelics can successfully treat mental health conditions, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

Beyond working to shift public perception, MindMed and The Chopra Foundation also plan to advance research into the role that the mind-body connection, metabolic health, psychedelics, and deeper understandings of consciousness can play in maintenance of overall wellbeing and health. 

 “Ultimately, we believe psychedelics can act as catalysts in a person’s journey toward their best health, but it is also important that we come to deeply understand consciousness and altered states of consciousness as we advance in the growing field of psychedelic medicine through rigorous research,” Rahn said.