At first I wasn't going to leave feedback since I did not finish this book - however, I am going to provide a small amount of feedback regardless. This book whilst having the best intentions, I felt like it fell short of achieving the outcome the author set out to explore. It was less of a promise and more a vague story. The topic intertwined with the authors life and it felt less like a deep investigation into psychedelics and mental health and more the author finding a way to "my horse is better than your horse" with the audience.

Psychedelics. Debated and infamous for a long long time. But it can also help in mental therapy. How? This book will provide you with all the answers. Very insightful and engaging read, it totally hooks you to it pages. Highly recommended..

2.5 stars rounded up.

As I've been aware of the therapeutic potential of psychedelics for a while now, I was looking forward to reading "The Promise of Psychedelics" by Peter Silverstone. I think this book summarises the research well, as well as summarises the pros and cons of the most considered psychedelics.

However, the author lost me on describing his ideas around optimising therapeutic interventions. The idea behind involving psychedelics was to help individuals struggling with psychiatric drug-resistant forms of mental conditions or certain addictions as a part of treatment conducted by an interdisciplinary team. Silverstone seems to propose something quite contrary: prescribing psychedelics to save therapists' time spent with each client, especially in online settings, meaning: less time in therapy. This is not necessarily the greatest solution as the relationship between the client and the therapist is crucial for the success of the treatment.

Despite these outlandish ideas, it was a quick and easy to understand read.

3.5/5

The Promise of Psychedelics provided plenty of interesting insight into how the brain works and our current (and lack of!) understanding. I found the descriptions of the problem (part 1), describing why psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is, in the author's view, necessary and the playground (part 2), explaining how the brain functions, the most valuable parts of the book.. I learned things regarding neural growth and change and how different areas of the brain work fascinating, and it was explained well in simple to understand terms. At times this was slightly oversimplified and perhaps questioned the reader's intelligence, but on balance it is probably better this way than being too scientific and dry to read for a non-specialist interested reader.

The discussion around different psychedelic options and the author's top 3 choices in part 3 was mostly unsurprising and the final section of the book describing his 'Almond therapy' treatment approach was somewhat like a sales pitch. This is not to say I didn't enjoy these sections, at least in part, although I would potentially recommend that this book be viewed as a reference that can be read in sections when interested in specific topics, rather than a book that has to be read traditionally front to back.

There were also a few typographical mistakes, which I would not expect to see in a book that is read for print.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it, however perhaps it's best to browse the contents and read sections that you are personally interested in only.

Dr. Silverstone gives a comphrensive and intriguing look into the benefits of psychedelics as mental health treatments. Mental health plays a big role in my family tree so this was a really interesting topic for me. It was cool to read about how the diagnosis aspect has changed so much over time and I like how the author went in depth about the other types of techniques, in combination with psychedelics, could create the best outcome. He also ranks the different psychedelics based on his professional opnions, noting the potential side-effects of each. Silverstone wraps the book up detailing his personal therapy company and I loved to hear of the multi-faceted techniques used on a very individual basis. Within the mental health system (as I have experienced it personally in the U.S.) so many people slip between the cracks. So many people are resistant to your typical medications and approaches so I really enjoyed hearing about the work the author is doing. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Great book, full of interesting ideas and well written in easy to understand language!
It's great to see the future evolution in support for mental health, it just can't come soon enough!

While the authors scientific analysis and putting the therapy technique in layman’s terms was appreciated I felt that the the ending of the book suffered in that it seemed to turn into a commercial for the authors own company. He sites the issues that psychedelics when used with therapy can help with but frames it in a way that his program, which he sells and even gives links to, is the “best” approach to using psychedelics in therapy. As a depression and anxiety sufferer I did find insight but the let down of the program being the authors own company he was selling seemed to make his arguments just a bit disingenuous.

Im SO glad the future is upon us and that this book was written. We are on the brink of amazing!

This is a hot topic now but i believe this will be a very popular treatment plan for many in the future.

Dr. Peter Silverstone has led ground-breaking research into mental health’s impact on physical health, psychedelic use in psychotherapy, amphetamine interactions with the brain, and has developed award-winning treatment breakthroughs in mental health therapy programs.

For conditions like PTSD, grief, depression, anxiety, addictions, or personality issues, despite the best efforts of clinicians, medications or other treatments often don’t help at all.

In The Promise of Psychedelics, you’ll learn:
• how psychedelics compare to psychiatric disorders
• how the mind and brain differ, what’s normal versus abnormal
• how psychiatric diagnoses are made and why it’s a problem
• what recent advances tell us about psychedelics: what they are, how they work, what the risks are
• why it takes so long for some psychedelics to be approved for therapeutic use, and
• the science behind micro-dosing psychedelics.
It’s a wonderful insightful read and written in an easy to understand way.

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc.

This book was an engaging, scientific read that was also easy to understand.

I have always been interested in learning more about the science of psychedelics and how they impact mental health. This was an excellent starting point for me to continue growing my knowledge.

I really liked how this book focused on the evidence and didn’t make grand claims.

Overall, this read is great for those interested in psychedelics, their effects, and their relation the mental health.

I found this book very interesting and thought-provoking. I definitely want to read more about this topic in the future. This book is a good place to start !