When talking with patients about psilocybin, Dr. Sarah Dawson, a direct family care physician in Bend, wants to make sure she can speak from experience. She wanted to experience the psychedelic herself so she could explain the process to her patients who might find it useful to relieve existential angst, anxiety or depression when there’s no medication that would be as good, Dawson said.

As a physician, Dawson often is seeking therapies that are non-traditional, but effective.

“My intention always has been to find evidence-based treatment that’s not mainstream,” Dawson said. “I found the center to be very well equipped for comfort and safety. The folks running it are knowledgeable, supportive and warm and engaging.

“The psychedelic journey is guided by a scientific approach for people seeking an experience to ease them through the end of life, trauma or post traumatic stress disease.”

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One of Bend’s newest psilocybin centers, Bend Inner Alchemy is owned by cofounders Dan Wellisch and Cody Byrnes. It is one of 43 licensed centers in the state, according to the Oregon Health Authority, which oversees the psilocybin program. Deschutes County is one of 10 counties in Oregon that opted to allow psilocybin therapy after voters approved its use in 2020.

“At Inner Alchemy we’re all about providing a safe space for psychedelics (for) the naive or experienced,” said Wellisch. “We wanted to create a space that provides a safe, clinical approach to overcoming a block in talk therapy or overcoming trauma or death.”

Redmond opted to not allow psilocybin therapy initially, but in the upcoming election, Redmond voters will get a chance to decide whether to allow cannabis sales and therapeutic psilocybin. Found in more than 200 species of mushrooms, psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound. While legal to use in Oregon in therapeutic settings, psilocybin is a Schedule 1 drug regulated by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.

Inner visions

At the 4,000-square-foot building on NW Irving Avenue, Wellisch and his team advise clients interested in the treatment. Byrnes and Wellisch wanted to not only create a space that was welcoming and safe, but one that offers evidence-based treatment. Two physician assistants are on staff and a psychiatric nurse practitioner is retained to review medical history and medication when needed, Byrnes said.

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“When people come to our center, they have a feeling of comfort and safety and ease,” Byrnes said. “It was an intentional setting for us to create a space that allows people to do this deep healing, personal work. It’s where … you feel the most comfortable that you can allow yourself let go and have a deep transformational experience. We put a lot of intention into our center that people feel comfortable doing it here.”

“It’s not sterile. It’s comfortable.”

Facilitators work with clients to uncover what the goal is for a psilocybin experience. For some it helps with anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. For others it helps calm them before facing life-threatening diseases.

“Facilitators are with you the entire time,” Wellisch said. “They are by your side and talk you through any moments of harsh feelings. Some people have big fears of what will happen. The facilitators will help you explore those feelings.

“There is a lot of peer-reviewed research that identifies that the benefits to this are real.”

Recently, Inner Alchemy had a couple come in for counseling. The wife has end-stage breast cancer and they wanted to explore together to ease the anxiety of facing the end of life, Wellisch said. The psilocybin helped them get more comfortable and come to terms with it, Wellisch said.

“It’s not a magic bullet, but it (psilocybin) might give someone insight into something that’s different or they’re trying to overcome,” Wellisch said. “It breaks down the structured norms (to) see things as they are. Psilocybin is the tool that helps you do the work to make the transformation and access the parts of you that (are) blocked.”

It’s also expensive. Insurance doesn’t cover it.

Customers who need financial assistance are referred to a grant funded Psilocybin Access Fund for anyone 21 and older. Selection is based upon need, if the applicant is part of an underserved community. Grants do not cover the cost of psilocybin or travel, food or lodging. Bendable Therapy also offers grants for access to psilocybin for mental health treatments. So far in 2024, more than $230,000 in financial aid has been awarded.

An experience that helps

When Dawson arrived at the psilocybin center she said she had already invested a lot of time with the facilitators. Everyone knew what to expect. Prep sessions are held ahead of the actual ingestion of the psychedelic, which helped ease her nerves, she said. Everything was controlled.

“On the actual day it was calm and relaxing,” Dawson said.

While the actual experience of psilocybin is different for everyone, the steps leading to the ingestion of psilocybin are supportive, Dawson said.

“It’s all arranged in a way to eliminate any downside or negatives. It was a great experience,” Dawson said. “It’s an inward journey to open your mind. It is without external stimulation. You’re in a dreamlike state. It wasn’t scary.

“And it has lasting benefits.”

By the numbers

Since being approved by voters in 2020, statewide there are 31 licensed psilocybin centers, 13 manufacturers, 1 licensed laboratory, 351 licensed facilitators and 698 worker permits issued as of Oct. 18, according to the Oregon Health Department psilocybin report.

Not every county and city allow psilocybin to be used or manufactured. To find out what cities or counties allow, go to the Oregon Psilocybin Services spreadsheet showing which counties and cities allow psilocybin.