Ep. 17 — Why I'm a Mom Who Does Drugs — My Legal Psilocybin Therapy Journey (Part 1)

A few months ago, I laid down on a futon in Denver, drank a glass of orange juice filled with three grams of psilocybin (aka “magic mushrooms”), and spent roughly 7 hours in one room with a licensed therapist who took notes. 

I was doing an entirely legal psilocybin-assisted therapy in Colorado with medical supervision. And it changed my life.

In this solo episode of Unbehaved, I share my full experience with the promising field of psilocybin-assisted therapy — what led me there, the current legal landscape, the research on its effectiveness, and what genuinely shifted for me and my husband afterward. I talk about: 

• Why psilocybin became illegal in the first place (spoiler: it wasn't the science) 
• Where psilocybin-assisted therapy is legal in the US and how states like Colorado and Oregon are ahead of federal law 
• What the research shows on how psilocybin addresses depression, addiction, PTSD, end-of-life anxiety, and more 
• The specific process and how to prepare for the psilocybin therapy session
• My concerns about social judgment as a mom and a professional
• Who psilocybin therapy is NOT for, and how to vet a legitimate facilitator
• What psilocybin therapy feels like and what happens during a psilocybin-assisted therapy session
• What changed for me and my husband after doing the therapy session
• Why healing yourself is leadership work, parenting work, and community work — all at once

After six years of therapy, antidepressants, and every self-help book I could find, I'd hit a wall in my own healing. Psilocybin-assisted therapy is what finally moved me past it. This episode is my honest account of what happened — and why root-cause healing might be what the next decade of mental health looks like. 

This episode has a Part 2 coming soon — a full conversation with Mikki, my psilocybin therapist and one of the people who co-wrote Colorado's safety protocols.

Written versions of this journey are on my Substack:
Part 1 — To Shroom or Not to Shroom?
Part 2 — Why I'm a Mom Who Does Drugs

Connect with Meghan:
Substack: meghanfrenchdunbar.substack.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/meghanfrenchdunbar
Book: This Isn't Working — meghanfrenchdunbar.com/book