For a New York University study looking at how the drug might affect cancer patients with severe anxiety, researchers observed the effects of psilocybin on volunteers who received either a dose of psilocybin in pill form or a placebo. A re-enactment of the procedure is shown in the photo above.
Nick Fernandez, a 2014 participant, says his trip took him on an emotional journey that helped him see "a force greater than [himself]," he told Aeon Magazine. "Something inside me snapped," and I "realize[d] all my anxieties, defenses, and insecurities weren't something to worry about."
NYU psychotherapist Jeffrey Guss told the New Yorker that many partipants experienced a similar result, and added that "We consider that to be part of the healing process."