Seeing What Is There

In 2009 following a breast cancer diagnosis, Rex found herself spiralling into a depression that led her to a groundbreaking clinical trial at Johns Hopkins University in 2012, where she was given two doses of psilocybin. As she reflects on her tumultuous childhood marked by violent abuse from psychiatrist parents, Rex uncovers the psychological influences that shaped her life and therapeutic search. Her journey intersects with a dark history of psychological experimentation, including the work of Harvard’s Dr. Henry A. Murray – her mother’s mentor – whose controversial research influenced modern psychology and led to the psychopathology of Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. Despite years of failed conventional treatments, Rex sought alternative paths, discovering transformative healing through ayahuasca, MDMA, and 5-MeO-DMT. Seeing What Is There navigates the complexities of the psychedelic therapy movement, questioning its ethical pitfalls and motivations. Ultimately, Rex demonstrates that true healing requires more than just pharmaceuticals – it demands economic security, community, and social support, offering a powerful meditation on trauma, survival, and the potential for transformation.

Author Biography

Erica Rex is a journalist, essayist, and fiction writer published in The New York Times, Scientific American, Poets and Writers, and more. She speaks regularly on the Psychedelics Today podcast and advises the US Congressional Caucus on psychedelic therapies (PATH). Rex spoke at the NIH’s psilocybin series and is an award-winning fiction writer. She is a fellow of the MacDowell Colony, the Ucross Foundation, and Helene Wurlitzer Foundation. She contributes widely to discussions on psychedelics and their role in medicine and society. Rex resides in a village in Suffolk, UK, outside London.