Speaker Bio
Alexander Lethen is founder and chair of the mental health charity foundation, MADE-Life, which he founded after the passing of his youngest daughter in 2022. MADE-Life addresses various issues in the mental health space through inspiring challenges. In these challenges, MADE-Life collaborates with students from various Dutch colleges and universities to apply fresh, innovative thinking to the various issues in this field. The first three challenges address treatment rooms, stories of hope and an art exhibition to visualise how depression, OCD and other mental conditions feel. Next to his charity activities, Alex is active in the software industry and is an investor and advisor to various x-tech start-ups.
ICPR 2024 Abstract
Catch 22: Psychedelics: available, Therapy: unavailable
Catch 22: a personal tale. A lobby for breakthrough therapies with psychedelics. During ICPR 2022 I was on a quest to find a way to provide my 18-year old daughter Psychedelic Assisted Therapy. My daughter suffered from severe OCD, combined with depression and anorexia. At this stage she was at the end of her rope, and was deemed treatment resistant. We believed that psychedelics would offer some alleviation. The Catch 22 was that although one could obtain truffels legally in the Netherlands, no could not find any medical professional - above ground - willing to provide the accompanying therapy. Moreover, no psychedelic therapist - below ground - felt safe providing this therapy, due to her mental health status. She also wasn't applicable for clinical trials or off-label use. Hence, no PAT was available for her. A few months later my daughter passed away. This is just a grim, but personal reminder that we need to lobby more for breakthrough therapies, especially as truffels are legal in the Netherlands.