The UCLA Ecological Medicine & Psychedelic Studies Initiative, part of the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, is investigating scientifically validated treatments for mental health. Project Reconnect will link the care and health of the natural world to the improved well-being of individuals and communities.

A monthly affinity group offers lectures and other activities such as forest bathing, rooted in the Japanese practice of "shinrin-yoku" - immersing oneself in the natural environment using all five senses.

Newsroom spoke with initiative co-founder and director Dr. Helena Hansen, the interim chair of psychiatry and interim director of the Semel Institute; and executive director and co-founder Landon Pollack to learn more about the initiative's progress, goals and how people can reconnect to the natural world and all its inhabitants.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How was this initiative born?

Landon Pollack: Before my time or Helena's time, there was the Psychedelic Science Initiative led by Dr. Charles Grob, an authority and long-term researcher and advocate for the psychedelic movement. The psychedelic movement is indebted to people like Dr. Grob and his steadfast commitment and Dr. Tom Strouse, for psychedelics at UCLA, who is a psychiatrist and palliative care physician. I was introduced to Dr. Grob by a mentee of his, Dr. Brian Anderson. As an advisor to PSI I introduced some of the work I was already doing, and what I was calling ecological medicine.

Dr. Helena Hansen: Landon floated the idea that the intersection of psychedelic studies with ecological medicine could differentiate UCLA from other psychedelic programs. We noted that in Indigenous and traditional uses of psychedelics, it strengthened a sense of connectedness with nature, plants and animals. Landon encouraged us to study the "set and setting" of psychedelic treatment - the ways that the mindset of the recipient and their setting, especially natural settings and green spaces, impacted treatment outcome. From there, we got increasingly interested in the mental and physical health benefits of connection with nature and other species in its own right, and began looking at practices that foster this connection independently of psychedelics. These practices include forest bathing and guided nature interaction, community gardening, equine therapy, biophilic urban design, in-clinic animal therapy, etc.

Is there an example of how this initiative will be working in some of the area's natural spaces?

Pollack: I think our forest bathing event is a wonderful example of that. It is entirely possible for people to connect with natural spaces in urban environments like Westwood. The Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Gardens, the community garden we are developing on the Semel building street level deck, and in the future, a possible ecological medicine lab on the rooftop of the Semel Building all serve as good examples of what can be done.

Second is our partnership with a wonderful group, founded by Dr. Sherridan Ross and Dr. Cynthia Davis in Compton. They've stood up dozens of successful community gardens in Compton and similar areas, taking neighborhoods that have the least canopy cover of any U.S. city and turning abandoned lots into green spaces. We have a small grant in collaboration with them, conducting comparative research across UCLA and their garden in Compton.

Who do you think would benefit from this program?

Hansen: There are so many ways that people can experience connection with nature. Before he co-founded Project ReConnect, Landon had worked on various projects, such as placing bird feeders on exterior windows in rooms of palliative care patients. So even for those who are not mobile, there are ways of bringing nature to them. It's also possible to create green spaces in urban built environments, including clinics and hospitals.

Pollack: The wonderful thing about ecological medicine, whether it's human-animal interaction or nature contact or contemplative practice, is that these practices have the potential to be very helpful and when conducted properly have a very low-risk profile. Ecological medicine at its best asks the question of not just who ecological medicine can help, but how can those being helped help others. And the others range from people to animals, to nature itself. A key tenet of ecological medicine is reciprocity and how we can be better planetary stewards.

Whether it is people dealing with a set of mental health challenges to those who are looking to improve fitness level, mobility and cardiovascular training, I think the list is endless of people [who can benefit].

How is your timeline progressing?

Pollack: There are a variety of ideas that are coming to fruition. Our initiative has four working groups. One is focused on developing an ecological medicine society of scholars and practitioners, with a public-facing advocacy arm, this sister organization is, the Ecological Medicine Society.

The second group is focused on research, the third on developing best clinical practices, and fourth is on curriculum and education. Our eight-week Introduction to Ecological Medicine course completed this past summer and will be reintroduced in spring quarter. We are exploring a certification program that, in the long term, could see ecological medicine evolve as a clinical specialty in health care.

Our research workgroup is identifying possible landmark studies to help establish the field of ecological medicine.

What should people understand about the role of psychedelic studies as part of the initiative as a whole?

Pollack: There's great work happening at UCLA, and some wonderful researchers across UCLA Westwood, UCLA Harbor Medical Center and other locations are doing the more traditional biomedical approach to psychedelics around PTSD and trauma, depression, addiction, etc.

We have included tribal and Indigenous colleagues to advise us on their own traditional ecological knowledge and practice as well as set and setting, which are the areas our initiative is more focused on. We are looking to bring ecological medicine to others at UCLA who are doing psychedelic trials to help enhance the setting portion of their work.

What makes UCLA a good home for this initiative?

Pollack: Well, a key element is having someone with Helena's background and credentials as a champion for this initiative. She introduces novel ideas, brings a set of uncompromising patient-centered values and approaches medicine very holistically and from a very strong relational base. And being in an epicenter like L.A., where it is cutting edge, and UCLA's work is, serves as a wonderful platform for these types of ideas, programs and modalities, both in the ecological medicine realm as well as the psychedelic space, especially with the longstanding work of Charlie Grob.

Hansen: The array of fields that are represented in the initiative is wide - from the School of Law and social sciences to data science, music and evolutionary biology. It is the culture of this type of transdisciplinary collaboration that makes UCLA the top-ranked public university in the country for graduate school, and the initiative has benefited from that ethos. UCLA also has a strong public mission, with which the Ecological Medicine Initiative is aligned in its focus on community-driven environmental restoration and health promotion for all communities.