COD Hosts Screening of 'A New Understanding' Documentary Feb. 29

The College of DuPage Human Services program is hosting a free screening of "A New Understanding," a film that provides an intimate look into the lives of terminally ill cancer patients participating in psilocybin end-of-life studies.

The screening will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the Health and Sciences Center (HSC), Room 1234, at the College's main campus in Glen Ellyn. Prior to the film, at 5 p.m., a lecture will be presented on using Psilocybin as existential therapy for the dying. COD Human Services instructor Bruce Sewick, LCPC, RDDP, CADC, who teaches the course "Psychedelic Mindview" at COD, will provide this lecture.

"Psilocybin is a form of mushroom with psychedelic properties that is currently being explored as a way to help terminally ill patients end their lives peacefully," Sewick said. "According to a description from the creators of this film, this documentary opens up an intriguing discourse of the dying process and our role as a society in that process. Through a collection of accomplished minds and first-person accounts from patients, the film addresses misconceptions about psychedelics and examines how psilocybin can be used in conjunction with other therapies to ease the transition from life to death."

Watching his mother struggle with colon cancer for seven years, Sewick has researched studies that use psychedelic drugs to treat the terminally ill for more than 20 years and completed his master's thesis on the topic in 1997.

Sewick said he is working to pass research-based knowledge on to others through the Psychedelic Mindview course, which he has taught at College of DuPage since 2012. Offered this spring starting March 16, this online course investigates the role of psychedelic substances throughout history and covers clinical research on psychedelic drugs as adjuncts to psychotherapy for the treatment of addiction, PTSD and existential distress at the end of life.

For more information about the Feb. 29 screening and the Psychedelic Mindview course, please contact Bruce Sewick at Sewick@cod.edu. Online registration for the 2-credit Human Services class (HUMAN-1130-NET01) is available at MyAccess.cod.edu.