Clinical Neuropsychologist | President and Director of the Float Research Collective | Trailblazing a new path forward for the treatment of anxiety and PTSD
When I published my first float study back in 2018 (https://lnkd.in/gFT2RkQQ), it was the first time that anyone had systematically examined the safety and efficacy of floating in a sample with rather severe anxiety and depression, including patients with PTSD. In my mind, one of the most surprising findings from that initial float study was the overall lack of any negative side effects. Going into the study, I was worried about all sorts of adverse effects; everything from panic attacks, to flashbacks, to hallucinations had crossed my mind as possibilities. I waited patiently for the first patient to scream out loud through the intercom system, but it never happened. I thought for sure that most patients would only be able to tolerate 20-30 minutes alone by themselves in the float environment, but they ended up floating for the entire hour, and afterwards said they wanted to float longer. Their float experience was remarkably positive, so much so that we went out of our way to transcribe each patient's post-float debriefing interview that we ended up publishing in the supplement (https://lnkd.in/gdkytK84). As excited as I was by these initial findings, I had to temper my excitement because this was only a single float session, and we had no idea if it could be replicated across multiple float sessions. In order to find out, I applied for an NIH grant that was funded by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Just getting the grant was a major win, as the NIH had never funded a float study before (which is quite perplexing given that the first iteration of the float tank was built at the National Institute of Mental Health back in the 1950's!) Running clinical trials with multiple sessions is quite difficult and costly in its own right. Now try doing it during a global pandemic in a sample of chronically anxious patients who's number one response to adversity in life is avoidance! This was quite a feat, and it would have never been possible without the herculean efforts of my close friend and colleague Dr. Sahib Khalsa and the amazing staff at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research. In particular, I want to acknowledge Raminta Wilson, who was able to successfully navigate this study through the pandemic, and Dr. McKenna Garland, who completed this study as part of her dissertation and did an absolutely incredible job of writing up the results! I'm very excited to finally see these results published and even more excited to see that the notable lack of side effects found in my original 2018 study has now been replicated across multiple float sessions. More research is always necessary, but these findings provide the Float Research Collective with an important and necessary foundation to build on. The study, along with a repository of all the other peer-reviewed clinical float research can be found at https://lnkd.in/gHYJKvn4
FIRST NIH-FUNDED FLOAT STUDY JUST RELEASED! LINK BELOW ⬇ Please share with the world!! Black box warnings are everywhere these days. It shows how common major safety concerns have become, especially for medications targeting depression and anxiety. Most antidepressant medications like SSRIs now contain a suicide warning, and anti-anxiety medications using benzodiazepines have an addiction warning. Adverse events can also occur with psychedelics, and just this week, an FDA advisory committee rejected MDMA for the treatment of PTSD, with many reviewers commenting on the lack of safety data. Indeed safety issues and side effects can be found with behavioral interventions too, like psychotherapy and even meditation. Given this context, it is no wonder that the 1st float study funded by the NIH is focused on safety. The results were published today and make a compelling argument for the safety of floatation therapy in individuals with clinical depression and anxiety, including PTSD. There were no serious adverse events, minimal negative side effects, and numerous positive side effects. If floating were a pill, everyone would take it! The study is open access and freely available to read and share online at: https://lnkd.in/gN8nPrc7 #PTSDAwarenessMonth
Jack Perry
2mo
Congrats - hopefully one day we see floating prescribed as a treatment.
Your passionate purpose is bearing fruit. Congrats!
Shani À
2mo
Bless your curiosity
Stacey K.
2mo
👏 👏 This is such important work Dr Feinstein. Congratulations
Inventor, Entrepreneur, Author, Founder of Neuro Frontiers: neuroplasticity therapies research and practice
2moExcellent! So great to see this evidence for these correlations - well done!!! There is a floatation tank where my UK neuroplasticity therapies clinic is based - it really is a great therapy. Do you have your patients just float? Or is there anything going on for them whilst they are in there? (Light/dark therapy? Auditory stimulation (aka music)?) There are some adjuncts which can certainly be used for more effect. Also wondering if you have any theories on the mechanism/s? (I have some and would love to discuss if ever helpful to your research!)