A more drastic approach involving the introduction of psychedelic drugs for therapy is needed to tackle the psychological impact of coronavirus shutdowns in Australia, a mental health charity has warned.

Key points: Mind Medicine Australia is driving a fresh campaign to introduce psychedelic-assisted therapy

Mind Medicine Australia is driving a fresh campaign to introduce psychedelic-assisted therapy Board member Andrew Robb said clinical trials in the US saw 80 per cent success rates for treatment of depression and PTSD

Board member Andrew Robb said clinical trials in the US saw 80 per cent success rates for treatment of depression and PTSD A mental health expert said the drug wasn't ready for widespread use

Mental health organisations in Australia are groaning under the latest wave of stress and anxiety triggered by COVID-19, a surge which was already compounded by the recent bushfires and drought.

Beyond Blue reported an all-time high in activity on its online forums with its "Coping during the coronavirus outbreak" chatroom attracting seven times the amount of conversation than its bushfire forum did earlier this year.

While Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt last week established coronavirus mental wellbeing support services, including a new digital and phone support services, a former colleague of his was pushing for medicinal use of psychedelics.

Former Coalition MP Andrew Robb, now a board member of Mind Medicine Australia (MMA), is driving a fresh campaign to introduce drugs such as MDMA and psilocybin — found in magic mushrooms — as a treatment option.

The not-for-profit, which aims to "establish safe and effective psychedelics treatments", is urging the Government to establish a mental health taskforce for COVID-19 and wants these treatments to be on the table when it happens.

"It is potentially the most significant innovation in mental health we've seen in decades," Mr Robb said.

Andrew Robb says Australia's mental health treatment options are decades behind. ( Reuters: Nikki Short )

Mr Robb did not advocate for it to be used recreationally, but said psychedelic-assisted therapy should be available as a medical treatment in the same way cannabis is.

He pointed to clinical trials for the substances being conducted overseas, including at Harvard, which led to 60 to 80 per cent remission rates for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

"We would be derelict in our duty as a country, as governments in this country, if we didn't take this opportunity to grab hold of this technology," Mr Robb said.

"And [then] see it's introduced in a way which can potentially provide very significant benefit to many, many Australians."

The MMA said the Federal Government could use powers under the Therapeutic Goods Act to fast-track the availability of these treatments so they were available to those who had or would suffer dramatically through this pandemic.

Maree Teesson, the director of The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, said the clinical results for psilocybin were "nothing to sneeze at" but it was "still early days".

"By current standards of contemporary clinical research, it's just not yet met," Professor Teesson said.

She pointed to a review into psilocybin as a treatment for depression released in August, which said real-world application of the drug was still limited as it had mostly been tested in controlled environments.

"We really do need to know the clinical utility at the highest level and we're getting some trials but for the evidence you need replication, you need efficacy and safety requirements," she said.

Professor Maree Teesson said psilocybin wasn't ready for widespread use. ( Supplied )

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has conducted clinical trials of MDMA for PTSD and in December, approved early access to MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for people with life-threatening psychological conditions.

Also last year, the FDA gave "breakthrough" treatment status to psilocybin, and a second phase of trials to test its efficacy in treating major depressive disorder was approved.

Mr Robb lamented what he said was political resistance from the Nixon-era that was holding the drug back and said Australia was approaching a "mental health pandemic".

"There has not been any major move forward in this mental health space for decades," he said.

"When we come out of this [pandemic] there will literally be tens of thousands of people coming out the other end of this needing treatment and needing help."