Magic mushrooms have been a part of human culture for thousands of years: Long before Alice fell down the rabbit hole, ancient civilizations from the Egyptians to the Aztecs were having ritualized encounters with the psychedelic growths. Then in the 1950s and early 70s mushrooms were picked up by hippies in search of spiritual expansion.

Once a month, Fern*, 32 and her fiance Connor*, 25, set aside some time to devote to their relationship. They'll dim the lights of their one bedroom flat, wrap up together in a soft blanket, light some candles, and turn off their phones. But this isn't prep for an extensive session of Netflix and chill—this is their special routine for a new type of couples therapy: tripping on funghi.

"[Connor and I] always set an intention, and our intention for the first trip was to 'trust' the medicine and what it can show you," she continues. "At first, I felt these warm flushes all around my body and became hyper-aware of the limbs and the hairs on my body, as well as the textures and ambience around me. This shared energy and connection created a bubble for us to see everything about each other and we just laughed and laughed like children.

Fern, a naturopath, and Connor, a furniture maker, first used mushrooms together after they had been dating for a year. Fern had become familiar with the world of psychedelic therapy through her work with alternative plant medicines. "I'd met people who use them like you would yoga or meditation—as a regular practice for self care and self exploration," Fern says. "We didn't do it for recreation, although it can be fun. We wanted to learn more about each other."

We'll have this incredible deep chat that we didn't even know we wanted to have.

In more recent years, however, they have been scrutinized more closely for their potential as boosters of our mental health. Not only have mushrooms been found to reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety , research also shows that consuming them can bring on spiritually significant experiences that result in long-term changes to the behaviors and values associated with openness. In other words, people on mushrooms can become more sensitive to feelings, and more accepting of other people's views.

"It felt like every sensation was something I was feeling for the first time as we ran our fingers over each other's bodies."

During the trip, says Fern, the couple started to look subjectively at their own and each other's lives. "I started to see the events of my life not from an emotional perspective, but as facts. This is your life, these are things that have happened, this is your role in them, this is how others around you have been affected. I realised the lengths I'd gone to suppress certain negative thoughts and feelings and by acknowledging that, I could release them."

The couple found that during the trip they felt more connected and had an increased understanding of each other. "We were cuddling and it felt like we were melting into each other, it was like we could see each other's souls," says Fern. "You discover each other's troubles and fears, and don't judge them."

Dr. Ros Watts is a clinical psychologist at Imperial College London who guided patients through a trip for a recent trial looking at the effects of magic mushrooms on depression. "People develop ways of avoiding certain thoughts and feelings, but during the dose our patients would be completely flooded by them" she says. "This was overwhelming and sometimes scary, but it also gave them an opportunity to work through these feelings and confront them."

Over half the patients in the trial experienced significant improvements in their depression through changes to how they connected with others and how they processed their own emotions. "One of the two key themes was that of going from disconnection to connection with others and the world around them," Dr. Watts explains. "The other was about going from avoiding emotion, to accepting it."

The normal sense of self is broken down and replaced by a sense of re-connection.

Six months after the study, every attached patient also reported positive benefits to their romantic relationships. "During the trip they would have revelations about how important their partner was to them," says Dr. Watts. "One man went to dinner with his wife for the first time in six years. He said they were like teenagers again". This change was also noticed by their partners.