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A few years ago, 30 special forces veterans suffering for years with the psychiatric consequences of multiple traumatic brain injuries—including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety—traveled to Mexico to undergo a little-known psychedelic therapy called ibogaine.

Derived from the root of a West African shrub and long used in traditional spiritual ceremonies, ibogaine had been gaining a reputation for helping traumatized veterans at the end of their rope. A group of them had agreed to be studied by Stanford Medicine researchers before and after the therapy.

Patrick Flatley, a former Green Beret who served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, was among them. He had joined the U.S. Army at age 19 and racked up head injuries early and often—first as a paratrooper jumping out of airplanes with 70 pounds (32 kilograms) strapped to his back, then as a mortarman handling explosive weapons.

In 1994, he was a Green Beret sniper when two U.S. Army helicopters were mistakenly shot down by U.S. Air Force fighter jets in northern Iraq. Flatley had frequently ridden on those helicopters, but that day a last-minute personnel change bumped him from his spot.

He was plagued by nightmares in the aftermath of the accident. "It was the same over and over. I never had a good dream for 25 years," he said. Over more tours, he accumulated more head traumas and physical injuries, including a broken back.

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