Professional Practice Guidelines for Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
- Karli King
- Apr 19, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 7, 2024
This links you to a copy of BrainFutures'
Professional Practice Guidelines for Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
© 2023 BrainFutures, Inc. – First Edition, June 2023
Introduction:
"These guidelines are designed to address the evolving practice of psychedelic-assisted therapy. For the purposes of these guidelines, psychedelic-assisted therapy is defined as “a particular mode of using psychedelic substances in which the effects of the drug, both biological and psychological, play a significant role in facilitating a psychotherapeutic intervention” and is detailed more specifically in the “Definition of Terms” section (Guss et al., 2020). A growing body of evidence has demonstrated the potential value of psychedelic-assisted therapy in recent years, culminating in late-stage clinical trials of 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psilocybin for major depressive disorder and/or alcohol use disorder. Approval of these therapies by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could greatly increase interest among healthcare providers and patients. These guidelines aim to educate and guide psychedelic-assisted therapy practitioners as this model of care expands to a greater number of providers and patients outside of research settings. Research in the field of psychedelic-assisted therapy has been significantly limited by classification of psychedelics as Schedule I substances, which has constrained the development of a robust, evidence-based library of data from which to draw strong conclusions. Thus, these guidelines are informed by available studies and published articles, as well as the expert input of the guideline writing workgroup, additional contributors, and external reviewers. The literature review conducted for these professional practice guidelines included clinical trials and commonly cited publications on psychedelic-assisted therapy. The notion of psychedelics as potential agents of healing is not novel; rather it originated in many cultures with long histories of use of psychedelic plants and fungi. Indigenous traditions have used psychedelics for healing, religious, and sacred ceremonies for centuries (Sky, 2022). Psychedelic-assisted therapy practitioners recognize that the advancement of psychedelic research and therapy would not have been possible without the millennia of practice and wisdom cultivated by Indigenous communities throughout the world. In seeking to optimize the safety and efficacy of psychedelic-assisted therapy, psychedelic-assisted therapy practitioners acknowledge that there is much to learn from Indigenous practitioners as well as pioneering scientists, clinicians, and others who possess extensive experience. ."
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