Psychedelic therapy

Psychedelic therapy (or psychedelic-assisted therapy) refers to the proposed use of psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin, ayahuasca, LSD, psilocin, mescaline^[1] (peyote), DMT, 5-MeO-DMT,^[2]Ibogaine,^[3]MDMA,^{[note 1]} to treat mental disorders.^[5][6] As of 2021, psychedelic drugs are controlled substances in most countries and psychedelic therapy is not legally available outside clinical trials, with some exceptions.^[6][7]

The procedure for psychedelic therapy differs from that of therapies using conventional psychiatric medications. While conventional medications are usually taken without supervision at least once daily, in contemporary psychedelic therapy the drug is administered in a single session (or sometimes up to three sessions) in a therapeutic context.^[8] The therapeutic team prepares the patient for the experience beforehand and helps them integrate insights from the drug experience afterwards.^[9][10] After ingesting the drug, the patient normally wears eyeshades and listens to music to facilitate focus on the psychedelic experience, with the therapeutic team interrupting only to provide reassurance if adverse effects such as anxiety or disorientation arise.^[9][10]

As of 2022, the body of high-quality evidence on psychedelic therapy remains relatively small and more, larger studies are needed to reliably show the effectiveness and safety of psychedelic therapy's various forms and applications.^[11][12][5] On the basis of favorable early results, ongoing research is examining proposed psychedelic therapies for conditions including major depressive disorder,^[11][13] anxiety and depression linked to terminal illness,^[11][14] and post-traumatic stress disorder.^[12][15] The United States Food and Drug Administration has granted "breakthrough therapy" status, which expedites the potential approval of promising drug therapies,^{[note 2]} to psychedelic therapies using psilocybin (for treatment-resistant depression and major depressive disorder)^[6] and MDMA (for post-traumatic stress disorder).^[17]

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