Experts to Discuss the Ethics of Psychedelics

As more and more states consider decriminalizing or legalizing psychedelics, chances are at least some of your patients are curious about whether psychedelics could help them. A session titled “Ethical and Practical Implications of Psychedelics in Psychiatry” at APA’s Annual Meeting in May will prepare you for your patients’ questions and provide you with the knowledge you need to make appropriate decisions regarding the use of psychedelic therapy.

“Psilocybin, MDMA, and other psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies involve treatment paradigms that in many ways are unique from current psychiatric treatments,” said session chair Gregory Samuel Barber, M.D., a psychiatrist and psychotherapist in private practice in Bethesda, Md. “The intense and acute psychological effects of psychedelics raise novel ethical concerns surrounding issues like informed consent and patient vulnerability, while their resource and time intensiveness pose challenges to matters of equity and access. We hope that this talk will spur psychiatrists into conversation about how to ensure that psychedelic treatments are offered safely, effectively, and ethically.”

In the session, members of APA’s Council on Addictions and the American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian Caucus will join members of APA’s Ethics Committee to discuss emerging ethical and practical issues in the field of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. The panel will discuss ethical challenges surrounding psychedelics in their current investigational stage, as well as issues for psychiatrists to consider if psychedelics one day become available for broad clinical use. The discussion will cover research equipoise (the state of genuine uncertainty on the part of the clinical investigator regarding the comparative therapeutic merits of each arm in a trial), informed consent, patient vulnerability, equity and access, and “psychedelic self-enhancement.”

“The future success of psychedelic therapies depends in large part on ensuring that they are used ethically, that psychiatrists understand their limitations, and that patients and the public believe that mental health professionals are using them responsibly,” Barber told Psychiatric News. ■