As psychedelic research increases, and a number of policy developments across the likes of the US, Canada and Australia are now enabling the delivery of psychedelic therapies, the need for trained psychedelic therapists is huge.
Many advocates of psychedelic therapy believe that those delivering the therapies must have experienced taking a psychedelic substance themselves.
However, others believe that personal use of the substances is not vital – and that a traditionally qualified psychotherapist with no personal experience of psychedelics may be sufficient for the delivery of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies.
While this debate continues, a new study carried out by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, has found that psychedelic use among psychedelic therapists may be common.
The study has been published in the peer-reviewed journal Psychedelic Medicine.
Psychedelic experienced therapists
Jacob Aday, PhD, from the University of California, San Francisco, and coauthors surveyed psychedelic therapists involved in a trial of psilocybin to treat major depressive disorder, finding that the vast majority of the respondents reported personal experience using psychedelic compounds.
The authors highlight that experiential learning is common in psychotherapy and that some contend that having personal experience with psychedelics is essential to understanding the effects of these substances and being an effective psychedelic therapist.
However, there is currently no data that supports this contention, leading the research team to emphasise the importance of further investigation into the subject.
Additionally, the authors highlight that psychedelics remain Schedule I controlled substances, and use outside of approved research settings is illegal in the United States, United Kingdom, and elsewhere.
The authors write: “…All respondents endorsed favorable views regarding the efficacy of psilocybin therapy.
“Personal experience with psychedelics was notably common in this sample of psychedelic therapists, but the study was limited by a low response rate and a lack of diversity among participants.
“Future research is needed to address these limitations as well as to identify whether personal experience with psychedelics contributes to therapists’ competency or introduces bias to the field.
“Nonetheless, these findings are the first to delineate the personal use of psychedelics among professionals and can inform a pressing debate for the field.”
