Establishing an Ethics for Psychedelic Psychiatry

Establishing an Ethics for Psychedelic Psychiatry
Brian Holoyda, Cameron Kiani
Psychiatric Services, 1 August 2023
Excerpt
…Informed consent, a cornerstone of ethical clinical practice, is particularly challenging in the context of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. The authors aptly point out that the potent effects of psychedelics necessitate an enhanced consent process to ensure understanding of risks and potential treatment outcomes. Patients should understand that acute and long-term emotional, cognitive, and perceptual changes may occur with psychedelic use. Although psychedelic journeys are positively transformative for many people, these journeys are not beneficial for everyone. Barber and Dike also note that psychedelics not only may be used to treat some mental disorders but also may lead to changes in personality and beliefs. Eliciting such changes could be outside the scope of psychiatric treatment; therefore, practitioners need to ensure that their patients’ understanding of the goals of treatment align with their own…