Neuroethics
April 1, 2025
Christopher Poppe, Daniel Villiger, Dimitris Repantis et al.
9 citations
Ethical problems in training for psychedelic therapy include the need for comprehensive training due to participant vulnerability, reliance on psychedelic experience without psychotherapeutic training, self-disclosure of personal psychedelic use, and guruism. Mitigation strategies include ethics codes and training, monitoring and control via video recording, requiring professional licensure and psychotherapy training for practitioners, and imposing a cooling-off period after therapists' personal psychedelic experiences to avoid a 'honeymoon' effect.
Psychological Medicine
January 1, 2025
Chiara Caporuscio, Christopher Poppe, Astrid Gieselmann et al.
9 citations
A scoping review of ethical issues in psychedelic-assisted therapy identifies seven key themes: safety and patient well-being, therapeutic relationships, informed consent, equity and access, research ethics, special contexts, and societal and cultural implications. The review systematically searched multiple databases for peer-reviewed studies on human participants and psychiatric patients, covering publications up to June 2025. The findings aim to inform further discussion and research to support safer and more ethical implementation of psychedelic-assisted treatments as they approach clinical use.
Current topics in behavioral neurosciences
November 8, 2024
Christopher Poppe, Dimitris Repantis
9 citations
This chapter surveys ethical issues in psychedelic-assisted treatments across clinical ethics, research ethics, and societal dimensions. In clinical settings, autonomy, shared decision-making, and informed consent are critical because patients in altered states are vulnerable, raising concerns about touch and suggestibility. The debate over hallucinogenic versus nonhallucinogenic psychedelics questions the necessity of altered states. Exceptional therapist training and end-of-life care contexts are also discussed. In research, inclusivity, equipoise, and expectation management are key, with unresolved questions about post-trial access. Finally, equitable access, justice for indigenous communities, and the effects of legalization and medicalization are pressing societal concerns amid the psychedelic renaissance.
Brain and behavior
June 1, 2026
Christopher Poppe, Liisa Lyck, Laura Bechtold et al.
1 citation
In people with treatment-resistant depression entering psychedelic clinical trials, motivations and expectations are complex and may shift over time. Interviews with 17 participants before screening for 5-MeO-DMT or psilocybin trials revealed two main themes: motivations (hope, demoralization, prior psychedelic experience, social reasons) and expectations (anticipated symptom reduction, perceived mechanisms of change, role of setting, and retrospective expectations). Many viewed trial participation as a last resort after chronic illness and failed treatments. In two cases, initially cautious expectations were later reinterpreted as stronger after participation. These findings suggest that expectancy should be systematically addressed in trial design, informed consent, and interpretation of outcomes.