Peer Support Workers (PSWs) in mental health and substance use treatment largely support psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) and are willing to recommend it to clients. A survey and follow-up interviews with five PSWs revealed that while interest is strong, concerns exist around client safety, psychoeducation, stigma, and accessibility. The study identifies key factors shaping PSWs' perspectives on PAT, which can inform safe implementation and the potential role of PSWs in this emerging treatment modality.
In Australia, where psychedelic-assisted therapies were recently legalized for certain mental health conditions, service leaders and clinicians view psilocybin-assisted therapy in three distinct ways: as a treatment of last resort for resistant conditions, as a tool to overcome therapeutic plateaus in ongoing care, and as a catalyst for rapid progress at any treatment stage. Focus groups with nine clinicians and nine health service leaders revealed that both groups see the therapy as a complex intervention dependent on the interplay between medication, therapist skill, client readiness, and care context. Clinicians emphasized careful integration and aftercare, while leaders highlighted operational and ethical tensions within regulatory requirements. The authors suggest that implementation approaches must be reflexive and adaptive.