Towards social curative psychedelic treatment
Discover Mental Health March 21, 2026 Martha Newson, Leor Roseman, S. Alexander Haslam
Psychedelic-assisted therapies are effective for mental health conditions but are usually delivered individually, missing opportunities to build shared social identity among participants. Group-based interventions foster empathy, connectedness, and social functioning. Integrating 'social cure' principles from social identity theory could enhance therapeutic efficacy by promoting interconnectedness in supportive group settings. This article argues for combining these approaches, which have developed separately, to provide a theoretical foundation for group-based therapies and guide responsible implementation of socially informed psychedelic treatments, leading to a more comprehensive and socially embedded mental health care model.