Can psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy play a role in enhancing motivation to change in addiction treatment settings?
Journal of Psychedelic Studies March 11, 2022 Mark Kang, Lindsay Mackay, Devon Christie et al. 1 citation
Existing treatments for substance use disorders, including medications and psychosocial interventions, have significant shortcomings such as low retention and high relapse rates. Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies are re-emerging as promising adjunctive treatments for addiction and other mental health conditions, but there is a lack of validated metrics to evaluate recovery capital and motivation to change—a crucial factor in positive treatment outcomes. This commentary describes the current state of research and the potential of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to enhance motivation to change in addiction treatment, and emphasizes the need for validated tools to assess whether these therapies can produce lasting improvements in substance use behaviors.