A Primer for Culturally Attuned Psychedelic Research
June 3, 2024 Terence Han Wei Ching preprint
A primer synthesizes existing literature on barriers to diversity in psychedelic research and offers strategies for culturally attuned recruitment, assessment, and retention of Black, Indigenous, and Peoples of Color (BIPOC) and sexual- and gender-diverse populations in the United States. Psychological and pragmatic barriers include drug and mental health stigma, medical mistrust, history of psychedelic-assisted conversion therapy, income disparities, schedule inflexibilities, and transportation inaccessibility. Strategies include queering and diversifying the study team, debinarizing the therapist dyad, developing culturally attuned flyers, investing in community outreach, using language in a culturally attuned way, improving access through transportation, diversifying the dosing room setup, and using culturally attuned instruments. The primer encourages research groups to adapt these recommendations to improve accessibility to innovative mental health treatments for diverse populations.