Disability rights and experiential use of psychedelics in clinical research and practice.

A disability-rights perspective is brought to the debate about whether psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) researchers and clinicians should have personal experience with psychedelics. The authors argue that mandating or implying such experience can perpetuate ableism, because many psychiatric conditions and medications, including common antidepressants, may prevent safe psychedelic use. The field must prioritize disability inclusion among researchers and clinicians as PAP research and practice expand.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Given the renewed interest in the use of psychedelics for the treatment of mental and substance use disorders in recent decades, there has also been renewed discussion and debate about whether it is necessary or beneficial for those who study and deliver psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) to have had personal experience of using psychedelics. This paper provides a brief history of this debate and brings a disability-rights perspective to the discussion, given increasing efforts to dismantle ableism in medical training, practice, and research. Many psychiatric conditions and psychotropic medications, including ones as commonly prescribed as antidepressants, may preclude one from being able to safely and/or effectively use psychedelics. As such, we argue explicitly mandating or even implying the necessity of experiential training for psychedelic researchers and clinicians can perpetuate ableism in medicine by excluding those who cannot safely use psychedelics because of their personal medical histories. As PAP research and practice rapidly grow, we must ensure the field grows with disability inclusion amongst researchers and clinicians.