Ensuring the psychedelic renaissance and radical healing reach the Black community: Commentary on Culture and Psychedelic Psychotherapy

The mental health field, including psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, has not adequately centered the needs of people of color. Monnica Williams and colleagues show that Black women and other people of color experience harm when therapists are unaware of and ill-equipped to address race-related topics. Functional Analytic Psychotherapy training has benefits but is limited for therapists who have not deeply reflected on their own racism, privilege, and oppression. Leaders in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy must adopt a standard of intersectional cultural humility for all practitioners. Increasing the number of trained therapists of color is essential to address racial disparities in access to these trauma treatments.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Similar to much of the mental health field, psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has failed to center the needs of people of color. Monnica Williams and colleagues demonstrate the harm faced by Black women and other people of color when working with psychedelic-assisted psychotherapists that are unaware of and ill-equipped to address sensitive topics related to race. Here I discuss the benefits and limitations of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy training for therapists that have not engaged in deep and reflective processes to understand their personal engagement in racism, privilege, and oppression. I call on leaders in the field of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to adhere to a new standard of intersectional cultural humility for anyone preparing to provide these services. Finally, I highlight the need to significantly increase the number of therapists of color trained to offer psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to begin to address racial disparities to access to these radical treatments for trauma.