Psychedelic therapies are returning to psychiatry

Professor Erika Dyck argues that psychedelic therapies, whether in ceremonial or clinical settings, are being promoted as life-changing for their ability to transform an individual's perspective. With the WHO reporting that 1 in 5 people globally lives with mental illness, a 'psychedelic renaissance' has emerged, offering potential treatments that could improve individual lives and transform mental health diagnosis and treatment. Initiatives to legalize, decriminalize, or regulate psychedelics are taking various legal forms, with notable successes in treating alcoholism and trauma-based disorders. Professor Dyck recommends deeper exploration of these therapies.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Psychedelic therapies are returning to psychiatry Professor Erika Dyck, Canada Research Chair in History of Health & Social Justice at the University of Saskatchewan argues that psychedelic drugs and therapies, whether conducted in ceremonial settings or clinical ones, are being touted as life-changing moments for their capacity to efficiently transform an individual's perspective on themselves. The number of people who suffer from mental illness has grown steadily, with the WHO now reporting that 1 in 5 people in the world lives with mental illness. Due to this, numerous psychedelic therapies have also emerged on this landscape as a potential treatment that may improve individual lives while also transforming the way we diagnose and treat mental illness around the world – labelled a "psychedelic renaissance". Initiatives to legalize, decriminalize, and/or regulate psychedelics have taken different legal forms – as the legal landscape is changing quickly – but there are undeniable and unprecedented successes in treating alcoholism and trauma-based disorders with psychedelic therapies, which Professor Dyck recommends to be explored in more depth.