A Psilocybin Experience Gone Wrong: The Importance of Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy

A patient who used psilocybin without psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy required inpatient psychiatric admission. The case highlights the importance of taking psilocybin in controlled clinical settings. The authors discuss how psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy could have changed the outcome and the role of experiential learning for potential prescribers.

Study at a glance

Abstract

As psilocybin awaits approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), scholars debate whether psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy should be required when prescribing this medicine. Here, we report the case of a patient who underwent a psilocybin experience without psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, resulting in inpatient psychiatric admission. This case underscores the importance of taking psilocybin in controlled clinical settings. Moreover, we discuss how psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy could have altered the outcome of her experience and the role of experiential learning in psychedelics for potential prescribers.