This review (2021) summarizes the challenges for creating a new treatment infrastructure for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy in the process of re-contextualizing psychopharmacological interventions within a paradigm that lays particular emphasis on preparation, integration, and the development of structured patient communities as crucial components of therapy.

Abstract

“Serotonergic psychedelics such as psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), or dimethyltryptamine (DMT), as well as psychoactive drugs that trigger phenomenologically- related experiences like 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and ketamine, belong to the most promising treatment approaches in contemporary psychiatry. Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is not only a new treatment paradigm in psychopharmacology, but it also requires a redefinition of psychotherapeutic processes and the contextualization of psychopharmacological interventions within a new treatment infrastructure. Crucial for future practice and research in the field are (1) informed patient referral and co-treatment practices, (2) screening (e. g., choosing the right patients for these therapies), (3) the dosing preparation sessions, (4) the assisted dosing sessions as well as after-care procedures such as (5) psychological integration and (6) supporting the development of structured patient communities. Definition of future treatment delivery infrastructures and requirements for therapist training are further challenges for research and practice. Finally, the implementation of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy in routine mental health care must be embedded into public communication about the potential and risks of these innovative therapeutic approaches. This paper provides a synopsis of challenges for practitioners, researchers, and regulators to be addressed in the approval processes of psychedelics.”

Authors: Gerhard Gründer & Henrik Jungaberle

Summary of The Potential Role of Psychedelic Drugs in Mental Health Care of the Future

Introduction

Psychedelic drugs were banned in 1971 in almost every country of the world by the United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances. However, ketamine and esketamine, as well as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), are sometimes counted among psychedelics.

Psychedelic compounds have been shown to reduce symptoms in severely ill patients and to have long-lasting effects. However, introducing these compounds into the health care system will challenge current treatment paradigms and will require the development of treatment models that truly integrate the administration of a powerful psychotropic drug with novel psychotherapeutic approaches.

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