PSYCHEDELIC FAQs

No psychedelic-assisted therapy is FDA-approved although clinical trials with psilocybin (from “magic mushrooms”) and MDMA are underway. Ketamine is FDA-approved as an anesthetic but can be used “off-label” in psychedelic-assisted therapy outside of clinical trials.

Based on prior studies dating back to the 1950’s and more recent clinical trials, patients with depression, anxiety, PTSD, end-of-life distress, chronic pain, and/or drug or alcohol problems may be candidates for psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Psychedelic-assisted therapy is under a Clinician’s supervision, includes counseling and clinical support before, during, and after the psychedelic dosing session, and the medication is part of an integrated program of psychotherapy and self-exploration as opposed to providing the drug as an isolated treatment. Taking a psychedelic drug outside of medical treatment or a clinical trial is in most cases illegal and not something we can recommend or assist with.

The goal of psychedelic-assisted therapy is to facilitate accessing deep emotional issues such that they can be addressed in subsequent integration counseling sessions. The psychedelic treatment may bring up anxiety, fear, or difficult or challenging emotions or memories which is why we will be at your side to assist and support you before, during, and after the psychedelic session. Research suggests that the intensity of the psychedelic experience is one of the best predictors of a therapeutic response, even when the experience is difficult or challenging. Therefore we do not consider a difficult session to be a “bad trip” but instead focus on supporting you and assisting you in maximizing the benefit you can obtain from the experience whether it is pleasant, challenging, or both.

“Microdosing” psychedelics involves taking sub-psychedelic doses of a psychedelic on a regular schedule (e.g every 3 days) often chronically. Microdosing of psychedelics is purported to have beneficial effects on mood and cognitive performance but few controlled studies of microdosing have been done to date. In contrast, most clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted therapy use a full psychedelic dose, usually administered once or only a few times over several months.