American Psychiatrists' Opinions About Classic Hallucinogens and Their Potential Therapeutic Applications: A 7-Year Follow-Up Survey
This survey (n=131) conducted among American psychiatrists, aimed to assess their opinions about psychedelics & PAT in 2023, comparing the results with a similar study conducted in 2016. The findings revealed a significant positive shift in attitudes among American psychiatrists since 2016, with a majority expressing moderate to strong belief in the therapeutic potential of psychedelics for treating psychiatric conditions (81%) and substance use disorders (61%).
Abstract
Background
Psilocybin, a classic hallucinogen, may eventually be approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for treatment-resistant depression. However, we are aware of only one published national survey of American psychiatrists regarding their opinions about hallucinogens and hallucinogen-assisted therapy, conducted by our group in 2016. Here, we report a repeat survey, using virtually identical methods, assessing whether American psychiatrists display greater optimism about the therapeutic use of hallucinogens in 2022-23.
Methods
We e-mailed our survey instrument to 1,000 randomly selected American Psychiatric Association members-250 resident-fellows and 750 attending psychiatrists-in late 2022 and early 2023. We calculated descriptive statistics and used a non-parametric trend test to compare the current survey responses with those from 2016. We also constructed a multivariate logistic regression model to assess attributes of respondents that predicted moderate/strong agreement with plans to incorporate hallucinogen-assisted therapy into their own practice.
Results
The response rate was 13.1% (N = 131). Respondents were demographically similar to the 2016 respondents. A majority moderately/strongly believed that hallucinogens show promise in treating psychiatric conditions (80.9%) and substance use disorders (SUDs) (60.8%). Large majorities also moderately/strongly supported research into hallucinogens' therapeutic potential for psychiatric conditions (93.9%) and SUDs (88.6%), as well as federal funding of associated clinical trials (84.7% and 80.9%, respectively). Comparisons to 2016 showed significantly increased optimism regarding the therapeutic promise of hallucinogens and decreased concern about risks, with 50.4% of respondents reporting moderate/strong intentions to incorporate hallucinogen-assisted therapy into their practice.
Conclusions
Our data reveal a striking positive shift in attitudes toward the therapeutic potential of hallucinogens among American psychiatrists since 2016, with a majority of responding psychiatrists planning to incorporate hallucinogen-assisted therapy into their practice if regulatory approval is granted.
Research Summary of 'American Psychiatrists' Opinions About Classic Hallucinogens and Their Potential Therapeutic Applications: A 7-Year Follow-Up Survey'
Introduction
Classic hallucinogens (also called classic psychedelics), including psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and mescaline, act primarily via 5-HT2A receptor agonism and have seen accelerating clinical research into therapeutic applications. Barnett and colleagues note that Phase III trials of psilocybin-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant depression began in 2023 and that psilocybin could plausibly receive US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in the near future. Despite this, there is limited contemporary data on how American psychiatrists view these drugs and their therapeutic potential. To address this gap, the investigators repeated a national survey they had conducted in 2016 using virtually the same instrument, with the primary hypothesis that psychiatrists in 2022–2023 would be more optimistic about the therapeutic promise of classic hallucinogens and less concerned about their risks than respondents in 2016. The repeat survey also sought to measure support for research and federal funding, views on medical legalisation, and intentions to incorporate hallucinogen-assisted therapy into clinical practice if regulatory approval were granted.
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Study Details
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- APA Citation
Barnett, B. S., Arakelian, M., Beebe, D., Ontko, J., Riegal, C., Siu, W. O., Weleff, J., & Pope, H. G. (2024). American Psychiatrists' Opinions About Classic Hallucinogens and Their Potential Therapeutic Applications: A 7-Year Follow-Up Survey. Psychedelic Medicine, 2(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1089/psymed.2023.0036
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