Attitudes and Beliefs about the Therapeutic Use of Psychedelic Drugs among Psychologists in the United States

Introduction

Psychedelic substances such as psilocybin, LSD and ayahuasca have historically been stigmatised in the United States, but recent clinical research, media attention and broader cultural interest in spirituality and consciousness have shifted perceptions toward viewing some psychedelics as potential therapeutic agents. Clinical trials—particularly with psilocybin—have reported improvements in conditions including cancer-related anxiety and depression, treatment-resistant depression and substance misuse, and investigators have highlighted lasting gains in wellbeing and optimism after treatment. Despite these developments, psychedelics remain Schedule I drugs in the US, stigma persists, and little is known about how clinicians who will deliver mental health care perceive these treatments. Davis and colleagues designed a cross-sectional quasi-experimental survey to assess attitudes toward psychedelics among licensed clinical and counselling psychologists in the US, with a particular focus on psilocybin because of its prominence in current clinical research. The study examined whether clinicians' beliefs about mystical or spiritual experiences differ when those experiences are reported as arising from psilocybin versus naturally (for example, via religion or meditation), whether acceptability of medication-assisted therapies differs when the medication is psilocybin versus opioid agonists, and how psychologists rate the safety and therapeutic potential of several psychoactive substances. The authors framed the work as informing education and training needs for the psychologist workforce as psychedelic-assisted therapies progress toward broader implementation.