Journal of Medical Ethics
August 5, 2026
JingYi Zhang, Dominic Sisti
Intravenous ketamine and intranasal esketamine have shown rapid effects in reversing suicidality and improving depressive symptoms. In countries that allow psychiatric euthanasia and/or assisted suicide (EAS), we argue that potentially effective treatments for suicidal ideation and behaviour, such as ketamine, should be required before allowing patients to access psychiatric EAS. Ketamine can...
Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.)
July 1, 2026
Joshua Mitchell, Benjamin Bregman, Renuka Surujnarain et al.
Aided by COVID-19-era regulatory flexibilities, direct-to-consumer telemedicine has expanded access to mental health care. Ketamine prescribed off-label for psychiatric conditions is increasingly marketed online and delivered at home through telehealth platforms. Taking a wrongful death lawsuit against a telehealth ketamine provider as a point of departure, the authors examine how combining...
Psychedelic Medicine
April 23, 2026
Jill Oliver Robinson, Ruiying (aria) Xiong, Logan Neitzke-Spruill et al.
Background: Institutional review boards (IRBs) are gatekeepers of psychedelic research, deciding whether and under what conditions it may proceed. Yet IRB understanding, attitudes, perspectives, and concerns regarding psychedelics and psychedelic research have not previously been studied. These factors are important to assessing whether US IRBs are likely to be over- or underprotective of...
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
July 15, 2024
Christopher Quasti, Dominic Sisti
5 citations
Abstract Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is currently undergoing a resurgence of clinical interest for several mental health ailments. We propose that philosophers can play a significant role in PAT in both the preparation and integration phases of PAT. Philosophers can aid in the former phase by offering philosophical preparatory insights and in the latter phase by providing the conceptual...
Hastings Cent Rep
July 1, 2024
Daniel Rosenbaum, Crystal Hare, Emma Hapke et al.
10 citations
Well-trained, competent therapists are crucial for safe and effective psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT). The question whether PAT training programs should require aspiring therapists to undergo their own PAT-commonly referred to as "experiential training"-has received much attention within the field. In this article, we analyze the potential benefits of experiential training in PAT by applying...
JAMA Network Open
June 3, 2024
Amy L. Mcguire, I Glenn Cohen, Dominic Sisti et al.
41 citations
As government agencies around the globe contemplate approval of the first psychedelic medicines, many questions remain about their ethical integration into mainstream medical practice. To identify key ethics and policy issues related to the eventual integration of psychedelic therapies into clinical practice. From June 9 to 12, 2023, 27 individuals representing the perspectives of clinicians,...
Perspectives in biology and medicine
2024
Logan Neitzke-Spruill, Neşe Devenot, Dominic Sisti et al.
7 citations
ABSTRACT:Psychedelics have again become a subject of widespread interest, owing to the reinvigoration of research into their traditional uses, possible medical applications, and social implications. As evidence for psychedelics' clinical potential mounts, the field has increasingly focused on searching for mechanisms to explain the effects of psychedelics and therapeutic efficacy of...
Perspectives in biology and medicine
2024
Dominic Sisti
1 citation
Introduction to the Special Section on Psychedelics Research and Treatment Dominic Sisti Against a backdrop of post-pandemic malaise, diseases of despair, and a fragmented mental health care system, psychedelics have enjoyed a resurgence of interest as powerful psychotherapeutic agents and as catalysts of personal growth. The true power of these substances—some of which are considered...
AJOB Neuroscience
2023
Andrew Peterson, Emily A Largent, Holly Fernandez Lynch et al.
42 citations
In this paper, we examine the case of psychedelic medicine for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD). These "mind-altering" drugs are not currently offered as treatments to persons with AD/ADRD, though there is growing interest in their use to treat underlying causes and associated psychiatric symptoms. We present a research agenda for examining the ethics of psychedelic medicine...
Perspectives in biology and medicine
2023
Gail A. Edelsohn, Dominic Sisti
8 citations
Recent clinical trials of psychedelic drugs aim to treat a range of psychiatric conditions in adults. MDMA and psilocybin administered with psychotherapy have received FDA designation as "breakthrough therapies" for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and treatment-resistant depression (TRD) respectively. Given the potential benefit for minors burdened with many of the same disorders, calls...
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics
October 1, 2022
Andrew Peterson, Dominic Sisti
11 citations
Andrew Peterson* and Dominic Sisti Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy and Department of Philosophy, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia 22030, USA Penn Program on Precision Medicine for the Brain, University of Pennsylvania Memory Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania,...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
June 17, 2022
Andrew Beswerchij, Dominic Sisti
9 citations
We argue that non-stigmatizing and precise terminology grounded in the medical model will advance both the science and public acceptance of psychedelics. Researchers and clinicians should take care to distinguish between medical, recreational, and spiritual uses to set clear boundaries and expectations for patients. Ethically fraught or stigmatizing terms should be replaced with terminology...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
May 25, 2022
Kevin Mintz, Brinn Gammer, Amanda Khan et al.
13 citations
Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the number of clinical trials for psychedelic therapies as treatments for a wide range of psychiatric conditions. We are concerned that research organizations overseeing these trials have neglected the inclusion of individuals with physical and sensory disabilities. We suggest that psychedelic research organizations should prioritize and plan...
The Oxford Handbook of Research Ethics
October 8, 2020
Dominic Sisti, W. Smith
Psychiatric research often poses special ethical concerns. This chapter first provides historical context, including scandals that stoked public concern about psychiatric research and led to the promulgation of canonical documents and bioethics scholarship, and then explores issues related to the decision-making capacity and safety of participants—including the use of placebos and washout...
Journal of Medical Ethics
May 27, 2020
William Smith, Dominic Sisti
142 citations
Despite the fact that psychedelics were proscribed from medical research half a century ago, recent, early-phase trials on psychedelics have suggested that they bring novel benefits to patients in the treatment of several mental and substance use disorders. When beneficial, the psychedelic experience is characterized by features unlike those of other psychiatric and medical treatments. These...