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Psychedelic medicine in psychiatry residency training: a survey of psychiatric residency program directors.

Mary E. Yaden, Terence H. W. Ching, Noam Goldway, Daniel E. Roberts, Jamila Hokanson, Natalie Gukasyan, Christopher Pittenger, Benjamin Kelmendi, Stephen Ross, Gianni Glick, Kelley C. O’donnell

International Review of Psychiatry September 11, 2024 DOI: 10.1080/09540261.2024.2397039 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Survey Peer reviewed
Sample size 61
Population US psychiatry residency training directors
Topics Psychedelic-assisted therapy
Keywords Psychedelic therapies Innovative treatments Promising new modalities Psychiatric training Residency training Medical education Educational offerings Preparing psychiatrists Mental healthcare future Future mental healthcare Mainstream psychiatric practice Mental health integration Emerging therapies Emerging field
Citations 2
Key findings Most training directors favor more psychedelic education but cite shortages of materials and faculty; nearly all are interested in a standardized curriculum.

Abstract

Objective: The growth of psychedelic medicine creates new challenges in psychiatric education as physicians may soon be responsible for prescribing a number of psychedelic interventions. Despite this growing need for educated providers, very little is known about the training psychiatry residents receive in psychedelic medicine. We conducted a survey to determine the current educational opportunities as well as the priorities and concerns held by training directors about this emerging field.

Methods: We emailed an online survey to US psychiatry residency training directors. Respondents answered questions about current offerings in psychedelic medicine, as well as their interest, priorities, and concerns about curricular materials and their delivery.

Results: Sixty-one programs responded to our survey. The majority of respondents (64%) favored devoting additional time to psychedelic education, but many endorsed concerns about the dearth of educational materials (54%) and limited availability of faculty to deliver content (46%). The majority of programs (94%) expressed some interest in implementing a standardized curriculum in psychedelic medicine.

Conclusion: Training directors recognized that their current curricular materials are limited, and they appeared interested in additional support to meet the upcoming demand in psychedelic education. Further research can inform curriculum development and implementation of psychedelic education in residency training.

Comparable studies

Other cross-sectional and survey studies on psychedelic-assisted therapy, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Psychological flexibility mediates the relations between acute psychedelic effects and subjective decreases in depression and anxiety. International sample of people who reported having used a psychedelic 2020 Cross-sectional survey n = 985
Psychedelic Treatment for Trauma-Related Psychological and Cognitive Impairment Among US Special Operations Forces Veterans U.S. Special Operations Forces Veterans who completed a psychedelic clinical program in... 2020 Survey n = 51
Population Survey Data Informing the Therapeutic Potential of Classic and Novel Phenethylamine, Tryptamine, and Lysergamide Psychedelics Respondents from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2008–2017, weighted to... 2020 Cross-sectional survey n = 260,964,827
Examination of the Phenomenology of the Ibogaine Treatment Experience: Role of Altered States of Consciousness and Psychedelic Experiences. Individuals who used ibogaine in the past 2017 Retrospective survey n = 27
American Psychiatrists' Opinions About Classic Hallucinogens and Their Potential Therapeutic Applications: A 7-Year Follow-Up Survey. American Psychiatric Association members (resident-fellows and attending psychiatrists) 2024 Survey n = 131

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