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Counselors’ attitudes toward psychedelics and their use in therapy

Benjamin Hearn, Michael D. Brubaker, George B. Richardson

Journal of Counseling & Development March 19, 2022 DOI: 10.1002/jcad.12429 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Survey Peer reviewed
Population Counseling professionals
Topics MDMA Psilocybin Psychedelic-assisted therapy
Keywords The renaissance Psychotherapist Hallucinogen Clinical psychology
Citations 46
Key findings Counselors' attitudes toward psychedelic use and PATs are mixed, unless they are medically supervised, and most see potential in PAT and the need for additional research.

Abstract

Abstract The ‘‘psychedelic renaissance’’ is generating new evidence for psychedelics’ potential to treat numerous mental and substance use disorders. In particular, the United States Food and Drug Administration is poised to approve psychedelic drugs 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and psilocybin for the use in psychedelic‐assisted therapy (PAT). This renaissance has led to substantial public attention toward psychedelics, state and local changes to the legal status of psychedelics, and recent increases in the rate of psychedelic use among United States adults. Despite these advancements, the counseling profession has remained relatively disengaged from the research and general discourse surrounding psychedelics and PAT. In response to this gap, this study presents the results of a survey of counseling professionals’ attitudes toward psychedelics and PATs. Results suggest counselors’ attitudes toward psychedelic use and PATs are mixed, unless they are medically supervised. Furthermore, most counselors see potential in PAT and the need for additional research.

Comparable studies

Other cross-sectional and survey studies on MDMA, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Recreational MDMA use in Sydney: a profile of ‘Ecstasy’ users and their experiences with the drug Recreational Ecstasy users recruited via snowball peer network 1992 Cross-sectional survey n = 100
Reducedin vivobinding to the serotonin transporter in the cerebral cortex of MDMA (‘ecstasy’) users Male regular ecstasy users and well-matched controls 1999 Cross-sectional association study n = 20
Patterns of simultaneous polysubstance use in drug using university students Drug-using university students 2006 Cross-sectional survey n = 149
Patterns of recreational drug use at dance events in Edinburgh, Scotland Drug users at dance events in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, aged 16-47, 80% between 18 and... 2001 Cross-sectional survey n = 122
Acute, sub‐acute and long‐term subjective consequences of ‘ecstasy’ (MDMA) consumption in 430 regular users Regular MDMA users 2003 Cross-sectional study n = 466

Citations in the library

Cited by 44

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MDMA Psilocybin Psychedelic-assisted therapy Addiction