Mitigating Ethical Issues in Training for Psychedelic Therapy
Christopher Poppe, Daniel Villiger, Dimitris Repantis, Manuel Trachsel
Neuroethics April 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1007/s12152-025-09596-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Psychedelic-assisted therapy |
| Keywords | Neuropsychology Training meteorology Psychotherapist Medical education Engineering ethics Cognition |
| Citations | 9 |
| Key points | Argues that ethical issues in psychedelic therapy training require mitigation strategies including ethics codes, video monitoring, licensure, psychotherapy training, and a cooling-off period after personal psychedelic experience. |
Abstract
Abstract In the present paper, we analyze the ethical issues in training for psychedelic therapy and discuss mitigation strategies for these issues. Specifically, after describing models of psychedelic training, we describe four problems of psychedelic training: (1) the imperative for comprehensive training due to vulnerability of participants, (2) psychedelic but not psychotherapeutic experience in training, (3) self-disclosure of psychedelic experience, and (4) guruism. In the following, we will delineate mitigation strategies with regard to these ethical issues: we underline the necessity of ethics codes and training, but also argue for the importance of monitoring and control, also through video recording. For accountability, psychedelic practitioners should hold professional licensure. When they offer psychotherapy, they should be trained in psychotherapy. Furthermore, a cooling off period after therapists’ personal experience with psychedelics (“honeymoon”) is warranted.