Learning how to make use of dissociative therapies.
International review of psychiatry (Abingdon, England) December 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1080/09540261.2024.2406329 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Esketamine Ketamine Psychedelic-assisted therapy |
| Keywords | Dextromethorphan Mental health treatments Dissociative medicines Rapid-acting antidepressants Novel therapeutics |
| Citations | 3 |
| Key findings | The review highlights six unresolved clinical issues regarding dissociative therapies, including unblinding, recreational versus therapeutic effects, and the need for prescribing resources. |
Abstract
Dissociative therapies are being increasingly explored for their psychiatric applications, although questions remain about how they work and how best to use them. In exploring these questions, this review highlights six key areas of clinical relevance: (1) The possible contributions of functional unblinding when interpreting efficacy data; (2) The degree to which the therapeutic effects of dissociative therapies can be distinguished from the transient forms of relief seen with recreational drug use; (3) Understanding the construct of dissociation as it is tasked with describing the function of dissociative drugs; (4) The investigation of subjective drug effects as predictors of therapeutic outcome; (5) Similarities and differences in the effects of dissociative and classic psychedelics; and (6) The anticipated need for judicious prescribing/deprescribing resources as dissociative therapies proliferate.