A Social Justice Perspective on Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy in Community Mental Health

Abstract

Psychedelics have re-emerged in this century as a popular substance to use by people of different ages and socio-economic status. The reasons for use vary between recreational and treatment focused. The Controlled Substance Act of 1970, signed by then President Richard Nixon, created a ban on the use of these substances in the United States, but advocates have found reason to revisit the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics in both physical and behavioral healthcare settings. But at what cost? Is the research conducted a true representation of potential consumers? Is history repeating itself in current research practices? This chapter seeks to take a social justice approach to understanding the modern-day implementation of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy as a modality of treatment in community-based mental health clinics with a special focus on treating race-based trauma experienced by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Emerging research reveals psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy as an effective form of treatment for common mental health conditions such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. However, in effort to gain better understanding of the outcome, scholars have noted and uncovered inequities that exist within the research and implementation of treatment.