Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Psychedelics and psychedelic-assisted therapies (PATs) are on the cusp of becoming medicalized treatment modalities within the United States, both as potential U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatment and therapeutic options outside the medical model, through decriminalization efforts within individual states. Bringing with it a paradigm shift in the delivery of health care for both physical and mental health treatment. A workforce of highly trained facilitators will be needed to meet the anticipated demand for this type of treatment and nurses can play a key role in meeting this demand. This article serves to introduce psychedelic-assisted therapies to psychiatric-mental health nurses as we start to see this new field emerge.

METHOD:

Review of published literature and other media.

RESULTS:

Results based on historical data, modern applications, and future considerations.

CONCLUSIONS:

Nurses have been involved with psychedelic-assisted therapies in the past and are fully capable of providing a wide range of roles upon the anticipated approval as a treatment modality.

Keywords

professional issues psychotherapy—general complementary and alternative therapies nursing education stigma

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Aday

J. S.

Skiles

Eaton

Fredenburg

Pleet

Mantia

Bradley

E. R.

Fernandes-Osterhold

Woolley

J. D.

(2023). Personal psychedelic use is common among a sample of psychedelic therapists: Implications for research and Practice. Psychedelic Medicine, 1(1), 27–37. https://doi.org/10.1089/psymed.2022.0004

American Psychedelic Practitioners Association. (2023, August). Professional practice guidelines for psychedelic-assisted therapy. American Psychedelic Practitioners Association and BrainFutures.

Anderson

B. T.

Danforth

Daroff

P. R.

Stauffer

C. S.

Ekman

Agin-Liebes

Trope

Boden

Dilley

P. J.

Mitchell

Woolley

J. D.

(2020). Psilocybin-assisted group therapy for demoralized older long-term AIDS survivor men: An open-label safety and feasibility pilot study. EClinicalMedicine, 27, Article 100538.

Becker

R. E.

Seeman

M. V.

Greig

N. H.

Lahiri

D. K.

(2015). What can triumphs and tribulations from drug research in Alzheimer’s disease tell us about the development of psychotropic drugs in general? The Lancet Psychiatry, 2(8), 756–764.

Berg

(1994). Notes from a psychedelic research nurse. Newsletter of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelics Studies, 5(1). https://maps.org/news-letters/v05n1/05134nrs.html

Berg

(1995). Notes from a psychedelic research nurse: Part II. Newsletter of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelics Studies, 6(1). https://maps.org/news-letters/v06n1/06117unm.html

Bierer

Buckman

(1961). Marlborough night hospital: Treatment with LSD and group therapy. Nursing Times, 57, 637–639.

Blewett

D. B.

Chwelos

(1959). Handbook for the therapeutic use of lysergic acid diethylamide-25 individual and group procedures. https:// www.erowid.org/psychoactives/guides/handbook_lsd25.pdf

Brennan

Belser

A. B.

(2022). Models of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: A contemporary assessment and an introduction to EMBARK, a transdiagnostic, trans-drug model. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 866018. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.866018

10.

Buckman

(1967). Theoretical aspects of LSD therapy. In Abramson

(Ed.), The use of LSD in psychotherapy and alcoholism (pp. 83–100). Bobbs-Merrill.

11.

Carhart-Harris

R. L.

Goodwin

G. M.

(2017). The therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs: Past, present, and future. Neuropsychopharmacology: Official Publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 42(11), 2105–2113. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2017.84

12.

Dames

Kryskow

Watler

Pearl

Allard

(2023). Psychedelic-assisted Therapy Training: First Hand experience of non-ordinary states of consciousness in the pursuit of competency [Unpublished manuscript]. https://rootstothrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Psychedelic-Therapy-Education_-Is-the-Experience-of-Psychedelic-Therapy-a-Necessary-Competency-Standard-for-those-Training-to-Provide-Psychedelic-Therapists_.pdf

13.

Dansky

K. H.

(1970). Medi-rock: A bridge between two cultures. The Alumnae Magazine of Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing, 69(3), 65–68.

14.

Denis-Lalonde

Estefan

(2020). Emerging psychedelic-assisted therapies: Implications for nursing practice. Journal of Mental Health and Addiction Nursing, 4(1), e1–e13. https://doi.org/10.2237/jmhan.v4i1.40

15.

Devine

(2022, August 3). The need for 100,000 psychedelic facilitators is real. LA Weekly. https://www.laweekly.com/the-need-for-100000-psychedelic-facilitators-is-real/

16.

Extance

. (2023, October 31). Positive trial sets stage for therapeutic use of MDMA in US. Chemistry World. https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/positive-trial-sets-stage-for-therapeutic-use-of-mdma-in-us/4018114.article

17.

Food and Drug Administration. (2023). Psychedelic drugs: Considerations for clinical investigations guidance for industry (Draft guidance). Docket: FDA-2023.

18.

Friedman

R. A.

(2013, August 19). A dry pipeline for psychiatric drugs. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/20/health/a-dry-pipeline-for-psychiatric-drugs.html

19.

Geert-Jörgensen

(1968). Further observations regarding hallucinogenic treatment. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica Supplementum, 203, 195–200.

20.

Goodwin

G. M.

Aaronson

S. T.

Alvarez

Arden

P. C.

Baker

Bennett

J. C.

Bird

Blom

R. E.

Brennan

Brusch

Burke

Campbell-Coker

Carhart-Harris

Cattell

Daniel

DeBattista

Dunlop

B. W.

Eisen

Feifel

. . . Malievskaia

(2022). Single-dose psilocybin for a treatment-resistant episode of major depression. The New England Journal of Medicine, 387(18), 1637–1648. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2206443

21.

Gorman

Nielson

E. M.

Molinar

Cassidy

Sabbagh

(2021). Psychedelic harm reduction and integration: A transtheoretical model for clinical practice. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 645246. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.645246

22.

Griffiths

R. R.

Johnson

M. W.

Richards

W. A.

Richards

B. D.

McCann

Jesse

(2011). Psilocybin occasioned mystical-type experiences: Immediate and persisting dose-related effects. Psychopharmacology, 218(4), 649–665.

23.

Grinspoon

Bakalar

J. B.

(1979). Psychedelic drugs reconsidered. Basic Books.

24.

Grof

(1980). LSD psychotherapy (4th ed.). MAPS Publishing.

25.

Hammett

Buckman

Godfrey

K. E.

Osmond

Unger

Hermon

H. C.

Grof

(1969). (Panel discussion participant) “The Clinical use of psychedelic drugs.” Psychedelic Drugs (op city), 234–243.

26.

Hartogsohn

(2017). Constructing drug effects: A history of set and setting. Drug Science, Policy and Law, 3, 205032451668332. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050324516683325

27.

Johnson

M. W.

Hendricks

P. S.

Barrett

F. S.

Griffiths

R. R.

(2019). Classic psychedelics: An integrative review of epidemiology, therapeutics, mystical experience, and brain network function. Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 197, 83–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pharmthera.2018.11.010

28.

Leary

Metzner

Alpert

(1964). The psychedelic experience; a manual based on the Tibetan book of the dead. University Books.

29.

Lennard

Hewitt

. (1959, April 22–24). The study of communication processes under LSD. In Abramson

H. A.

(Ed.), The use of LSD in psychotherapy, a conference on d-Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD-25) (pp. 199–240). Madison Printing.

30.

Mental Health America. (2022). Adult data 2022. https://mhanational.org/issues/2022/mental-health-america-adult-data

31.

Mitchell

J. M.

Ot’alora

G. M.

van der Kolk

Shannon

Bogenschutz

Gelfand

Paleos

Nicholas

C. R.

Quevedo

Balliett

Hamilton

Mithoefer

Kleiman

Parker-Guilbert

Tzarfaty

Harrison

de Boer

Doblin

Yazar-Klosinski

(2023). MDMA-assisted therapy for moderate to severe PTSD: A randomized, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial. Nature Medicine, 29(10), 2473–2480. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02565-4

32.

Mithoefer

M. C.

(2017). A manual for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of PTSD (Version 8.1). Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelics Studies. https://maps.org/research/mdma/mdma-research-timeline/4887-a-manual-for-mdma-assisted-psychotherapy-in-the-treatment-of-ptsd

33.

Mithoefer

M. C.

Feduccia

A. A.

Jerome

Mithoefer

Wagner

Walsh

Hamilton

Yazar-Klosinski

Emerson

Doblin

(2019). MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for treatment of PTSD: Study design and rationale for phase 3 trials based on pooled analysis of six phase 2 randomized controlled trials. Psychopharmacology, 236(9), 2735–2745. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-019-05249-5

34.

Mocanu

Mackay

Christie

Argento

(2022). Safety considerations in the evolving legal landscape of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 17(1), Article 37. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-022-00468-0

35.

Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. (2011, July 28–2022, October 13). Psychological effects of Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) when administered to healthy volunteers (MT-1) [Identifier: NCT01404754]. ClinicalTrials.gov. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01404754?term=MDMA&draw=7&rank=56

36.

Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. (2022). Second maps- sponsored phase 3 trial of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD completed. https://maps.org/2022/11/17/mapp2-second-maps-sponsored-phase-3-trial-of-mdma-assisted-therapy-for-ptsd-completed/

37.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2022). Exploring psychedelics and entactogens as treatments for psychiatric disorders: Proceedings of a workshop. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26648

38.

Nichols

D. E.

(2016). Psychedelics. Pharmacological Reviews, 68(2), 264–355. https://doi.org/10.1124/pr.115.011478

39.

Nielson

E. M.

Guss

(2018). The influence of therapists’ first-hand experience with psychedelics on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy research and therapist training. Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 2(2), 64–73. https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2018.009

40.

Nuwer

(2023, September 14). MDMA therapy inches closer to approval. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/14/health/mdma-ptsd-psychedelics.html

41.

Organization of Psychedelic and Entheogenic Nurses. (2023a). https://www.openurses.org/

42.

Organization of Psychedelic and Entheogenic Nurses. (2023b). Mission and intent. https://www.openurses.org/code-of-ethics

43.

Osmond

(1957). A review of the clinical effects of psychotomimetic agents. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 66(3), 418–434. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1957.tb40738.x

44.

Osmond

(1969). Alcoholism: A personal view of psychedelic treatment. In Hicks

R. E.

Fink

P. J.

(Eds.), Psychedelic drugs: Proceedings of a Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital symposium (pp, 217–225). Grune & Stratton.

45.

Paiement

(2021, April 14). Psychedelic Saskatchewan: Kay Parley. Chacruna. https://chacruna.net/psychedelic-saskatchewan-kay-parley/

46.

Parley

(1964). Supporting the patient on LSD day. The American Journal of Nursing, 64(2), 80–82. https://doi.org/10.2307/3452964

47.

Parley

(2016). Inside the mental: Silence, stigma, psychiatry, and LSD. University of Regina Press.

48.

Passie

Guss

Krähenmann

(2022). Lower-dose psycholytic therapy: A neglected approach. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, Article 1020505. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1020505

49.

Penn

A. D.

Dorsen

C. G.

Van Hope

Rosa

W. E.

(2021). Psychedelic-assisted therapy: Emerging treatments in mental health disorders. The American Journal of Nursing, 121(6), 34–40. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0000753464.35523.29

50.

Penn

A. D.

Phelps

Rosa

W. E.

Watson

(2021). Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy practices and human caring science: Toward a care-informed model of treatment. The Journal of Humanistic Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00221678211011013

51.

Penn

A. D.

Phelps

Rosa

W. E.

Watson

(2021). Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy practices and human caring science: Toward a care-informed model of treatment. The Journal of Humanistic Psychology. 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00221678211011013

52.

Penn

Yehuda

(2023). Preventing the gaps in psychedelic research from becoming practice pitfalls: A translational research agenda, Psychedelic Medicine, 1(2), https://doi.org/10.1089/psymed.2023.0017

53.

Penn Nursing. (2022). Penn nursing & Columbia School of Social Work team up to educate social workers & nurses about psychedelic-assisted therapy. https://www.nursing.upenn.edu/details/news.php?id=2180

54.

Phelps

(2017). Developing guidelines and competencies for the training of psychedelic therapists. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 57(5), 450–487. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167817711304

55.

Raison

C. L.

Sanacora

Woolley

Heinzerling

Dunlop

B. W.

Brown

R. T.

Kakar

Hassman

Trivedi

R. P.

Robison

Gukasyan

Nayak

S. M.

O’Donnell

K. C.

Kelmendi

Sloshower

Penn

A. D.

Bradley

Kelly

D. F.

Griffiths

R. R.

(2023). Single-dose psilocybin treatment for major depressive disorder: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 330(9), 843–853. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2023.14530

56.

Rosa

W. E.

Dorsen

C. G.

Penn

A. D.

(2020). Fostering nurse engagement in psychedelic-assisted therapies for patients with serious illness. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 23(10), 1288.

57.

Rosa

W. E.

Van Hope

Matzo

(2019). Palliative nursing and sacred medicine: A holistic stance on entheogens, healing, and spiritual care. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 37(1), 100–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/0898010118770302

58.

Sandison

. (1959, April 22–24). The nature of the psychological response to LSD. In Abramson

H. A.

(Ed.), The use of LSD in psychotherapy, a conference on d-Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD-25) (pp. 81–145). Madison Printing.

59.

Sankot

Smith

D. E.

(1968). Drug problems in the Haight-Ashbury. American Journal of Nursing, 68(8), 1686–1689.

60.

Schenberg

E. E.

(2018). Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: A paradigm shift in psychiatric research and development. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 9, Article 733. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2018.00733

61.

Snelders

(2020, November 18). Kin Spruijt: A psychedelic nurse in a Dutch Psychiatric Clinic. Chacruna. https://chacruna.net/a-psychedelic-nurse-in-a-dutch-psychiatric-clinic/

62.

Stein

C. A.

Penn

A. D.

Van Hope

Dorsen

C. G.

Mangini

(2022). The pharmacology and clinical applications of psychedelic medicines within midwifery practice. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, 67(3), 373–383. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmwh.13371

63.

Watson

(2008). Nursing: The philosophy and science of caring (Revised ed.). University Press of Colorado, Boulder.

64.

World Health Organization. (2021). Depression. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression

65.

Zhu

(2021). Challenges of psychiatry drug development and the role of human pharmacology models in early development: A drug developer’s perspective. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, Article 562660. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.562660

Psychedelics in Psychiatry,the Nursing Influence,and the Future of Psychedelic Therapies

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

METHOD:

RESULTS:

CONCLUSIONS:

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References