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A new study has found that psychedelic-assisted therapy is viewed by psychologists as a life-changing tool that has the potential to facilitate emotional breakthroughs and psychological insights for individuals with a range of mental conditions.
The study was carried out by researchers at Griffith University, who interviewed twenty psychologists from different parts of Australia.
Jordan Negrine, a Ph.D. candidate with the institution’s school of Applied Psychology, was the study’s lead researcher. Mr. Negrine stated that the participants demonstrated both caution and enthusiasm when asked about the therapeutic potential of psychedelic-assisted therapy.
However, he continued, the psychologists also displayed limited awareness of the treatment’s implementation process in the country, particularly those linked to delivery and prescription procedures.
The study found that psychologists believed that psychedelic-assisted therapy possessed the capacity to relieve pressures on the mental health system by addressing underlying causes of psychological distress and helping reduce psychological barriers to treatment. A majority of the psychologists also argued that psychedelic-assisted therapists could benefit from a psychedelic experience as part of their training.
Access to professional training and support is important, especially since clinical outcomes from psychedelic experiences depend on a patient’s psychological state as well as the external environment. Training programs that equip professionals with the skills needed to navigate all that comes with psychedelic-assisted therapy have been limited in Australia.
In the last couple of years, the demand for more psychologists to be equipped with training and knowledge to deliver this treatment effectively and responsibly has increased.
In 2023, Australia became the first globally to legalize the use of psychedelics to treat various mental health conditions. This was made possible after the Therapeutic Goods Administration reclassified psilocybin and MDMA to Schedule 8 from 9. This move allowed psychiatrists to apply for approval to prescribe psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression and MDMA for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.
In February of this year, the trailblazing psychedelic therapy clinic, Clarion Clinics, opened its doors to the public.
The study also found that most psychologists believed that education, training programs, and endorsement by credible institutions would eliminate barriers to the safe delivery of psychedelic-assisted therapy in clinical practice.
Additionally, psychologists pointed out that under the right conditions, the treatment was safe to use, non-addictive, and more effective as compared to traditional pharmacotherapies. They noted that this treatment was also linked to fewer instances of aggression and imposed fewer mental and physical side effects.
The study’s findings were reported in Drug and Alcohol Review.
As entities like Seelos Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SEEL) make progress in their efforts to develop psychedelic medications approved by regulators, psychiatrists, psychologists and other healthcare professionals could become even more positive towards these novel treatments.
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