Can psychedelic therapy move the needle on the US mental health crisis?
Industry Buzz
I support the supervised, medicalized use of psychedelic compounds for mental health conditions with cautious optimism.
—Tyler Kjorvestad, MD, psychiatrist
Psychedelics may become one among many tools to address particularly pernicious mental health conditions, but they are not a system-level solution to the mental health crisis we are facing in the U.S., which is broader in scope.
—Manpreet Kaur Singh, MD, Robert H. Putnam Endowed Chair in Bipolar Research and Treatment at University of California
The Trump administration has promised to accelerate research into psychedelic medications for treating mental health conditions.[]
But will the drugs have an impact on the growing mental health crisis facing the US? MDLinx asked the experts.
Related: Docs react: Psychedelic therapy moves closer to clinical realityIt is the policy of my Administration to accelerate innovative research models and appropriate drug approvals to increase access to psychedelic drugs that could save lives and reverse the crisis of serious mental illness in America.
—Trump administration executive order
What doctors are saying
“Deployed in a thoughtful way, accompanied by psychological support, these treatments could very well be lifesaving treatments for some people. Scaling quickly and thoughtful rollout are often at odds, and some big questions remain about how much psychological support do patients need, and how to ensure a sustainable reimbursement model for delivering these drugs in the right context,” Boris Heifets, MD, PhD an associate professor of anesthesiology, perioperative and pain medicine and, by courtesy, psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine, tells MDLinx.
“There are several theories about how psychedelics might alleviate distress or otherwise treat mental health conditions. Brain imaging suggests that psychedelics, by causing chaotic activity in the brain, might temporarily ‘reset pathways’ associated with rumination and feeling ‘stuck,’ leading to better mental health outcomes. Some animal studies have suggested that growth of new connections between neurons might directly underlie the potential mental health benefits, though it is far from clear how those findings apply to humans,” Dr. Heifets says.
A major benefit? Rapid symptom improvement
The evidence supporting the use of psychedelics for treating mental health and psychiatric conditions is still evolving, but one of the potential benefits is the speed at which the drugs take effect.
“Across psychedelic classes broadly, what continues to attract attention is their ability to induce rapid symptom improvement, sometimes after a single or limited number of treatment sessions. Early data suggest possible benefits in conditions such as treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, and substance use disorders. For patients who have tried multiple medications, psychotherapy, TMS, or esketamine, the hope for something new is understandable,” Manpreet Kaur Singh, MD, MS, the Robert H. Putnam Endowed Chair in Bipolar Research and Treatment at the University of California, Davis, tells MDLinx.
Related: Play Second Opinion: Psychedelic hype, exam room reality—how do you respond?Experts say that if psychedelics are to be used for mental health purposes, they must be used under controlled, clinical settings.
Tyler Kjorvestad, MD, a psychiatrist at the University of Kansas Health System, tells MDLinx, “I support the supervised, medicalized use of psychedelic compounds for mental health conditions with cautious optimism.”
“There is clear merit when these agents are administered in controlled clinical settings with trained therapists. Compounds such as ketamine, psilocybin, and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy have shown rapid and often sustained benefits in conditions where traditional treatments frequently fall short. The key is rigorous medical oversight, including structured protocols, patient screening, and integration with psychotherapy,” Dr. Kjorvestad says.
However, Dr. Singh argues that the drugs alone are not enough to solve the mental health crisis in the US.
“Psychedelics may become one among many tools to address particularly pernicious mental health conditions, but they are not a system-level solution to the mental health crisis we are facing in the US, which is broader in scope. The mental health crisis is about access, workforce, fragmentation of care, and social determinants, among [other things],” she says.
“Even if psychedelics prove effective for some subgroup of patients, they will not replace the need for longitudinal psychiatric care, psychotherapy access, crisis services, substance use care, child and adolescent mental health and other early intervention systems, and social and community-based supports, which are all crucial at a population level," Dr. Singh adds.