THE LATEST FROM THE FIELD

By now, you likely have seen the news articles, social media posts, and tv segments. Psychedelic treatments for mental health conditions are here, and the evidence-base continues to grow. As psychedelic-assisted therapies (PATs) become a more common treatment choice, social workers will be consequential in the provision of these services. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), social workers are the nation’s largest group of mental health services providers. 1 Yet, I’m concerned that our profession will spend years playing a game of “catch-up” or be left behind all together. The field of PATs is growing quickly. There are ongoing clinical trials and recognized psychedelic training programs. Ketamine is an off-label treatment for refractory depression and the FDA is likely to approve MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine)-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 2024.

The History

If you are not quite sure what all this means, let me back up and explain a bit about how we got here and why social workers, at all levels of practice, are vital to the future of PAT. Psychedelic, from the Greek “mind manifesting”, includes the medicines psilocybin, MDMA, LSD and ketamine, just to name a few. As far back as the 1940s, psychedelic medicines were being researched and used for the treatment of