VIDEO: ‘So many questions’ about psychedelics for mental health
Key takeaways:
- A practicing psychiatrist highlights questions about the use of psychedelics in the treatment of mental health disorders.
- More research is needed to understand psychedelics.
For Mental Health Awareness Month, David J. Hellerstein, MD, discusses psychedelic drugs as they pertain to treating mental health disorders.
“In recent years, we now have an incredible new development: the renewed interest in psychedelic drugs, whether classic psychedelics like psilocybins and empathogens like MDMA, or dissociative psychedelics like ketamine,” Hellerstein, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center, told Healio.
Hellerstein is also director of the Depression Evaluation Service in Columbia University department of psychiatry and a Healio Psychiatry Peer Perspective Board Member.
According to Hellerstein, there is a need for more randomized controlled trials with larger cohorts to clarify whether the placebo effect plays a role in the effects of psychedelics on different mental illnesses. Additionally, further research should focus on understanding how psychedelics work and how they can be improved, he said.
“There are so many questions, and it is encouraging that dozens of studies are now underway to explore them,” Hellerstein said. “It would be great if the National Institute of Mental Health would start to fund large-scale research in this area after a more than 50-year shutdown — not just a trickle of studies as they are currently funding.”
Perspective
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Each year, Mental Health Awareness Month marks an opportunity to reflect on the way we diagnose and treat common neuropsychiatric disorders.
This year’s theme, anxiety, is particularly pertinent. In the U.S., generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) affects 6.8 million adults, or 3.1% of the U.S. population. Only 43.2% of people with GAD are receiving treatment for their anxiety. What’s more, around 50% of patients with GAD do not respond to currently available treatments such as antidepressant medications like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
This huge unmet need for more effective treatment is not only having a significant impact on individuals and their families, but also on already struggling health care systems around the world. It’s against this backdrop that we must remember that one size does not fit all when it comes to treating mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, and we must look at alternatives, where possible.
The time for change is now, and it’s been great to see the latest clinical trials and a strong body of growing research indicating just how effective psychedelics could be in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. But science is only part of the solution. Researchers, patients, academics, industry and regulatory authorities need to work together to ensure these potential treatments can actually make it to people in need and build a framework that works for everyone. This Mental Health Awareness Month, I’d like to call for collaboration within the sector — after all, we can only make the necessary changes if the private and public sectors work together. If they do, help could be on the horizon for millions.Collapse
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