Psychiatrists and psychologists call for regulating the use of psychedelics in mental health treatments for which there is no other answer, to protect patients and make the most of this therapeutic possibility.
In an article published in Nature Medicine, Portuguese psychiatrists, psychologists and psychotherapists draw attention to the importance of protect patients during these “vulnerable states of altered consciousness”, underlining that psychedelic drugs are increasingly recognized for their potential therapeutic attributes.
While recalling that psychedelics, such as psilocybin, found in “magic mushrooms” or LSD, are safe and have “limited potential for abuse,” experts say a “smooth transition from trials” is not yet guaranteed. clinicians to daily clinical practice”.
The researcher Albino Oliveira-Maia, director of the Neuropsychiatry Unit of the Champalimaud Foundation and one of the authors of the article, highlights that the Psychedelic therapies have largely been confined to the realm of research. and clinical studies, but stresses that reality seems to be changing.
exemplify with the use without brand — unlike that for which the substance was studied — of ketamine (until now only used as an anesthetic) in the treatment of depression and other disorders, despite the lack of “clear guidelines, formal approval by the regulatory agencies and recommendations on psychological support”. .
“Investigations are being carried out in which it is expected that (…) these substances will have a role within the regulatory reality, that is, that they may be approved as medicines,” the researcher explained to Lusa.
These molecules -he adds- “because they make an important qualitative change in the state of consciousness, they will need an adapted regulatory model”.
Explaining that, normally, when some substances are approved for clinical use, the indications, the doses and the environment in which they should be used (in a hospital or in a wider environment) are defined, Albino Maia says that, in these cases , there are some items that “are not within the scope of regulation by drug agencies”, namely “the additional use of psychological interventions, either psychotherapy or a less organized psychotherapeutic intervention”.
He says that, as it is necessary “due to the efficacy or safety of the substance”, this use “does not have a clear regulatory framework”: “Psychotherapy escapes the regulatory scope of drug agencies”, he emphasizes.
“Because it is important for the use of these molecules, or these new drugs, if they are approved, we are entering a field where we do not have a very clear guide of what should be done besides administering the drug,” he said. warns
Also speaking to Lusa, Miguel Ricou, from the Order of Psychologists, co-author of the article, explains: “What is being asked is that regulations for the use of this type of substance begin to exist.”
“This is still experimental and it is essential that we are aware of that,” says the expert, adding: “This is not using drugs, period. It doesn’t work the same way. The sessions for taking these drugs are experimental sessions, which last between seven and eight hours, in which the ‘settings’ are totally different, there are always two therapists present”.
He says that specialists “believe a lot in the potential of these drugs”, especially for resistant disorders, in which results cannot be achieved in any other way, but warns: “If you start using them for everything, in an unregulated way, what happened will happen in the 80s, when everything started to be used creatively and ended up being banned.”
For Albino Maia, this would be “a particularly big problem for those patients for whom there are no alternatives.”
To try to define ethical standards for the use of these substances, researchers and medical societies are already working together. The idea, says Miguel Ricou, is to have a group of people who can reflect and who have legitimacy to, integrating professional societies, (…) make sure that everything is done as it should be”.
“Especially in an area as sensitive as mental health, this is important after [os tratamentos] They are accessible to the entire population. We do not believe elitism, especially in mental health. It is that concern that is present, ”she reinforced.
Source: Observadora
