As the prevalence of mental health conditions increases, so does interest in new treatments for these disorders. One particular area of interest is psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, which involves the supervised administration of psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin and ketamine, in conjunction with therapy.
Psychedelics have been used for centuries by Indigenous communities for their spiritual and religious ceremonies. These substances are known to alter an individual’s mood and perception as well as their cognitive processes. This means these treatments possess the potential to make cognitive behavioral therapy and other talk therapies more effective.
Given these effects, patients are bound to be more vulnerable while under the influence of psychedelics, which highlights the need for processes and systems that would ensure patient safety. This is why Health Canada issued a notice in December 2022 on risk-management of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for therapists, informed consent and clinical settings.
Soon after, Alberta amended the Mental Health Services Protection Regulation to include psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.
Prior to this, the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health had revealed that psychedelic-assisted therapy may be an option for patients who have not benefited from conventional treatments and psychotherapy. Research carried out by the agency in 2021 sought to determine the effectiveness of psychedelic-assisted therapy in the treatment of anxiety disorders, PTSD, substance use disorders or mood disorders.
The research also looked into evidence-based guidelines on psychedelic-assisted therapy for treating the aforementioned disorders.
The agency found that while ketamine, LSD and MDMA were included in studies, psilocybin was the most commonly tested drug. It also determined that psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy generally led to improvement in symptoms and outcomes, noting that some of the trials reviewed also recorded effectiveness of psychedelics in treating major depressive disorder and substance use disorder.
In addition, the agency identified two trials on the safety of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD and alcohol use disorder, noting that the treatment was found to be well tolerated and safe.
The main limitations, the agency noted, included short follow-up timeframes, a lack of standardization in approach to psychotherapy and small sample sizes. Further, the agency considered the vulnerability of patients undergoing psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, explaining that the patients were not only struggling with mental disorders but were also at risk of the power imbalance that can exist between a healthcare provider and their patient.
It is expected that accreditation standards to support psychedelic-assisted therapy administration will be announced in the coming months to further facilitate safer use of the therapy in community settings.
The prospect of having accreditation standards for this rapidly growing industry is something that major actors such as Delic Holdings Corp. (CSE: DELC) (OTCQB: DELCF) are likely to welcome because it would smoot out several operational matters, including how to better screen potential employees.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Delic Holdings Corp. (CSE: DELC) (OTCQB: DELCF) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/DELCF
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