Informed Consent to Psychedelic Treatment —A Work in Progress

Psychedelic compounds appear to be moving toward approval for clinical use, with early studies suggesting therapeutic efficacy for conditions ranging from depression to alcohol use disorder to traumatic brain injury. However, obtaining meaningful informed consent to psychedelic treatment will be challenging, given the unique effects of the drugs —including what are often described as the ineffable elements of the psychedelic experience, such as ego dissolution. Although some commentators have suggested that informed consent to psychedelic treatment, in the usual sense of that term, is simply unattainable, a growing consensus has coalesced around the notion that with proper attention to content and presentation, clinicians will be able to obtain meaningful and valid consent from patients.
Source: JAMA Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research