Capacity Building Through Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy: Navigating Social Determinants of Health

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychopharmacology
• Mental Health

Background:

• A neurocentric bias in psychiatry risks oversimplifying psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT).
• This bias neglects the crucial experiential, social, and relational dimensions of PAT.
• The resurgence of psychedelics in therapy necessitates a broader, more humanistic approach.

Purpose of the Study:

• To advocate for an ecological and relational perspective in psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT).
• To challenge the reductionist neurobiological view of psychedelics in mental health treatment.
• To reframe PAT as a capacity-building process.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of current psychiatric approaches to psychedelics.
• Literature review on the holistic and relational aspects of psychedelic experiences.
• Argumentation for a capacity-building framework for PAT.

Main Results:

• PAT is currently threatened by a narrow neurocentric bias.
• An ecological and relational orientation is essential for understanding PAT phenomena and outcomes.
• Psychedelics offer an opportunity to adopt more holistic and socially grounded therapeutic models.

Conclusions:

• Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) must integrate experiential, social, and relational factors.
• PAT should be viewed as a means to build patient capacity for meaningful action.
• A shift towards humanistic and socially grounded approaches is needed in psychedelic research and practice.