Human Service Professionals’, Educators’, and Students’ Attitudes Toward Psychedelics and Psychedelic Therapy

Human service professionals, including students and educators, hold uncertain views about psychiatric and cognitive risks of psychedelics, but most agree that medically supervised use is not unsafe. The majority strongly believe psychedelics show promise for treating psychiatric disorders and warrant further research. No significant differences in attitudes were found between those with prior psychedelic use and those without. The findings underscore the need for better education and training on psychedelics for human service professionals to build competency and skills for future integration.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Human service professionals are a vital component of the helping services. Their attitudes toward psychedelics and psychedelic treatments are critical for future integration into community and social service. This descriptive study explored the attitudes about psychedelics used in treatment among 72 human service students, educators, and professionals. Participants expressed uncertain attitudes about possible psychiatric and cognitive risks related to psychedelic use. However, most participants agreed that psychedelic use under medical supervision is not unsafe. The majority of participants strongly agreed that psychedelics show promise in treating psychiatric disorders and deserves further research. When randomly grouped, nonsignificant differences existed between those who reported prior psychedelic use compared to those who did not. Overall, this research highlights the need for further investigation into what constitutes appropriate psychedelic use education and training for human service professionals. Addressing such educational and training gaps can help ensure competency, knowledge, and skills for future use.