It’s obvious to me, but I think the public, including many of our patients, remains unaware of a crucial truth: Psychedelics will not cure your depression, your PTSD, or your difficult life circumstances.
There’s a growing wave of enthusiasm around psychedelics as miracle cures for mental health conditions, but the hard reality is that the evidence just doesn’t back it up—at least not yet. Even if you find yourself on the hopeful side, believing we desperately need alternatives to alleviate people’s suffering, the reported benefits of these substances have not been validated by large, rigorous, randomized controlled trials. The buzz around psychedelics often overshadows the fact that they lack the necessary scientific backing to support their mainstream use in treating complex mental health issues like depression or PTSD.
Let’s not ignore the financial stakes here either: The people promoting these drugs stand to make billions of dollars. There’s a lot of money on the table, and many in the academic community are rallying behind these companies. But we should ask ourselves—are they doing so because of solid science or because of the potential financial windfall?
These drugs have been around for decades, yet one consistent truth I’ve observed in every person I’ve known who’s used them is this: You must use them repeatedly, and they almost always experience a relapse of symptoms over time. There’s no permanent fix here, just a temporary reprieve, if even that.
We can draw parallels with other treatments like ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) and ketamine. Both have shown promise in certain cases, but I’ve yet to see anyone cured by these treatments. We often perform maintenance ECT and maintenance ketamine therapy for this very reason. Just like psychedelics, they might offer temporary relief, but they don’t provide long-term solutions without ongoing interventions.
I understand this may come off as cynical, but I’ve seen too many people fall for the hype, only to be disappointed later. People far more charismatic than me will try to convince you that psychedelics will cure everything that ails you—for a hefty price tag. Don’t buy into it without questioning the science and the motives behind the push.