A recent trend in psychotherapy research is to add the effects of a psychedelic medication to a therapy session. The renewed interest in these medications ( psilocybin, LSD and MDMA)  is due to a number of factors: the cost and length of time psychotherapy alone can take, especially when dealing with issues such as substance addictions, end of life anxiety, post traumatic stress, isolation and depression; the high failure rate of some therapies to effect certain conditions; and the high safety rate of these medications compared to other psychiatric medications.  The combination of a long therapy...

Many people are reading and hearing about the therapeutic use of psychedelic medicines like MDMA, psilocybin and LSD. Michael Pollan’s book on the subject has ignited an interest ..along with numerous podcasts and films celebrating the use of psychedelics to help with emotional problems. I visited a meetup group and took note of the number of people attending who used these drugs to try improve their mental health. I would like to add several notes of caution here.

The research results that are cited are a result of factors that are hard to replicate by yourself: careful screening...