The Psychiatric clinics of North AmericaAug 3, 2026

Building Skills with Psychedelic Therapy While Addressing Social Health Factors

Psychedelic Science Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Aug 4, 2026

Abstract

Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) may significantly benefit from a holistic and relational approach.

Neurocentric bias in psychiatry risks oversimplifying the role of psychedelics to just neurobiological interventions.
A comprehensive understanding of PAT requires consideration of experiential, social, and relational factors.
Embracing psychedelics as a therapeutic option provides an opportunity for psychiatry to adopt more humanistic approaches.
Framing PAT as a capacity-building endeavor could enhance patients' self-perceptions and their ability to engage meaningfully.

Simplified

Neurocentric bias in psychiatry threatens to reduce psychedelics to neurobiological interventions and distort the experiential, social, and relational aspects of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT). PAT demands an ecological and relational orientation to fully account for the various phenomena implicated in mental health, psychedelics' effects, and outcomes of psychedelic experiences. The re-emergence of psychedelics as a legitimate therapeutic modality offers psychiatry an opportunity to embrace more holistic, humanistic, and socially grounded approaches. We argue that PAT should be framed as a capacity-building endeavor that seeks to improve patients' self-perceptions and capabilities to act in ways they find meaningful.

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Building Skills with Psychedelic Therapy While Addressing Social Health Factors

Abstract

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