A Dangerous Distraction from Real Healing
The latest Psychotherapy Networker edition reads like a love letter to psychedelic therapy — ketamine-assisted sessions, MDMA, and other mind-altering substances touted as breakthrough treatments. But beneath the glossy headlines is a troubling reality: these drugs are neither safe nor truly therapeutic, and they risk inflicting deep, lasting harm.
Reports from patients paint a grim picture: feelings of homicidal or suicidal urges after treatment, intense hallucinations that magnify trauma far beyond the original pain, and lasting psychological destabilization. These aren’t rare side effects — they’re warning signs. And too often, those administering these substances aren’t even qualified medical professionals, putting vulnerable people in the hands of the untrained and the reckless.
Even more disturbing is the push for therapists themselves to ingest these drugs as part of their training — an ethically questionable practice that blurs boundaries and normalizes substance use in a profession that should stand for stability, clarity, and sober judgment. Therapists ought to be models of clean living: drug-free, alcohol-free, tobacco-free, and grounded in clear thinking.
Yes, some patients say the drug experience felt “positive.” But trauma isn’t cured by a trip — it’s still lodged in the brain and body. Psychedelics don’t resolve the core wound; they can simply dissociate a person from it for a time. That’s not healing. That’s avoidance. And in many cases, it leaves patients even more detached from reality, making their mental state harder to stabilize in the long run.
For veterans, the stakes are even higher. Data shows that veterans treated at the VA have a 22% higher suicide rate than the general population. If a system already failing to protect its most at-risk patients now turns to psychedelic drugs as a panacea, we risk making a deadly problem worse.
We don’t need mind-altering substances to heal trauma. We need compassionate, sober care; healthy role models; and therapeutic practices that restore connection with reality rather than encourage escape from it. Drugs — whether prescribed in a clinic or bought on the street — are not the path to recovery.
