Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Language

English

Publication Date

9-1-2023

Journal

Psychedelic Medicine

DOI

10.1089/psymed.2023.0022

PMID

40046569

PMCID

PMC11661472

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

9-13-2023

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Psilocybin and psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) have gained renewed interest due to recent findings that PAT can enhance therapeutic outcomes. In 2019, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved breakthrough therapy status to psilocybin for the treatment of depression, but PAT has yet to be approved as a therapeutic treatment for mental health disorders. Should the FDA approve PAT, medical students will serve as gatekeepers to PAT.

METHODS: Medical students (

RESULTS: Regardless of the terminology utilized, medical students held overall positive attitudes but their attitudes were significantly more positive when the term "psilocybin" was used. Furthermore, experience with psychedelics was associated with significantly more positive attitudes, beliefs, and higher self-rated knowledge. Finally, attitudes and beliefs were significant predictors of medical students' willingness to recommend PAT, if FDA approved, after controlling for covariates (e.g., personal experience with psychedelics).

CONCLUSIONS: Despite some limitations, based on this study, using the term "psilocybin" might be preferable over "MMs" in a research or educational context. Although personal experience positively affects opinions toward psychedelics, beliefs and attitudes seem to be more relevant when it comes to actual medical advice.

Keywords

health professionals, psilocybin, psychedelics, mental health, attitudes, medical terminology

Published Open-Access

yes

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