{"title":"Correlation of Ketamine and Classic Psychedelics with Pain-Related Neural Connectivity: A Scoping Review of Clinical Experiments on a Potential Therapeutic Target Concerning Ketamine and Classical Psychedelics Administration for Pain Relief.","authors":"Vasileios Chytas, Georgios Tsimploulis, Dimitrios Chytas","doi":"10.1177/28314425261489067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/28314425261489067","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Ketamine and classic psychedelics have recently gained increased scientific interest regarding their role in pain management, while there is evidence that pain induces neural connectivity changes. We performed a scoping review to investigate the correlation of ketamine and classic psychedelics with pain-related neural connectivity, aiming to find potential therapeutic targets for these medications administration for pain relief.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We searched PubMed and Scopus databases for articles with the purpose to explore the correlation between ketamine and classic psychedelics administration with pain-related neural connectivity. From each included article we extracted the following data: authors, medication under investigation, number of participants, pain-related brain regions whose connectivity was involved, and correlation of the medication with this connectivity.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Six articles were included. Four of them concerned ketamine, one concerned lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and one was about psilocybin. The three medications notably altered connectivity between brain regions related to cognitive and emotional aspects of pain. Ketamine mainly correlated with connectivity involving large-scale neural networks (default mode and salience network). Baseline connectivity, especially regarding medial prefrontal cortex-precuneus and default mode network-antinociceptive pathways, may predict ketamine treatment response.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>There is a remarkable correlation of ketamine and classic psychedelics (LSD and psilocybin) with pain-related neural connectivity. Further research will shed more light on the promising role of neural connectivity as a therapeutic target concerning ketamine and classic psychedelics for pain management.</p>","PeriodicalId":74590,"journal":{"name":"Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)","volume":" ","pages":"28314425261489067"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13680564/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149240769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Matthew C Company, Dylan J Lifshitz, M Farris Sawaya, Kevin S Murnane
{"title":"Psychedelics and Reward Processing: Before and After the 1970 Controlled Substances Act.","authors":"Matthew C Company, Dylan J Lifshitz, M Farris Sawaya, Kevin S Murnane","doi":"10.1177/28314425261472614","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/28314425261472614","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This narrative review traces how the scientific understanding of psychedelics has intersected with \"reward processing\" from before the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) era to the present, emphasizing how cultural and regulatory climates shaped what was viewed as an acceptable research question. Reward processing is treated as a family of partially overlapping phenomena: (1) reward-linked behavior (e.g., self-administration, conditioned place preference, reinstatement), (2) reward-circuit signals (e.g., mesolimbic dopamine dynamics, electrophysiology, human electroencephalography potentials), and (3) clinically relevant outcomes in substance use disorder (SUD) (e.g., withdrawal severity, consumption, relapse). Across these measures, the literature repeatedly adopts two framing logics: \"liability framing,\" which prioritizes misuse potential and dependence risk, and \"therapeutic framing,\" which treats psychedelics as tools for probing and potentially reconfiguring reward circuitry and learning. Organized by decade, the review shows that the 1960s already contained both motifs, with adjunctive therapeutic hopes alongside early reinforcement assays, while the CSA era increasingly systematized a hazard-first posture that defined the late 1970s through the 2000s, referred to as the \"psychedelic dark age.\" Within those constraints, monoamine and receptor pharmacology (including serotonin-dopamine interactions) became a dominant tool for investigating reward, and ibogaine programs loudly reintroduced a therapeutically oriented anti-addiction narrative. In the 2000s, serotonergic control of dopaminergic reward systems and entactogen models, including social reward, broadened the mechanistic frame. In the 2010s and 2020s, the field's momentum shifted toward therapeutic models, circuit plasticity, computationally interpretable reward signals, and renewed clinical work in SUD. The review argues that a central bottleneck is not a lack of provocative acute findings but rather a lack of experimental programs that bridge behavior, circuit signals, and longitudinal clinical endpoints. We therefore propose that revisiting important concepts and findings discussed herein with recently developed technology and approaches (e.g., cue-evoked signals, learning parameters, photometry) across dose, time, and sex would advance the field. We highlight practical study shifts to move toward an integrated account of how psychedelics modulate reward-relevant brain activity and behavior.</p>","PeriodicalId":74590,"journal":{"name":"Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)","volume":" ","pages":"28314425261472614"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13680573/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149240787","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"What About Psycholytic Therapy? A Historical Revisiting of Psychedelics Assisting Psychotherapy.","authors":"Idir Zaher, Jérémie K Richard","doi":"10.1177/28314425261455416","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/28314425261455416","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The renewed clinical interest in psychedelics is often framed in ways that blur the distinction between psychotherapy and the psychedelic drug experience itself. Revisiting early research and clinical observations from the first wave of psychedelic science may help clarify how these processes were originally conceptualized. In the mid-20th century, LSD and other serotonergic psychedelics were understood as facilitators of psychotherapy rather than stand-alone treatments. Psycholytic therapy emphasized gradual therapeutic exploration over multiple sessions, whereas psychedelic therapy emphasized discrete, potentially transformative experiences. In both approaches, psychedelic administration was embedded within established psychotherapeutic frameworks, underscoring the importance of the therapeutic alliance, as well as set and setting. Re-examining this history helps reassert psychotherapy as the primary therapeutic mechanism, with psychedelics functioning as catalysts that enhance emotional access, meaning-making, and the therapeutic relationship.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This historical review synthesizes research on psycholytic therapy conducted between 1950 and 1970. It provides an overview of treatment protocols, procedures, and reported outcomes. It also translates therapeutic concepts from the historical literature into contemporary psychological constructs that can be operationalized and examined using modern research methods.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The historical literature on psycholytic therapy represents a substantial and underutilized clinical resource. Renewed investigation using contemporary clinical trial designs may help clarify its therapeutic potential and inform the development of evidence-based psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies.</p>","PeriodicalId":74590,"journal":{"name":"Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)","volume":" ","pages":"28314425261455416"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13680555/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149240795","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Otto Simonsson, Peter S Hendricks, Walter Osika, Simon B Goldberg
{"title":"Politically Salient Events May Modulate Effects of Naturalistic Psychedelic Use on Support for Partisan Violence.","authors":"Otto Simonsson, Peter S Hendricks, Walter Osika, Simon B Goldberg","doi":"10.1177/28314425261444135","DOIUrl":"10.1177/28314425261444135","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Previous research indicates that psychedelics may produce outcomes that are dependent on the immediate context. Recent scholarship hypothesizes that such outcomes may also depend on the broader sociocultural context, but empirical data are lacking.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using a longitudinal observational research design with a large sample of US adults (<i>N</i> = 21,990) followed during a 2-month study period, we investigated associations between naturalistic psychedelic use on dates of politically salient events such as the Fourth of July (i.e., US Independence Day) and changes in support for partisan violence.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of the 21,990 participants who completed the survey at baseline, 12,345 completed the survey at follow-up. Among the participants who completed the survey at follow-up, 505 reported psychedelic use during the two-month study period, with 19 having had the most intense psychedelic experience on the Fourth of July and 486 having had the most intense psychedelic experience on another date. The primary analyses showed an association between having had the most intense psychedelic experience on the Fourth of July and decreased support for partisan violence, with exploratory analyses yielding a similar association for the date of the Trump assassination attempt. By contrast, other exploratory analyses showed that having had the most intense psychedelic experience on any of the dates of the national party conventions or on a date closer to Election Day was associated with increases in support for partisan violence.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Taken together, the results suggest that naturalistic psychedelic use on the Fourth of July and other dates of politically salient events may modulate support for partisan violence in directions that depend on the political nature of the events. While future replications are needed to validate these findings, it appears the broader sociocultural context could influence outcomes following naturalistic psychedelic use.</p>","PeriodicalId":74590,"journal":{"name":"Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13410840/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148623034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Max Wolff, Samuli Kangaslampi, Richard J Zeifman, Moritz Spangemacher
{"title":"Strong Alliance, Weak Conclusions: Comment on Goodwin et al. (2026) \"The Role of Therapeutic Alliance in Psilocybin Treatment for Treatment-Resistant Depression\".","authors":"Max Wolff, Samuli Kangaslampi, Richard J Zeifman, Moritz Spangemacher","doi":"10.1177/28314425261461057","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/28314425261461057","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This commentary critically examines the interpretation and analytic choices in Goodwin and colleagues' recent analysis of therapeutic alliance in psilocybin treatment for treatment-resistant depression. While the authors conclude that alliance did not meaningfully contribute to treatment efficacy, we argue that this interpretation is not supported by the reported results, which are, in addition, shaped by methodological decisions that obscure relevant effects. By contextualizing the observed associations, clarifying the logic of mediation analysis, and pointing out methodological weaknesses, we show that the available evidence is more consistent with a meaningful role of therapeutic alliance in shaping both the psychedelic experience and clinical outcomes. Furthermore, we highlight unexplained deviations from the study protocol that warrant scrutiny. These concerns underscore the importance of accurately characterizing psychological and contextual factors in psychedelic treatment research and call for more comprehensive and transparent analyses of psychotherapeutic processes.</p>","PeriodicalId":74590,"journal":{"name":"Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)","volume":" ","pages":"28314425261461057"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13680575/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149240732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dorsal Raphe Revisited: A Systems Neuroscience Lens on Psychedelic Drug Action.","authors":"Alex C Kwan","doi":"10.1177/28314425261429232","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/28314425261429232","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Psychedelics rose to prominence in the 1960s, around the same time when neurobiologists identified the midbrain raphe as the brain's primary source of serotonin. It is therefore no surprise that early studies on classical psychedelics like <i>d</i>-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) focused on their effects within this brainstem nucleus. This review traces the arc of discovery: from the initial report in 1968 that LSD suppresses the firing of serotonergic neurons in the rat midbrain raphe, through more than 15 years of intensive work dissecting the pharmacology and receptor mechanisms. Early hypotheses erroneously suggested the serotonergic neurons as potential drivers of the acute hallucinogenic effects, but the conceptual framework gradually shifted after relating neural activity to behavior. We conclude this brief commentary by revisiting these early findings in light of current knowledge of the serotonergic circuits. Collectively, the pioneering studies laid the foundation for thinking about how psychedelics act on the brain through the lens of neurophysiology.</p>","PeriodicalId":74590,"journal":{"name":"Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)","volume":" ","pages":"28314425261429232"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13680577/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149240819","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Levi Neal, Hannah E Shaw, Brenda M Gannon, William E Fantegrossi
{"title":"Effects of Psychedelics Lysergic Acid Diethylamide and <i>R</i>(-)-2,5-Dimethoxy-4-Iodoamphetamine on Oral Opioid Consumption and Naloxone-Precipitated Withdrawal in Male C57Bl/6J Mice.","authors":"Levi Neal, Hannah E Shaw, Brenda M Gannon, William E Fantegrossi","doi":"10.1177/28314425261431948","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/28314425261431948","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>There are currently three FDA-approved medications for opioid use disorder (OUD), but none of them are especially effective, some can precipitate withdrawal in dependent individuals, and all of them require daily administration. In the appropriate settings, single administrations of psychedelics can elicit persistent anti-addiction effects in humans and in laboratory animals, but very few studies have assessed the potential therapeutic utility of psychedelics in OUD.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We have recently established a model of oral opioid consumption in mice that captures an \"addiction-like\" phenotype characterized by induction of physical dependence and defense of opioid consumption when drug solutions are devalued. In these studies, we used this procedure to assess the effects of two different psychedelics on abuse-related effects of two distinct fentanyl analogs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Mice consumed solutions of water, acryl fentanyl (AF), or 4-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl (4-FIBF) for 2 h per day, 7 days per week, demonstrating postsession antinociceptive effects and becoming physically dependent. Four days after a single treatment with saline, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), or <i>R</i>(-)-2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI), mice were given access to their maintenance solutions, which were now adulterated with bitter quinine. In mice drinking water, quinine significantly decreased consumption, but mice consuming AF or 4-FIBF solutions defended their consumption despite the bitter taste. In all cases, treatment with LSD or DOI did not alter the defense of consumption observed with opioid solutions, suggesting no effects on opioid taking. Fifteen days after psychedelic treatment, mice were injected with the opioid antagonist naloxone, and withdrawal-associated jumping, restlessness, and thermal hyperalgesia were measured. Neither LSD nor DOI treatment altered naloxone-precipitated jumping or restlessness, but both psychedelics significantly attenuated withdrawal-associated thermal hyperalgesia.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These data do not strongly support the use of a single exposure to psychedelics in the treatment of OUD but may suggest persistent effects of psychedelics on heightened pain perception typically observed in opioid withdrawal.</p>","PeriodicalId":74590,"journal":{"name":"Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)","volume":" ","pages":"28314425261431948"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13680559/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149240792","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Amy Lehrner, Miryam Sperka, Lauren A Lepow, Laura C Pratchett, Tamar Glatman Zaretsky, Mustafa Mehmet Haznedar, Rachel Yehuda
{"title":"Balancing Innovation and Evidence: Reflections on Structured Protocols in MDMA-Assisted Therapy Versus a Principle-Guided, Patient-Directed Approach.","authors":"Amy Lehrner, Miryam Sperka, Lauren A Lepow, Laura C Pratchett, Tamar Glatman Zaretsky, Mustafa Mehmet Haznedar, Rachel Yehuda","doi":"10.1177/28314425261429233","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/28314425261429233","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>There is growing interest in incorporating MDMA (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine) into structured, evidence-based cognitive-behavioral treatment protocols for post-traumatic stress disorder. Yet this risks overlooking the distinctive qualities of MDMA-assisted therapy, which has already demonstrated strong clinical effects, high response rates, and low dropout using a principle-guided, patient-directed therapeutic model. This model integrates MDMA administration into a broader therapeutic process, including nondrug preparatory and integrative sessions, designed to support the unique, nonlinear experience often elicited by MDMA. This perspective paper outlines the theoretical and clinical rationale for preserving and refining the patient-directed model, arguing that it represents a distinct innovation in trauma treatment that is not well suited to existing protocols. Attempting to embed MDMA within highly structured, manualized treatment protocols may misapprehend the synergistic nature of the therapy, blunt its most transformative effects, and even potentially cause harm. Rather than immediately turn to existing models, the field should prioritize research investigating real-world evidence, treatment optimization, and mechanisms of action of this new model.</p>","PeriodicalId":74590,"journal":{"name":"Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)","volume":" ","pages":"28314425261429233"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13680574/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149240780","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Veronica Szpak, Samuel Maddams, Amanda Kim, Zachary Sager, Joji Suzuki
{"title":"Views on Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy for Substance Use Disorders from Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder and a History of Injection-Related Infections: A Qualitative Study.","authors":"Veronica Szpak, Samuel Maddams, Amanda Kim, Zachary Sager, Joji Suzuki","doi":"10.1089/psymed.2025.0003","DOIUrl":"10.1089/psymed.2025.0003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>New treatment options are needed to improve outcomes for patients with both opioid use disorder (OUD) and injection-related infections. Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) has been suggested as a potential treatment for substance use disorders (SUD). To address this need, a qualitative study was conducted to understand the attitudes toward PAT from individuals with OUD who have survived injection-related infections.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Semistructured interviews were conducted with individuals with an OUD diagnosis and a history of an injection-related infection. A thematic analysis was performed on transcribed interviews.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Seventeen participants completed the interviews. The mean age was 43.8 years, and 58.8% were men. Participants generally expressed support for PAT for SUD; however, they also raised concerns. The most common themes that emerged were as follows: hospitalization allowed individuals to recognize the severity of their underlying OUD, PAT could contribute to greater insights about their illness and greater openness to recovery, comfort in knowing PAT will be administered while being monitored by qualified professionals, PAT addressing underlying mental health issues, and the importance of spirituality in recovery. The themes surrounding concerns involved experiencing a \"bad trip,\" adverse effects, the risk of relapse, and psychedelic misuse.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Overall, participants with OUD who survived injection-related infections view PAT positively as a treatment option for SUD. However, they have concerns about potential negative effects. Further research is needed to understand PAT acceptability for this patient population, especially if traditional medications for OUD have been ineffective.</p>","PeriodicalId":74590,"journal":{"name":"Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)","volume":"4 1","pages":"5-12"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13089285/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147936099","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Syed F Rab, Salman S Ahmad, Roman Palitsky, Ali J Zarrabi
{"title":"Attitudes of U.S. Muslims Toward Psychedelics.","authors":"Syed F Rab, Salman S Ahmad, Roman Palitsky, Ali J Zarrabi","doi":"10.1089/psymed.2024.0044","DOIUrl":"10.1089/psymed.2024.0044","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Muslims living in the United States (MLUS) are underrepresented in psychedelics research. Despite growing research on psychedelic-assisted mental health care, little is known about its acceptance among MLUS, a population with some history of rejecting mental health services. This study examined whether MLUS' rejection attitudes toward mental health services were related to lower acceptance of psychedelic therapies.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analyzed survey responses from 235 MLUS. Participants completed measures assessing attitudes toward mental health services and psychedelic therapies. Correlations and t-tests were used to assess the relationship between these attitudes and to examine demographic differences.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A weak negative correlation was observed between rejection attitudes toward mental health services and acceptance of psychedelics. Participants demonstrated moderate openness to psychedelics overall. Higher education was associated with more favorable attitudes toward both mental health services and psychedelic therapies.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Further research is needed to understand how educational and cultural factors shape these attitudes. Contextualizing MLUS views on psychedelics is essential for advancing equitable and culturally responsive mental health care.</p>","PeriodicalId":74590,"journal":{"name":"Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)","volume":"4 1","pages":"13-21"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13089292/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147936093","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}