One of the major limitations of psychedelic therapy research is the lack of adequate blinding in randomized controlled trials. While many psychedelic therapy trials are placebo-controlled, the active medication (the psychedelic) produces such noticeable and distinct effects that both the participants and the researchers can reliably guess whether a placebo or psychedelic has been administered. This essentially unblinds the study and introduces bias, such as the placebo or expectancy effects, whereby simply believing you received an active medication and expecting a certain outcome influences the observed effects. This could increase the magnitude of the reported effects of the intervention.[1][2]
It’s also important to note that most psychedelic therapy research has been done in populations that are primarily white; there is an overall lack of diversity in terms of ethnicity, culture, and socioeconomic status, which may limit the generalizability of the current research.[1]
References
- ^Ko K, Kopra EI, Cleare AJ, Rucker JJPsychedelic therapy for depressive symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis.J Affect Disord.(2023-Feb-01)
- ^Rosenblat JD, Husain MI, Lee Y, McIntyre RS, Mansur RB, Castle D, Offman H, Parikh SV, Frey BN, Schaffer A, Greenway KT, Garel N, Beaulieu S, Kennedy SH, Lam RW, Milev R, Ravindran AV, Tourjman V, Ameringen MV, Yatham LN, Taylor VThe Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) Task Force Report: Serotonergic Psychedelic Treatments for Major Depressive Disorder.Can J Psychiatry.(2023-Jan)