Ontario Psychedelic Therapy is being shaped by a growing interest in psychedelic therapy. In clinical trials, psilocybin, ketamine, and MDMA have shown promising effects in treating conditions like depression and PTSD. As these drugs become more readily available, several clinics in Ontario are offering them as part of psychotherapy.
But a patient’s therapist is crucial to the process, as unethical behaviour by untrained or unscrupulous therapists could lead to serious harm. That’s why a patient should only seek psychedelic therapy from a trained therapist with a background in traditional therapies, including evidence-based practices like CBT and IFS.
Ontario Psychedelic Therapy: How Psilocybin Is Changing Mental Health Care
In some cases, professionals offer “underground” psychedelic therapy, guiding patients through their experiences with drugs obtained outside the law (such as from the Internet). However, Health Canada prohibits preparing and integrating patients for psychedelic experience with substances that are not legally prescribed.
Using research and advocacy, activists are pushing for a change to this legal framework. Meanwhile, a number of Ontario clinics are offering psychedelic medicine as part of psychotherapy. The medications used in these treatments, such as psilocybin, ayahuasca, and ketamine, are in various stages of decriminalization or becoming legal for therapeutic use.
These medications are being promoted as a treatment for a range of conditions on psychedelic therapy websites. The most popular indications cited on clinic websites were treatment-resistant depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, which matched the top indications for which references were found in studies.