Challenges with clinical trial participants in studies with classical psychedelics: A position statement from the National Network of Depression Centers’ task group on psychedelics and related compounds
Classical psychedelics show therapeutic promise as mental health treatments. Studying them properly presents unique and unprecedented challenges that require researchers to develop sophisticated strategies to navigate nonresponse, expectancy effects, functional unblinding, post-session psychological issues, and possible contagion effects to responsibly advance this field. The NNDC and similar organizations are well-positioned to guide best practices and ensure the responsible advancement of this promising field.
Authors
- David Feifel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8185-0220)
- M. Carrington Reid (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8117-662X)
- Gregory A. Fonzo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0213-1034)
- Thomas D. Meyer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4236-7778)
- Kevin Byrne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0409-5273)
- Benjamin R. Lewis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0118-1053)
- Mark J. Niciu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5612-3021)
- Andrew M. Novick (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0995-5060)
- Rif S. El‐Mallakh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4992-8016)
- Jair Soares
- Trisha Suppes
- Frederick S. Barrett
Institutions
- University of Iowa (US)
- University of Louisville (US)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- Huntsman (United States) (US)
- Johns Hopkins Medicine (US)
- Huntsman Cancer Institute (US)
- Neuropsychiatric Research Institute (US)
- University of Houston (US)
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (US)
- University of Colorado Denver (US)
- Stanford University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Psychopharmacology
- Published
- 2026-02-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1177/02698811251413490
- Primary Topic
- Psychedelics and Drug Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00