Canada Vs. US: Surveys Reveal How People Use Psychedelics, Relationships With Healthcare Providers

Published this July and funded by partners SABI Mind, MAPS PBC and Psygen, a Canadian survey of 2,384 participants showed that over 30% of Canadians use natural psychedelics for self-medicating purposes, yet few are closely followed by their healthcare providers (HCP) or test the substances first.

The study found:

• +81% of respondents said they never discussed their use of naturalistic psychedelics with their healthcare providers.

• 33.7% used psychedelics to self-treat a health condition, but only 4.4% did so accompanied by a therapist, and 3.6% within a clinical setting.

• Almost half (44.8%) of participants said they were aware of substance testing services, yet only 14.4% ever used them.

The study revealed that people with a therapeutic motivation, a stronger tendency to seek therapist guidance or identify as non-binary were more likely to discuss psychedelic use with their primary HCP.

The context of these results should be remembered: psychedelics remain federally illegal. While “naturalistic psychedelic use among Canadians is common” and often includes therapeutic goals, it is “poorly connected” to conventional healthcare, and substance testing remains “uncommon.” 

Study authors concluded that healthcare providers ought to get “relevant” training and education regarding psychedelics, and pointed out the need for “more visible options for substance training.”

Stigma, Trust & Need For Psychedelic-Experienced Healthcare Providers

Its U.S. counterpart survey also aimed to understand if people take natural psychedelics with clinical support and interactions between users and psychiatric care providers (PsyCP) or primary care providers (PCP.) 

Partially funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the study was conducted late last year and includes reports by 1,221 participants.

As in Canada, U.S. respondents mainly stated they used psychedelics for managing mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and ADHD as the top three conditions. The survey showed:

58% of respondents reported psychedelic use to their PsyCP vs. 22% to their PCP, showing less confidence in the latter’s ability to integrate psychedelics into treatment.

• Common reasons for nondisclosure included stigma, inadequate provider knowledge and legal concerns. 

• 23% reported taking psychedelics on the same day as potentially interacting psychiatric medications like anxiolytics and SSRIs. 

• Despite most participants desire therapist support during psychedelic experiences either legal (81%) or underground (71%), only 15% had received such support -reporting gaps in access and knowledge around finding such therapists (51%) or lack of affordability (28%). 

• 75%–85% of participants agreed/strongly agreed that providers offering support during psychedelic experiences should have experience using psychedelics themselves.

Authors here also find it “critical” that providers have sufficient training to develop a trusting therapeutic alliance around psychedelic use, inquire about substance use using nonjudgmental language, and present risks -particularly interaction risks- clearly and at a patient-appropriate level of understanding.

Photo: Benzinga edit with photo by Vlada Karpovich on Pexels and Ground Picture on shutterstock and Wikipedia.