Horizons 2017: ELIZABETH M NIELSON, PhD "Case for Research on Psychedelic Therapists' First-hand..."

"What Psychedelic Therapists Don't Talk About and Why: The Case for Research on First-hand Experience with Psychedelics"
SYNOPSIS: Psilocybin and MDMA are rapidly advancing toward FDA approval for therapeutic use. Researcher and clinician’s personal use of psychedelics was cited as a potential confound in psychedelic research studies conducted in the 1950’s and 60’s, and questions about its influence contributed to the cessation of clinical research with psychedelics in the early 1970’s. There is presently no published experimental research, historical or current, that clarifies the influence of academic researchers and clinicians’ first-hand experience with psychedelics on therapeutic outcomes. This talk addresses the potential impact of personal use on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and presents a rationale for opening an academic discussion and program of research on this topic. This talk will outline the factors unique to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy therapy such that it can neither fit into the present framework of psychopharmacology research and clinical practice, nor be considered fully analogous to psychotherapy. It will be argued that scientific exploration of the influence of first-hand experience of psychedelics is feasible, timely, and necessary for the future of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy research. This presentation is based on a paper Dr. Nielson has co-authored with Jeffrey Guss, MD, also of NYU Langone Medical Center.

ELIZABETH M NIELSON, Ph.D. - [email protected]
Psychologist, Department of Psychiatry, NYU Langone Medical Center

BIOGRAPHY: Dr. Nielson is a Psychologist in the Experimental Therapeutics Research Laboratory at NYU Langone School of Medicine. She is a therapist on the psilocybin-assisted treatment for alcohol dependence trial and on the MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD trials at NYU and the Study Coordinator for an open-label Phase-2 Trial of the latter. Dr. Nielson’s research includes interview studies of psilocybin therapists working in academic settings, alcohol trial participants, and people who use psychedelics for healing and growth outside of research settings. Dr. Nielson’s professional experience includes teaching substance abuse counselors in training at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY), a post-doctoral fellowship in psychodynamic psychotherapy at Adelphi, and one in addiction research at the National Development and Research Institutes, Inc./NYU School of Nursing funded by the NIDA’s Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA). Dr. Nielson is presently affiliated with the Center for Drug Use and HIV Research at NYU School of Nursing and an active member of the New York State Psychological Association. Dr. Nielson is also a clinician in private practice and specializes in harm reduction and other evidence-based addiction treatments.

Horizons: Perspectives on Psychedelics is an annual forum that examines the role of psychedelic drugs in science, medicine, culture and spirituality.
More information at HorizonsNYC.org