Mdedge Psychcast

Brian Holoyda, MD, MPH, MBA, conducts a Masterclass on the history of psychedelic research and how the renaissance of this drug class could affect psychiatric patients. Dr. Holoyda, a forensic psychiatrist, practices in the San Francisco Bay Area. He also provides psychiatric consultations across the country. Dr. Holoyda has no disclosures. Take-home points The effects of psychedelics are dose dependent and difficult to predict. The impact of psychedelic treatment on violent behaviors was studied since the 1960s with varying results. More recent studies suggest that psychedelic use (excluding phencyclidine, or PCP) is associated with less violent crime. Dr. Holoyda recommends that, before psychiatrists treat patients with psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, patients should be screened for history of violence or aggression while using psychedelics (and in general) and a history of serious mental illness. Patients require informed consent about the risk of violence and interventions used to control aggressive