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Cited by 32Psychedelics and Drug StudiesEthics and bioethics in healthcareEthics in Clinical Research

Giving Consent to the Ineffable

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Villiger, Daniel·2024·Neuroethics
DOI 10.1007/s12152-024-09545-6PMC PMC10869409
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Abstract

A psychedelic renaissance is currently taking place in mental healthcare. The number of psychedelic-assisted therapy trials is growing steadily, and some countries already grant psychiatrists special permission to use psychedelics in non-research contexts under certain conditions. These clinical advances must be accompanied by ethical inquiry. One pressing ethical question involves whether patients can even give informed consent to psychedelic-assisted therapy: the treatment’s transformative nature seems to block its assessment, suggesting that patients are unable to understand what undergoing psychedelic-assisted therapy actually means for them and whether it aligns with their values. The present paper argues that patients often have sufficient knowledge to give informed consent because they know that they want to change their negative status quo and that psychedelic-assisted therapy offers an effective way to do so. Accordingly, patients can understand what the transformative nature of psychedelic-assisted therapy means for them and a make a value-aligned choice even if they are unable to anticipate the manifestation of a psychedelic experience.

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Authors
Villiger, D.
Affiliations
University of Zurich (CH)
Corresponding author
Villiger, Daniel
ORCID
Villiger, Daniel
Venue
Neuroethics
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2024-02-15
Volume
17
Issue
1
Pages
11-11
ISSN
  • 1874-5490 (ISSN-L)
  • 1874-5504
DOI
10.1007/s12152-024-09545-6
PMC
PMC10869409
OpenAlex
W4391841842
Cited by
32
References
25
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 6
FWCI
15.95
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Neuroethics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
Funders
  • Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (186151)
  • University of Zurich
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Ethics and bioethics in healthcare
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Ethics in Clinical Research
Keywords
informed consent, psychedelic therapy, patient understanding, value alignment, psychedelic experience, mental health services

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