Social Work Roles in the Interprofessional Psychedelic Landscape: A Scoping Review

Background and Purpose

Psychedelics continue to garner interest globally as a potential mental health treatment with therapeutic applications. The current enthusiasm, brought about by a departure from a more stigmatized and prohibitive era, has led to an explosion in research interest within medicine, neuroscience, and psychology. Despite the relative infancy of the research into these compounds, they have nonetheless demonstrated promise for use in addiction treatment, anxiety, depression, PTSD, and end-of-life care. This scoping review aimed to characterize the current state of psychedelics within social work literature to inform policy, practice and research.

Methods

A scoping review was conducted with adherence to the Arksey and O’Malley methodological framework (2005) and the search terms were generated through an iterative and collaborative process. Once the terms were identified, searches took place within five databases: Social Services Abstracts, ASSIA, PsycINFO, Semantic Scholar, and Google Scholar. Prior to screening, the search yielded 905 total resources published between 2000 and 2024. Inclusion criteria were specifically designed to encompass the social work literature on psychedelic interventions and treatment modalities published within scholarly and gray literature. Studies that measured psychedelic substance use outside of the context of treatment were excluded.

Results

Twelve papers met full criteria and are included in the final review. Six were within the grey literature, and six were original journal articles. The themes that emerged included a) professional development, education, and competencies, b) legal, ethical, and social justice concerns, c) cultural sensitivity, and d) stigma, public perception, and society.

Conclusion and Implications

Social workers broadly agree that the use of psychedelics within the context of psychedelic-assisted therapy aligns with our ethical standards and falls within our professional purview. Stigma (among other factors) continues to present the most challenging barrier to more widespread support and consideration within the professional environment.

The recency of the limited publication base, coupled with the percentage of dissertations and theses among them indicates a profound shortage of literature within the social work profession dedicated to exploring the psychedelic subject. This is an important area for social work researchers to engage in as social workers are uniquely equipped to navigate the potential concerns that psychedelic-assisted therapies present regarding social justice and harm-reduction. Significant opportunities for the integration of psychedelic science into social work practice include education, working with vulnerable populations, providing ethical and policy guidance, community-building centered on psychedelic integration, and interprofessional collaboration with other human service fields. As a leading profession in mental health service delivery, social workers must understand and contribute their values and ethical perspectives to this emerging shift in the psychedelic landscape.