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Nature Mental Health volume 2, pages 636–644 (2024)
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Although research on psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is rapidly expanding, the clinical trial literature has been criticized for its underrepresentation of sexual and gender minority (SGM) and racial communities. Accordingly, there is a pressing need to study the outcomes of PAT in minoritized communities and its effects on the mental health disparities among SGM communities. Here we discuss the potential relevance of minority stress theory and its principles as they relate to PAT for SGM communities. Furthermore, we propose a theoretical framework integrating minority stress theory and its extensions with prominent models of psychedelic action, highlighting the potential of PAT to plasticize entrenched cognitive and behavioral patterns associated with minority stress. Future research should explore the mechanisms by which PAT may interact with minority stress processes and the potential benefits of SGM-affirmative adaptations of PAT. The integration of minority stress theory into PAT research may enrich our understanding of its therapeutic mechanisms while tailoring a promising intervention to individuals disproportionately excluded from effective care.
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Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Brady D. Hanshaw
Department of Psychiatry, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, San Jose, CA, USA
Mark Fusunyan
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
Chase T. M. Anderson & Jack L. Turban
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B.D.H. led the initial conceptualization. B.D.H., M.F. and C.T.M.A. contributed to the initial literary review and writing of the original draft. B.D.H., M.F., C.T.M.A. and J.L.T. contributed to review and editing of the paper.
Correspondence to Brady D. Hanshaw.
J.L.T. receives royalties from Springer Nature and Simon & Schuster, expert witness payments from the American Civil Liberties Union, research funding from The Sorensen Foundation, and a pilot research award from The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and its industry sponsors (Arbor & Pfizer). B.D.H., M.F. and C.T.M.A. declare no competing interests.
Nature Mental Health thanks Terence Ching, Timothy Michaels and the other, anonymous, reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work.
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Hanshaw, B.D., Fusunyan, M., Anderson, C.T.M. et al. Psychedelic-assisted therapy among sexual and gender minority communities. Nat. Mental Health 2, 636–644 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-024-00252-y
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