Psychedelic therapy (also known as psychedelic-assisted therapy) refers to using psychedelic drugs to treat a condition, alleviate symptoms of disorder or disease, or to promote long-lasting positive change in someone's mental or emotional state.
Contemporary research into therapeutic applications of psychedelic substances like lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin (naturally found in psilocybin mushrooms), MDMA, N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and other substances primarily concerns their application in treating conditions like clinical depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorders such as alcoholism and opioid addiction, and emotional stress in elderly and terminally ill people nearing the end of life.
Psychedelic drugs have been used in ritual contexts and in traditional medicine practice since before the advent of written historical records. Inquiry into more formalized clinical applications of psychiatric drugs began in the mid-20th Century.
