[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":151},["ShallowReactive",2],{"topic-mental-health":3},{"articles":4,"guides":5},[],[6],{"id":7,"title":8,"author":9,"authorTitle":10,"body":11,"date":137,"description":138,"draft":139,"extension":140,"featured":139,"heroCredit":141,"heroImage":142,"meta":143,"navigation":144,"path":145,"readingTime":146,"seo":147,"stem":148,"topic":149,"__hash__":150},"guides\u002Fguides\u002Ftalk-to-your-doctor.md","How to talk to your doctor about psychedelic therapy","Higher Place editors",null,{"type":12,"value":13,"toc":127},"minimark",[14,18,24,29,45,49,52,77,80,84,102,106,112,120,124],[15,16,17],"p",{},"If you have read about psychedelic therapy and wondered whether it could be\nrelevant to you or someone you love, the right next step is usually a\nconversation with a clinician — not a website, and not a retreat brochure. This\nguide is about having that conversation well.",[19,20,21],"note",{},[15,22,23],{},"This is general information, not medical advice. Nothing here is a\nrecommendation to start, stop or change any treatment. Decisions belong with\nyou and a qualified clinician who knows your history.",[25,26,28],"h2",{"id":27},"before-the-appointment","Before the appointment",[30,31,32,36,39,42],"ul",{},[33,34,35],"li",{},"Write down what you are actually hoping for. \"I want to feel less trapped\" is\nmore useful to a clinician than \"I want to try psilocybin\".",[33,37,38],{},"List your current treatments and what each one did or didn't do, including\nanything you stopped and why.",[33,40,41],{},"Note any history — personal or family — of psychosis, bipolar disorder, or\nsignificant heart conditions. These are among the standard reasons trials\nexclude people, and a clinician will want to know.",[33,43,44],{},"List every medication and supplement you take. Some, including common\nantidepressants, interact with psychedelics or blunt their effect, and trials\nusually require people to come off them under supervision first. That is a\nclinical decision, not something to do on your own.",[25,46,48],{"id":47},"what-is-actually-available","What is actually available",[15,50,51],{},"The honest answer to \"can I get this?\" depends heavily on where you live, and\nit changes often. As a rough map at the time of writing:",[30,53,54,65,71],{},[33,55,56,60,61,64],{},[57,58,59],"strong",{},"Ketamine"," is a licensed anaesthetic used off-label for depression in\nclinics across North America and elsewhere, and ",[57,62,63],{},"esketamine"," (a nasal spray)\nis approved for treatment-resistant depression in the US, Canada and other\ncountries, given under supervision.",[33,66,67,70],{},[57,68,69],{},"Psilocybin and MDMA"," are not approved medicines in most of the world. In\nthe US, Oregon and Colorado run state-regulated psilocybin services that sit\noutside the medical system. In Australia, authorised psychiatrists can\nprescribe them for specific conditions. In Canada, a doctor can apply to\nHealth Canada's Special Access Program on a patient's behalf.",[33,72,73,76],{},[57,74,75],{},"Clinical trials"," remain the main legal route in most places, and a\nclinician can help you find out whether you might be eligible.",[15,78,79],{},"Ask your clinician what applies to you, and treat anything you read online —\nincluding this — as a starting point rather than an answer.",[25,81,83],{"id":82},"questions-worth-asking","Questions worth asking",[85,86,87,90,93,96,99],"ol",{},[33,88,89],{},"Given my history, is this a reasonable avenue to explore at all?",[33,91,92],{},"What is actually approved or available legally where I live, versus still in\ntrials?",[33,94,95],{},"Are there clinical trials I might be eligible for?",[33,97,98],{},"What are the realistic risks for someone like me, including the difficult\nexperiences that don't make headlines?",[33,100,101],{},"If I went ahead somewhere, what would you want to know about the provider\nbefore you were comfortable?",[25,103,105],{"id":104},"how-to-tell-good-guidance-from-a-pitch","How to tell good guidance from a pitch",[107,108,109],"blockquote",{},[15,110,111],{},"Credible care is comfortable saying \"we don't know yet\" and \"this may not be\nfor you.\" A sales pitch is not.",[15,113,114,115,119],{},"Be cautious of anyone who guarantees outcomes, rushes screening, dismisses your\nmedical history, or treats large fees as a formality. Real programmes screen\ncarefully ",[116,117,118],"em",{},"because"," they take the risks seriously.",[25,121,123],{"id":122},"if-the-answer-is-not-yet","If the answer is \"not yet\"",[15,125,126],{},"That is a legitimate, often responsible answer. Ask what would have to change —\nnew evidence, a trial, a different stage of your care — and what to do in the\nmeantime. \"Not yet\" is a plan, not a door closing.",{"title":128,"searchDepth":129,"depth":129,"links":130},"",3,[131,133,134,135,136],{"id":27,"depth":132,"text":28},2,{"id":47,"depth":132,"text":48},{"id":82,"depth":132,"text":83},{"id":104,"depth":132,"text":105},{"id":122,"depth":132,"text":123},"2026-05-09","A calm, practical guide to raising the subject with a clinician — what to ask, what to expect, and how to tell credible care from a sales pitch.",false,"md","Higher Place — original artwork","\u002Fimg\u002Fheroes\u002Fmental-health.svg",{},true,"\u002Fguides\u002Ftalk-to-your-doctor",7,{"title":8,"description":138},"guides\u002Ftalk-to-your-doctor","mental-health","mhMrJ4sPRESMsTFSkqm6QjTd4yc0SEBe1Xo-t30ZsGE",1791062476851]