Psychedelic therapy refers to
therapeutic practices involving the use of
psychedelic drugs, particularly
serotonergic psychedelics such as
LSD,
psilocybin,
DMT,
mescaline, and
2C-B, primarily to assist
psychotherapy. As an alternative to synonyms such as "
hallucinogen", "
entheogen", "
psychotomimetic" and other functionally constructed names, the use of the term
psychedelic ("mind-manifesting") emphasizes that those who use these drugs as part of a therapeutic practice believe these drugs can facilitate beneficial exploration of the
psyche. In contrast to conventional
psychiatric medication which is taken by the patient regularly or as-needed, in psychedelic therapy, patients remain in an extended psychotherapy session during the acute activity of the drug and spend the night at the facility. In the sessions with the drug, therapists are nondirective and support the patient in exploring their inner experience. Patients participate in psychotherapy before the drug psychotherapy sessions to prepare them and after the drug psychotherapy to help them integrate their experiences with the drug.