Catholic mental health professionals have reacted cautiously to President Donald Trump’s April executive order directing federal agencies to accelerate research, regulatory review, and limited patient access to psychedelic drugs as treatments for serious mental illnesses. The order, titled “Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness,” notes that more than 14 million American adults now suffer from serious mental illness, a large rise from a decade ago.
The executive order promotes research into psychedelics including ibogaine, a naturally occurring psychoactive compound derived from an African shrub that has shown promise in treating opioid addiction, PTSD, depression, and traumatic brain injury in treatment-resistant cases. The order directs the FDA to issue priority funding to psychedelic drugs that have received Breakthrough Therapy designation and instructs the FDA and DEA to create a pathway for eligible patients to access investigational psychedelics under the Right to Try Act once basic safety requirements are met.
Greg Bottaro, a psychologist and founder of the CatholicPsych Institute, told EWTN News he is “glad” the administration is bringing the conversation forward, noting that therapeutic use could make “real healing possible for people with deep suffering.” However, he acknowledged that new interventions can be “dangerous if mishandled,” cautioning that psychedelics can activate neural pathways that give unqualified “certainty” about spiritual insights and expressing concerns that protective factors grounded in Catholic anthropology need to be in place.
Justin Hendricks, a Catholic psychiatrist, stated that while he thinks Catholics can use drugs to treat serious mental illness, “more research and time is needed regarding psychedelics,” warning that “haste is not the best idea” regarding FDA approvals. Terry Braciszewski, president-elect of the Catholic Psychotherapy Association, agreed, stating he supports careful use of psychedelics but cautions against speeding up reviews or clinical trials. Ibogaine can cause serious side effects, including cardiac arrhythmias that have led to fatalities in unsupervised settings. Braciszewski cited a 2024 Stanford study showing reduction in symptoms from traumatic brain injuries in veterans as “very promising,” while emphasizing the importance of establishing appropriate safety measures and controls.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.ncregister.com/cna/catholic-mental-health-professionals-react-to-executive-order-removing-barriers-to-psychedelic-drugs