Professor says psychedelic therapy needs effective oversight

The future of psychedelic treatment depends on effective oversight and evidence-based research, David Erritzoe, a clinical associate professor of psychopharmacology and psychiatry at Imperial College London, told ERR.

Erritzoe said psychedelics, including ketamine and psilocybin, have gained wider acceptance as the mental health crisis has grown and could help many patients. But enthusiasm for the treatments must be matched by solid evidence.

Early in his career, Erritzoe used positron emission tomography to study the brain in Copenhagen and New York. His research examined the long-term effects of ecstasy and psychedelics on the brain’s serotonin system, helping him understand how the substances work.

He said conversations with users during that research also helped him understand why people took the substances and what they gained from them. Many participants were intellectually curious young adults in their twenties with deep inner lives.

Erritzoe said brain imaging and neuroscience provide a stronger scientific basis for understanding the substances’ effects. But he stressed that patients’ subjective experiences remain central to treatment, describing them as potentially pivotal moments associated with inner change.

He later joined a research group at Imperial College that included Robin Carhart-Harris and David Nutt. Erritzoe said working alongside them helped him develop his own research, and that the field remains an inspiring one.