How Psychedelics Are Shaping ABA Addiction Research
Psychedelic compounds like psilocybin are being studied as potential treatments for addiction, and applied behavior analysts are finding a meaningful role in that research. By focusing on measurable post-treatment behaviors rather than subjective experiences, ABAs bring the kind of rigor these studies need to move forward.
In a calm, comfortably furnished room that looks like someone’s living room, a patient with eyeshades on lies down on the couch. Sitting next to them, a professional dressed casually in street clothes hands them a small cup. Inside the cup is a pill. The patient takes the pill, and the experimental treatment begins.
So far, apart from the setting (which is actually in a medical research facility), it sounds like your standard scenario for pharmacology research. But what happens next is anything but ordinary. The pill is synthesized from psilocybin, the distilled chemical compound that is the active ingredient in magic mushrooms.
The treatment is to simply lie there, under the effects of the drug, allowing the mind to travel along pathways that proponents call an expanded consciousness. The guide does little other than ensure the patient’s safety and set the tone for the experience. No active therapy is performed.
This isn’t some relic of the 1960s, either. It’s been happening in the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and other research facilities, as part of a serious and ongoing scientific effort to understand how psychedelics might work in addiction treatment.
Tripping Along the Road to Recovery
Typically, applied behavior analysts find themselves on the other side of the table when it comes to patients on Schedule I controlled substances like psilocybin or lysergic acid diethylamide, better known as LSD.
But psychedelics are an unusual class of drug. Far from being addictive, some researchers believe they’re actually anti-addictive, a property that a growing number of scientists are now exploring as a potential pathway for treating more harmful substances typically associated with abuse and dependency.
Socially, psychedelics have carried a stigma since the hippie movement of the 1960s and 1970s brought them into the cultural mainstream. That stigma surprised many ABAs who later discovered that, before recreational use dominated the conversation, there was a legitimate body of scientific research exploring the medical applications of these compounds.
In fact, the most common family of modern antidepressants, the SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors), grew out of research originally sparked by investigations into the neurochemical activity of LSD.
A number of studies using psychedelics as treatments for tobacco and alcohol addiction were conducted before LSD was phased out of medical research in 1980. The clinical standards of that era don’t hold up well by today’s criteria, but at least one subsequent meta-analysis found reliable evidence that those treatments had real effects.
Why Psychedelic Research May Be a Natural Fit for ABAs
Studying the effects of psychedelics is no simple task. Double-blind studies are nearly impossible since there’s no placebo that can fool either participants or researchers about which drug was taken.
It’s also common for participants to credit behavioral changes after treatment to spiritual or transcendent experiences during the drug’s effects. There’s considerable evidence that the nature of those experiences is shaped, at least in part, by the clinicians overseeing the session and the environment in which the drug is taken. That’s a major confound for any research design.
ABA Can Make Real Contributions in Psychedelic Research
But this is precisely where applied behavior analysis may be well-suited to the challenge. With a rigorous focus on observable, measurable behavior, ABAs can set aside the subjective spiritual narratives and concentrate on what actually changed in how a person behaves after treatment.
The Hopkins research did exactly this. Researchers evaluated participants’ post-session drug-seeking behaviors using delay discounting measures and demand curve analyses. Whether or not a participant felt they’d had a transcendent experience along the way was, from a behavioral standpoint, a secondary concern.
This kind of rigorous behavioral examination may be exactly what psychedelic research needs to move beyond the fringe and establish itself as a credible area of clinical inquiry.
The ABA Community Is Taking Notice
Because of the legally restricted status of psychedelics from 1980 until relatively recently, few credentialed researchers were able to study their effects formally, and those who did had limited ability to publish. That gap left the field dominated by anecdote and amateur speculation, with advocates proposing psychedelics as treatments for everything from depression to cluster headaches.
But a growing body of formal research is making it increasingly hard to dismiss the possibility that psychedelics could have real clinical value for behavioral disorders that ABAs frequently encounter in their work.
The BACB signaled its interest in the topic by including a lecture titled “Psychedelics: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential” in its B.F. Skinner Lecture Series. Presented by Dr. Matthew Johnson, the researcher behind the Hopkins program, and featuring Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, a U.K. researcher at the forefront of the psychedelic research revival, the program covered brain imaging studies using LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, and DMT.
Whether the average ABA working in addiction treatment will one day see prescription psychedelics as a routine part of treatment planning is still an open question. But it’s a question that serious researchers are now asking out loud, which is a significant shift from where the field stood even a decade ago.
Frequently Asked Questions
What role do applied behavior analysts play in psychedelic research?
ABAs contribute to psychedelic research primarily through behavioral measurement. Rather than focusing on patients’ subjective experiences during treatment, they apply tools like delay discounting and demand curve analysis to assess changes in drug-seeking behavior after a session. That focus on observable outcomes is exactly what this emerging field needs to meet scientific standards.
Are psychedelics considered addictive substances?
No. Psilocybin and LSD are not considered physiologically addictive in the way that opioids, alcohol, or nicotine are. Researchers have noted this distinction for decades, and it’s partly what makes them interesting candidates for treating other forms of addiction. That said, they remain Schedule I controlled substances in the United States, meaning research requires special authorization.
Is psilocybin-assisted therapy currently legal?
In most of the United States, psilocybin remains a Schedule I substance and is not available as a legal medical treatment. A small number of states, including Oregon and Colorado, have moved to regulated therapeutic frameworks for supervised use, and clinical research continues under FDA approval at select institutions. The legal landscape is shifting, but access outside of approved research settings is still very limited.
How does the research setting affect psychedelic treatment outcomes?
Quite a bit, according to current evidence. The therapeutic environment, the presence of a trained guide, and the patient’s expectations going into the session all appear to influence the experience and, potentially, the outcomes. This is one of the factors that makes psychedelic research methodologically challenging, and it’s an area where behavioral analysis can help distinguish environmental variables from pharmacological effects.
Where can I learn more about ABA’s role in addiction treatment?
ABA has a broader footprint in addiction treatment than many people realize. Behavior analysts work in substance use settings using approaches like contingency management, which has strong empirical support for treating stimulant and opioid use disorders. Learn more about ABA in treating alcohol and drug abuse, or explore addiction counseling and behavioral health career paths alongside your ABA training.
Key Takeaways
- Psilocybin research is serious science. Studies at institutions including Johns Hopkins are examining psychedelics as potential addiction treatments, with results drawing real scientific attention.
- ABAs are well-positioned to contribute. Behavioral measurement tools like delay discounting and demand curve analysis let ABAs assess treatment outcomes objectively, separate from patients’ subjective experiences.
- Psychedelics aren’t addictive. Unlike opioids or alcohol, psilocybin and LSD aren’t physiologically addictive, which is part of what makes them interesting as potential interventions for people struggling with substances that are.
- The field has a credibility gap that ABA can help close. Decades of restricted research left the space dominated by anecdote and speculation. Rigorous behavioral methodology could help change that.
- The legal landscape is shifting. A small number of states have created supervised therapeutic frameworks, and clinical trials continue at FDA-approved sites, though access outside approved settings remains limited.
Curious about where a career in ABA could take you? Addiction treatment, behavioral research, and emerging clinical fields are all part of the picture.
