Psychedelic Therapy in Australia is likely to cost thousands

A plan announced last month by Australian regulators will allow patients legal access to the psychedelic drugs MDMA and psilocybin. However, there is no approved source of the drug that therapists can access, so patients could face high-end bills. The agency has not approved any products that contain the promising psychedelic drug, so mental health professionals will have to source them themselves. Without a subsidy from the government, psychiatrists estimate that patients will need to pay AU$25,000 (nearly $7,000) for psychedelic-assisted treatment. There are not many psychologists willing to offer therapy because of the tight controls. Dr. Paul Liknaitzky is the head of Monash University’s Clinical Psychedelic Lab. He revealed last month that he will be partnering up with investors to open a psychedelic assisted therapy clinic in Melbourne. The government regulators have not yet issued guidelines and training requirements for such therapy therapists. We are cautiously optimistic, but we are still concerned.” He said. But he warned that the high cost of treatment might make the treatment inaccessible to most Australians.”Sensible and safe treatment approaches, based on decades of best-practice development, will include considerable screening, psychotherapy and other support. He said that a typical course of treatment could last for several months and cost around $25,000 plus or minus $10,000. “If it proves to be cost-effective, the government will fund it.” Ongoing research has shown that psilocybin (the primary psychoactive compound found in magic mushrooms) can be used to treat a variety of serious mental health conditions including anxiety, major depressive disorder, PTSD, and substance misuse disorders. A 2020 study in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Psychiatry showed that psilocybin assisted psychotherapy was a fast-acting and efficient treatment for a group comprising 24 patients with major depressive disorder. In 2016, separate research found that psilocybin treatment resulted in a significant and sustained reduction in anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening illnesses. In 2016, separate research found that MDMA, also known as ecstasy or psilocybin, produced significant and sustained decreases in anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer. A NatureMedicine study in 2021 concluded that the treatment was safe and effective. “The TGA has placed Australia at the forefront of world medicine and we need to seize the opportunity.” Gillinder Bedi, an associate professor at the University of Melbourne, said that patients will have difficulty accessing the treatment because of a lack of qualified clinical staff in psychedelic assisted therapy. There will be clinics. The problem is that we don’t have enough staff. She said that people can’t even see psychiatrists in normal circumstances. Two clinical psychologists can be in a room for eight hours at a Medicare billing rate of $120 per hour. This is not what people charge. They charge $200 to $300. It’s an extremely expensive treatment. It could go higher than $25,000, I believe. Bedi said that although it is not clear who will pay the bill, some organizations are trying philanthropic funding. “But it’s going be for people who have money, at least in the initial stages.”