Petition for the formation of a new division of APA

Psychedelic science and practice have emerged as a distinct and rapidly expanding interdisciplinary area of psychological research, training, education, and professional practice. Over the past two decades, advances in scientific research, professional training, clinical implementation, and public policy—including growing federal regulatory attention to psychedelic medicine—have established this field as an enduring area of psychological inquiry rather than an emerging niche. The American Psychological Association should have a division that reflects—and helps advance—that reality.

We are proposing the formation of the Division of Psychedelic Science and Practice to support APA’s mission of advancing the creation, communication, and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people’s lives. The division will provide an organizational home for psychologists whose professional interests center on understanding the psychological processes, screening and assessment procedures, therapeutic applications, ethical considerations, implementation, and societal implications of psychedelic science and practice.

Psychologists have played central roles in the historical and modern development of this field. As researchers, clinicians, educators, supervisors, scientists, ethicists, consultants, thought leaders, and policy leaders, psychologists have contributed to advances in the scientific understanding of altered states of consciousness, therapeutic processes, mechanisms of psychological change, patient selection, preparation including screening and assessment, integration, professional training, and the fostering of emerging best practices in ethical care. Psychologists have been at the forefront of research in psychedelic medicine. As the field continues to mature, psychologists are increasingly called upon to help shape the scientific foundation and responsible implementation of psychedelic treatments into the healthcare and wellness ecosystem.

Psychologists working in psychedelic science and practice represent an active and functionally unitary professional interest that spans research, education, clinical care, ethics, public policy, and professional training. Although these psychologists currently participate across many existing APA divisions, they are united by a common body of psychological knowledge, shared scientific questions, overlapping competencies, and a collective commitment to advancing psychological science in this emerging area.

Members engaged in psychedelic science and practice routinely address common questions regarding psychological assessment, therapeutic preparation, therapeutic alliance, mechanisms of change, integration, cultural humility, patient safety, ethics, and public communication. These shared scientific and professional concerns transcend traditional specialty boundaries and have given rise to an identifiable community of psychologists whose primary interests are not fully represented within any existing APA Division.

Psychology occupies a unique position within this evolving field. Our discipline contributes expertise in cognition, emotion, behavior, learning, development, personality, trauma, relationships, culture, psychotherapy, psychological assessment, measurement, and translational science. Central among psychology’s contributions is its capacity to investigate how altered states of consciousness (occasioned within structured, therapeutic, and ethically supported environments) influence cognition, emotion, behavior, learning, memory, meaning-making, therapeutic processes, and integration. These are fundamentally psychological questions that extend well beyond psychopharmacology or prescribing frameworks, and they are essential to ensuring that scientific advances are translated into safe, ethical, equitable, and evidence-informed psychological practice.

While Division 55 addresses prescribing psychology and psychopharmacology within a medical-model framework, the proposed Division of Psychedelic Science and Practice is organized around a distinct body of psychological science: the study of altered states of consciousness, therapeutic mechanisms of change, preparation and integration processes, cultural and ethical dimensions of practice, and the psychological factors that mediate outcomes. These questions are not adequately housed within pharmacology or prescribing frameworks. They are fundamentally psychological in nature and reflect a growing area of inquiry that crosses traditional specialty lines without belonging fully to any of them.

The proposed division will unite psychologists across research, education, clinical practice, consultation, health systems, public service, and policy who share this active and functionally unitary interest. It will promote scientific collaboration and serve as a translational bridge between basic science and actionable frameworks for practicing psychologists. It will facilitate the dissemination of psychological knowledge, support education and continuing professional development including APA-aligned CE resources and emerging clinical competency frameworks for patient selection, preparation, and integration. It will foster thoughtful discussion regarding emerging best practices in harm reduction and ethical guidance for nonprescribing, frontline clinicians who encounter patients utilizing psychedelics independently or in nonclinical settings. It will encourage interdisciplinary partnerships and provide a forum for addressing ethical, cultural, regulatory, and implementation issues affecting the field. In doing so, the division will strengthen psychology’s contribution to research, clinical care, public policy, and the responsible development of psychedelic science and practice.

The proposed division is designed to function as interdisciplinary connective tissue within APA, drawing members who hold primary affiliations across Divisions 12, 17, 19, 28, 29, 30, 32, 36, 38, 42, 50, 55, and 56, among others, and creating a shared forum where those perspectives converge around psychedelic science specifically. It does not seek to replicate or replace any existing division’s mission but to serve as a bridge for work that is complementary to all of them yet not distinctly captured in any one of them. Consistent with Article VI of the APA Bylaws, the division will function as a member-led scholarly and professional community. It will not confer licensure, specialty recognition, certification, or prescriptive authority, and will distinguish its educational resources and consensus recommendations from formal APA policy.

Throughout its history, the American Psychological Association has recognized emerging areas of science and professional practice by creating organizational homes for psychologists whose shared interests transcend traditional specialty boundaries. Psychedelic science and practice have now reached that point. Establishing the Division of Psychedelic Science and Practice recognizes the substantial contributions psychologists have already made to this field while creating a forum that will strengthen research, education, ethical practice, interdisciplinary collaboration, and public service for years to come.

We believe the proposed division represents an active and functionally unitary interest of a group of APA members and is fully consistent with APA’s mission to advance psychology as a science, profession, and means of promoting human welfare. By bringing together psychologists dedicated to psychedelic science and practice, the division will strengthen the discipline’s capacity to generate knowledge, improve care, inform public policy, and responsibly serve society in one of the most significant emerging areas of psychological science.

Each member of the steering committee affirms a continuing interest in the Division of Psychedelic Science and Practice and, consistent with Association Rule 100-2.1, individually asks for and will accept membership in the division if it is established.

Richard T. Barnett, PsyD, MSCP, LADC
Christopher R. Nicholas, PhD
Brian D. Richards, PsyD
Chantelle Thomas, PhD
Sheila H. Gardner, PhD
Mark Bates, PhD
Matthew W. Johnson, PhD
Terence Penn, PhD
Abi Dorhosti
Ronit Kishon, PhD