This article appeared in the July/August 2021 issue of Discover as "The Future of Psychotherapy?" Subscribe for more stories like these.
A lot has changed since the 1990s. That’s when Alex Belser, then an undergrad at Georgetown University, first found a book about LSD psychotherapy.
Back then, hardly anyone was talking positively about psychedelics. The U.S. had recently passed a string of strict anti-drug and crime bills, extending the war on drugs that President Richard Nixon started in 1971. By the late 1990s, medical and industry investment in the field was virtually nonexistent.
Two decades — and several degrees — later, Belser has read far more about psychedelics in medicine. He’s also published his own peer-reviewed papers, guided dozens of patients safely through medically sanctioned trips and advised corporations that are suddenly pouring millions of dollars into the promise of psychedelic-assisted therapy. A recent market report from Financial News Media projected the industry in North America will exceed $6.8 billion by 2027.
