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Group psychedelic therapy: empirical estimates of cost-savings and improved access

Summary

This study examines whether treating multiple patients together in psychedelic-assisted therapy sessions could reduce costs and help more people access these promising psychiatric treatments. Researchers compared group versus individual therapy using MDMA for PTSD and psilocybin for depression, finding that group therapy saved about 35-51% on clinician costs. If adopted widely, group therapy could reduce the number of clinicians needed and potentially save billions of dollars while helping thousands more patients receive treatment.

Background

Psychedelic-assisted therapies show promise for treating difficult psychiatric disorders, but widespread adoption faces barriers including cost, clinician workforce shortage, and access equity. Most clinical trials use individual therapy with two clinicians per patient, but group therapy models could potentially address these challenges.

Objective

To compare group and individual psychedelic-assisted therapy protocols in terms of clinician time, costs, and patient access using data from MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD and psilocybin therapy for major depressive disorder.

Results

Group therapy reduced clinician costs by 50.9% for MDMA-PTSD and 34.7% for psilocybin-MDD. Treating all eligible U.S. patients over 10 years would require 6,711 fewer FTE clinicians for MDMA-PTSD and 1,159 fewer for psilocybin-MDD, saving $10.3 billion and $2.0 billion respectively in clinician costs.

Conclusion

Adoption of group therapy protocols significantly reduces psychedelic-assisted therapy costs and effectively doubles clinician capacity. Group therapy could ameliorate anticipated clinician shortages and accelerate patient access while maintaining safety and efficacy.
  • Published in:Frontiers in Psychiatry,
  • Study Type:Economic analysis/Comparative cost-effectiveness study,
  • Source: PMID: 38125286
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