Catholic mental health professionals have welcomed the federal governmentʼs move toward potential approval of psychedelic drugs for clinical treatments, describing it as a hopeful response to the nation’s growing mental health crisis while urging caution.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in April directing federal agencies to accelerate research, regulatory review, and limited patient access to psychedelic drugs as potential treatments for serious mental illnesses, including depression, PTSD, and other treatment-resistant conditions.
Titled “Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness,” the executive order defines serious mental illness as “having a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder that substantially interferes with a person’s life and ability to function.”
“Despite massive federal investment into researching potential advancements in mental health care and treatment, our medical research system has yet to produce approved therapies that promote enduring improvements in the mental health condition” of the most complex patients, the order says.
“Innovative methods are needed to find long-term solutions for these Americans beyond existing prescription medications.”
The order promotes research into psychedelics such as ibogaine, a naturally occurring psychoactive alkaloid derived primarily from the root bark of an African shrub. It has shown promise in treating opioid addiction (by reducing withdrawal and cravings), as well as PTSD, depression, and traumatic brain injury in treatment-resistant cases.
In addition to ibogaine, most classic psychedelics — including psilocybin (magic mushrooms), LSD, DMT, and mescaline — remain illegal at the federal level. They are classified as Schedule I substances, meaning they have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use according to the Controlled Substances Act.
However, psychedelics are not known to produce the physical dependence, compulsive drug-seeking behavior or withdrawal syndromes seen with drugs like opioids, alcohol, stimulants, or nicotine. The potential for abuse comes from the recreational use of the drugs for their psychoactive effects.
Psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin work mainly by activating certain serotonin receptors in the brain’s cortex, which can create chaotic, highly connected brain activity — producing vivid altered states, emotional breakthroughs, and ego dissolution. The experience is followed by days of heightened neuroplasticity that can rewire thinking patterns.
Ibogaine works through multiple brain systems at once. It affects glutamate, opioid, serotonin, and dopamine pathways while promoting brain repair in reward centers. This produces long dreamlike visions and a profound neurological “reset” that can dramatically reduce addiction cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
The Catholic response
Greg Bottaro, a psychologist and founder of the CatholicPsych Institute and creator of the CatholicPsych Model of Applied Personalism, told EWTN News he is “glad” the Trump administration is “bringing the conversation to the table.”
Bottaro has researched psychedelic drugs for a decade, has four years of professional training with psychedelics, and has a natural medicine license in Colorado, which along with Oregon is one of two states where some of the drugs are legal. He said he believes the therapeutic use of the drugs could make “real healing possible for people with deep suffering.”
Bottaro said he has seen “things are getting worse in many ways for some mental illnesses.”
The executive order notes that more than 14 million American adults now suffer from serious mental illness, a large rise from a decade ago, and suicide rates have rebounded after declining during Trump’s first term. Veterans are disproportionately affected, with a suicide rate more than double that of non-veteran adults.
Bottaro acknowledged, however, that new interventions such as psychedelics can be “dangerous if mishandled.”
“The world of the subconscious and interior life and psyche is uncharted territory,” he said. “Psychedelic drugs can activate neural pathways that give unqualified ‘certainty’ about a spiritual insight that isn’t measured against a person’s actual worldview.”
“You don’t want someone being treated to realize ‘love is all that matters’ and then leave his wife,” Bottaro said.
“A lot of protective factors need to be in place” to ensure “a Catholic anthropology” guides those treating patients.
Trump’s executive order instructs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue priority funding to psychedelic drugs that have received Breakthrough Therapy designation, speeding up reviews that could otherwise take months. The order says the FDA and the Drug Enforcement Administration must create a pathway for eligible patients to access investigational psychedelics under the Right to Try Act once basic safety requirements are met.
If any psychedelic drug completes Phase 3 trials and wins FDA approval, the attorney general must promptly review it for possible rescheduling under the Controlled Substances Act.
Justin Hendricks, a Catholic psychiatrist, told EWTN News that while he thinks Catholics can use drugs to treat serious mental illness, more research and time is needed regarding psychedelics. “Haste is not the best idea,” he said regarding pushing through FDA approvals. He said rushing to treat patients without more and thorough testing would be like “playing with fire.”
These drugs can “rewire” neural pathways affected by trauma, he said. “How do you standardize that? It’s tricky. We have to be careful. What are we ‘rewiring’ the brain to do?”
Terry Braciszewski, the president-elect of the Catholic Psychotherapy Association, agreed, telling EWTN News he supports the careful use of psychedelics but cautions against speeding up reviews or clinical trials.
“If a neurochemical substance can help a person, I’m all for it,” he said. “But slowing things down so we can establish appropriate safety measures and controls is important.”
Ibogaine can cause serious side effects, including cardiac arrhythmias (heart rhythm problems), which have led to fatalities in unsupervised settings.
Still, he sees potential in the use of psychedelics such as ibogaine, citing a 2024 Stanford study showing a reduction in symptoms from traumatic brain injuries in veterans, which he called “very promising.”
“When we think of being created in the image and likeness of God, it is remarkable that everything is produced by neurochemistry,” he said.
“We know from Catholic theology, whatever we can do to maintain the temple of our body is an act of stewardship over our life, our health, involvement with loved ones, and our contribution to the greater body of the Church,” he said.
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