Most Americans unaware of psychedelic treatment for mental health

Washington DC, June 17 - Despite a growing body of research and evidence of the effectiveness of psychedelic compounds, such as psilocybin, ketamine, and MDMA, in treatment of mental health disorders, public awareness and acceptance of their usage remains limited. Coupled with strong trust in primary care and mental health providers for information about psychedelics, and a belief that current mental health treatments are not sufficient, there is room for further education among the general public and providers specifically to improve understanding and openness toward psychedelics in mental health treatment.

Detailed Findings:

Americans’ familiarity with medical research using psychedelic compounds in treatment of mental health disorders is low. At the time of the survey, less than 30% of respondents considered themselves to be “very” or “somewhat” familiar with the research, suggesting a clear path forward for improvements to education and outreach on the impact of these compounds in treatment.

From this, it is clear that this awareness, or lack thereof, is a key driver in determining individual attitudes toward usage and accessibility. Those who are aware of the research are far more likely to support a variety of use cases for psychedelics. The use of psychedelics for medicinal purposes, coupled with mental health therapy, has fairly high support, regardless of awareness (44% among unaware; 75% among aware). Support remains low for broad legalization and accessibility.

Having safe and trustworthy sources for information about psychedelics in mental health treatment is an important step in deepening awareness and understanding.  Regardless of awareness, respondents identified therapists, psychiatrists, and mental healthcare providers as trusted sources for information (79% among unaware; 89% among aware), as well as primary care providers (PCP) (86% among unaware; 88% among aware).

Lastly, there is broad recognition that current mental healthcare treatments, such as long term psychiatric medications and talk therapy, are not sufficient for treating mental health conditions. Given the broad lack of awareness but clear need for alternative treatments, the space exists to develop strong educational messaging to improve awareness and perceptions of psychedelics as a treatment.

For more information on this news release, please contact: Suzy Shirley, VP Health Research at Ipsos, [email protected], 202-294-1915  

About the Study

This Ipsos poll was conducted from May 16-18, 2025, using the probability-based KnowledgePanel^®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,034 adults age 18 or older.

The survey was conducted using KnowledgePanel, the largest and most well-established online probability-based panel that is representative of the adult U.S. population. Our recruitment process employs a scientifically developed addressed-based sampling methodology using the latest Delivery Sequence File of the USPS – a database with full coverage of all delivery points in the U.S. Households invited to join the panel are randomly selected from all available households in the U.S. Persons in the sampled households are invited to join and participate in the panel. Those selected who do not already have internet access are provided a tablet and internet connection at no cost to the panel member. Those who join the panel and who are selected to participate in a survey are sent a unique password-protected log-in used to complete surveys online. As a result of our recruitment and sampling methodologies, samples from KnowledgePanel cover all households regardless of their phone or internet status and findings can be reported with a margin of sampling error and projected to the general population.

The data for the total sample were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race/ethnicity, education, Census region, metropolitan status, and household income. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2024 March Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS).

• Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–29, 30–44, 45-59 and 60+)
• Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other, Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races, Non-Hispanic)
• Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or higher)
• Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
• Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
• Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)

The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.14.

The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on sub-samples. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.

About Ipsos

Ipsos is one of the largest market research and polling companies globally, operating in 90 markets and employing nearly 20,000 people.

Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. Our 75 business solutions are based on primary data from our surveys, social media monitoring, and qualitative or observational techniques.

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