How is it different than trying to double blind talk therapy. Obviously someone knows that they are getting talk therapy, likewise, people obviously know they are getting psychedelics.
Yet we are still able to get experimental results supporting talk therapy and no one complains, right?
It feels more like they are just looking for a critique. All in all it looks eons better than most SSRIs we prescribe willy nilly every day.
I know that some psychedelic researchers use a suitable dose of niacin as the control arm. The person will experience some flushing and a faster heart rate. If they are new to psychedelics, they don't what psychedelics are supposed to feel like, and so they assume it is the real thing.
Wrong. https://blogs.bmj.com/bmjebmspotlight/2020/10/07/seeing-is-b...
I think this is a problem that is generally recognized. Also the science on psychological interventions is generally quite messy.