Key points
DMT, or N,N-dimethyltryptamine, is a psychedelic compound synthesized in the lab and found in certain plants.
DMT creates a brief but very powerful psychedelic experience.
Although currently banned across most of the U.S., DMT shows promise in treatment for mental health concerns.
Entering the field of psychedelic therapy , whether as a therapist or a client, means learning about an ever-growing, sometimes bewildering array of psychedelic substances. My friends in the field have told me repeatedly about the potential of N,N-dimethyltryptamine, better known as DMT, a psychedelic substance only recently legalized in Oregon and Colorado and otherwise considered illegal in the United States. Let’s look at the emerging science of DMT to understand how it relates to other psychedelics and how it’s been used to treat mental illness so far. What Is DMT?
DMT is both a naturally occurring tryptamine—a class of neuromodulating substances, which includes serotonin, that can be found in many plant species—and a synthetic compound, discovered in a chemist’s lab in 1931 and shown to have psychedelic properties by a research study two decades later (Szara, 1956). DMT turns out to be the primary psychoactive ingredient in ayahuasca (dos Santos & Hallak, 2024), as well as other hallucination-inducing plant substances used in indigenous rituals in Latin America. Thus, while the synthetic form of DMT used in clinical research is relatively new, the use of DMT in indigenous medicine traditions likely goes back millennia.
Like other classic psychedelics, such as LSD and psilocybin, DMT in plants and as a synthetic compound is known to induce hallucinations and dream-like states (dos Santos & Hallak, 2024). However, experiences with DMT tend to be even more intense, often involving near-death experiences or more intense psychological breakthroughs (Michael et al., 2023). DMT packs all that experience into a much shorter timeframe than other classic psychedelics—for most people, a standard experience with DMT lasts all of 15 minutes. What Is This Experience Like?
When DMT is administered to the body—in medical settings, through injection, but also often through inhalation—the user loses contact with their regular experience in a matter of seconds, […]
Microdosing 101
Kate Schroeder LPC, LMHC, NCC Key points Microdosing should be
