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The research and use of psychedelic medicines to treat common mental health disorders has increased substantially in the past 2 decades. At the same time, knowledge is relatively uncommon among midwives regarding (1) the relative benefits of psychedelic-assisted therapy, (2) best practices associated with the delivery of psychedelic-assisted therapy, and (3) responsible integration of this potentially useful intervention into mental health treatment plans. The purpose of this review is to describe current applications of psychedelic medicines to treat common mental health disorders, to describe the current legal status of these medicines used in this context, and to explore the potential for midwifery practice in this area with further training. This article also addresses the disparities regarding LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC populations in relation to this topic and their historical exclusion from research and treatment access in this field.

The drug experiences of women in Western society have been both sensationalized for their scandalous aspects and sterilized in clinical reports, but the role of women in the investigation of psychedelics in modern Western history is obscure, and the identities and activities of early women participants are often unknown. This paper explores some of the under-reported history of women's contributions to psychedelic exploration and research in the twentieth century. Mabel Luhan and Valentina Wasson represent women whose stories have entered the canon of psychedelic history but have failed to fully represent their individual impact. Wasson's work is often subsumed under that of her more well-known husband. Luhan is considered to be a psychedelic pioneer, but her pattern of interference in the politics of peyote in the Taos Pueblo is often overlooked. The poet Mary Barnard is well-known as a translator of Sappho, but her lyrical writing on psychedelics is less celebrated. Gertrude Paltin and Kay Parley are female therapists and authors whose valuable writing on psychedelics is almost unknown in the field. There remain many women whose significant contributions to the exploration and employment of psychedelics for spiritual development, personal discovery, individual betterment or therapeutic impact have not been well recorded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]