Do Psychedelics Need a Rebrand Before Their Approval for Mental Health?
By Ashleigh Hollowell
October 21, 2026
Photo by Logan Voss on Unsplash
Psychedelics: A Stigmatized Drug Class in Behavioral Healthcare
In 1969, the term “psychedelics” evoked images of San Francisco’s historic Hippie Hill, the Grateful Dead, and Woodstock. Nearly six decades later, this stigma persists, despite significant advancements and research highlighting the potential of this drug class in behavioral healthcare.
Recently, the field has faced renewed pressure from the Trump administration to accelerate research and FDA approvals for psychedelic medical treatments for mental health. However, some clinicians express concerns that lingering negative social perceptions and connotations associated with the term “psychedelics” may deter patients and create barriers for healthcare providers.
“I think that behavioral health has been so historically stigmatized that I hate the idea that an effective tool may present itself and its use may be inhibited by further stigma,” Dr. Michael Genovese, Chief Medical Officer at Access Telecare, shared with Behavioral Health Business. “And language matters.”
Access Telecare, a leading provider of acute specialty telehealth services, offers behavioral health and psychiatry services nationwide. Partnering with nearly one in five U.S. hospitals, the company operates in all 50 states.
Genovese suggests considering terms like “neuroplastogens” or “psychoplastogens,” which emphasize the medicinal and scientific effects of psychedelics rather than their hallucinogenic aspects or other subsets.
“Some people hear the word psychedelics, and they don’t think of them as real medications. They immediately think of abuse potential and recreational use,” Genovese explained. “That’s not that difficult of a pivot to make. If it’s going to further people talking about it... The problem is that historically in medicine, we’ve named medications based on the mechanism of action. Not all of these medications are psychoplastogens or neuroplastogens.”
While a more direct semantic change might be ideal, Genovese emphasizes the urgency of exploring these alternatives sooner rather than later.