Collaborative for the Economics of Psychedelics (CEP)

Collaborative for the Economics of Psychedelics (CEP)

Topics
Cost Effectiveness/Efficiency
Methods/Approaches
Cost Effectiveness Analysis
Epidemic Modeling

Overview

CEP is a network of health economists dedicated to achieving the potential of psychedelic therapies for high-priority mental health conditions. Through the application of policy-relevant economic analyses, CEP seeks to enhance clinical outcomes, increase efficiency of service delivery, and increase access to these promising therapies for everyone who can benefit. Here is a partial list of current projects:

  • In collaboration with the Psychedelic Health Equity Initiative (PHEI), evaluating the economics of  care delivery models for marginalized individuals, including Medicaid-fundable models; and developing a uniform set of service delivery variables for psychedelic services providers.

  • In collaboration with the Usona Institute, modeling the cost-effectiveness of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to treat major depressive disorders.

  • In collaboration with Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, evaluating the cost-effectiveness of psilocybin-assisted therapy for smoking cessation.

  • Modeling the short and long-term epidemiological, economic, and budgetary impacts of scaled-up access to psychedelic therapies at the state and national level.

 

This two-page summary provides additional information on CEP's mission and activities. 

 

Publications

Below are links to publications from the CEP team on the economics of psychedelic therapies:

  • Truax, B., Marseille, E., Muir, O., & Glastra, J. (2025, March.). Scaling Psychedelic Therapies in the Health System. Norman, S., McQuillan, B., & Horner, S. (Eds). BrainFutures; UC Berkeley Collaborative for the Economics of Psychedelics. https://www.brainfutures.org/ scaling-psychedelic-therapies-in-the-health-system/
  • Abramsky-Sze, S., Marseille, E., Matzopoulos, R., Morlock, R., & Lerer, L. (2025). Characteristics and mental health of psychedelic mushroom and multi-psychedelic users relative to non-psychedelic users in American adults, 2020-2021. Frontiers in psychiatry, 16, 1508811. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1508811
  • Rab, S. F., et al. (2024) An estimate of the number of people with clinical depression eligible for psilocybin-assisted therapy in the United States. Psychedelics. https://doi.org/10.61373/pp024r.0025
  • Marseille E, Stauffer CS, Agrawal M, et al. Group psychedelic therapy: empirical estimates of cost-savings and improved access. Front Psychiatry. 2023;14:1293243. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1293243
  • Marseille E, Bertozzi S, Kahn JG. The economics of psychedelic-assisted therapies: A research agenda. Front Psychiatry. 2022;13:1025726. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1025726
  •  Avancena ALV, Kahn JG, Marseille E. The Costs and Health Benefits of Expanded Access to MDMA-assisted Therapy for Chronic and Severe PTSD in the USA: A Modeling Study. Clinical Drug Investigation. Mar 1 2022;doi:10.1007/s40261-022-01122-0
  • Marseille E, Kahn JG, Yazar-Klosinski B, Doblin R. The cost-effectiveness of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD. PLoS One. 2020;15(10):e0239997. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0239997
  • Marseille E, Mitchell JM, Kahn JG. Updated cost-effectiveness of MDMA-assisted therapy for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in the United States: Findings from a phase 3 trial. PLoS One. 2022;17(2):e0263252. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0263252
  • The cost-effectiveness of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD (plos.org)
  • The economics of psychedelic-assisted therapies: A research agenda (Frontiersin.org)

 

CEP Conferences and Press

Here is a link to CEP's latest news, including upcoming/past conferences, presentations, interviews, and print.

 

CEP in the News

 

Advisory Council

Pizza Night 3
Pizza night #4! April 16, 2024. The most recent semesterly gathering of resuming and new UC Berkeley interns (and E. Marseille) working on CEP's systematic review of the health effects of psychedelic use in non-clinical settings.
UC collaborators
EM

Elliot Marseille

CGHDDE Title
Director of CEP
Primary Affiliation
Principal of Health Strategies International
Stefano Bertozzi

Stefano Bertozzi

CGHDDE Title
Professor of Health Policy and Management
Primary Affiliation
UC Berkeley School of Public Health
Jim Kahn

Jim Kahn

CGHDDE Title
Emeritus Professor of Health Policy, Epidemiology, and Global Health
Primary Affiliation
UCSF School of Medicine
CEP logo
Funder
Key Partners