Dr. Caroline Hayes is a Senior Teaching Fellow in Psychiatry based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK. She was a sub-investigator on the Compass Pathways phase IIb trail looking into psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, however, has stepped away from psychedelic clinical trials due to ethical concerns. Her area of research interest is critical psychedelic studies, and Caroline is also a volunteer with PsyCare UK, providing welfare and harm reduction services at music festivals.

Cornutopia: A short story and what it can tell us about ethnic minority views on psychedelic research, and the potential impact on clinical outcomes.

The short story, Cornutopia, by Irenosen Okojie gives an important insight into how psychedelic research may be perceived by those from an ethnic minority background, and holds a number of important messages from which the sector can learn. The story follows a young Black woman through a psychedelic clinical trial – an experience that proves to be unhelpful. This is important as the arts provide an invaluable insight into human experiences, and the public can often form opinions of psychiatric treatments based on what they may see in the media. I hope to highlight Cornutopia as essential reading for the sector.