Project summary
- Program
- PhD
- Location
- St Lucia
- Research area
- Health sciences, Human society, Psychology
Project description
Alcohol and other drug addiction costs Australian society $80 billion and UK society £15.4 billion per year. How to address addiction remains contentious. Longstanding psychological and biomedical addiction treatments have often failed to address what are viewed as public health and/or social problems within society. Promising to overcome the limitations of current approaches, there has been a recent, rapid revitalised interest in psychedelics by consumer groups and scientific experts who claim psychedelics will potentially revolutionise addiction treatment. For example, psilocybin is being trialled to treat alcohol addiction and ibogaine for opioid addiction. However, beyond contemporary narratives framing psychedelics as a 'biomedical panacea’, the policy and social impact of translating psychedelics to practice remains unexplored, along with a risk of unintended societal harms associated with their implementation.
This proposed program of research aims to:
- Examine how psychedelics are currently enacted within Australian and UK drug policy (including how they are understood and framed as tools, risks, and/or opportunities within policy instruments);
- Explore how psychedelics are being engaged with, translated, and implemented by different stakeholder groups (e.g., consumers; researchers, clinicians, and policymakers) with varying social impact in Australia and the UK;
- Explore how different knowledges (e.g., ‘consumer’ versus ‘expert’), and notions of evidence, emerge, and are negotiated, in the translation of psychedelics to practice.
- Investigate how key stakeholders imagine the future of psychedelics within addiction research and practice.
In addressing these aims, the project will produce three key outcomes:
- New knowledge on the mechanisms that underlie the translation of psychedelics to research and practice;
- Critical scholarship on how ‘evidence-based practice’ is enacted within addiction research and practice;
- A set of proposals to inform the translation of psychedelics consistent with a responsible innovation agenda.
Research environment
This interdisciplinary qualitative project will draw on critical social science studies (e.g., critical drug studies; science and technology studies; psychology; sociology). The project will be based in the School of Psychology; however, subject to the interests of the student and design of the project, a PhD supervisory team led by Dr Tony Barnett will be brought together from different disciplines and (potentially) different research environments.
Scholarship
This is an Fellowship support scheme scholarship project that aligns with a recently awarded Australian Government grant.
The scholarship includes:
- living stipend of $36,400 per annum tax free (2025 rate), indexed annually
- your tuition fees covered
- single overseas student health cover (OSHC).
Learn more about the Fellowship support scheme scholarship.
Supervisor
Principal supervisor
Preferred educational background
Your application will be assessed on a competitive basis.
We take into account your:
- previous academic record
- publication record
- honours and awards
- employment history
A working knowledge of critical social sciences theory (broadly conceived, e.g., critical drug studies; psychology; sociology), and qualitative and/or mixed methods (e.g., interviews; focus groups; creative methods) would be of benefit to someone working on this project.
You will demonstrate academic achievement in the field/s of social sciences (e.g., psychology, sociology, policy work) and the potential for scholastic success.
A background or knowledge of alcohol and other drug concepts and/or critical work on health and disease is highly desirable.
How to apply
This project requires candidates to commence no later than Research Quarter 3, 2026. You can start in an earlier research quarter.
You must submit an expression of interest (EOI) by the closing date for the research quarter (RQ) you want to start in:
Before you apply
- Check your eligibility for the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
- Prepare your documentation.
- If you have any questions about whether the project is suitable for your research interests, contact Dr Tony Barnett (tony.barnett@uq.edu.au).
When you apply
To apply, submit an expression of interest (EOI) for the program. You don't need to apply separately for the project or scholarship. How to submit an EOI
In your EOI, complete the 'Scholarship/Sponsorship' section with the following details:
- Are you applying for an advertised project: 'Yes'
- Project: 'Fellowship project scholarship'
- Scholarship Code Listed in the Advertisement: BARNETT-311025
- Link to Scholarship Advertisement: https://study.uq.edu.au/study-options/phd-mphil-professional-doctorate/projects/psychedelic-renaissance-addiction-sciences-critical-social-science-project-exploring-policy-and-stakeholder-eg-consumer-clinician-engagements