Biohacking peptides and methylene blue

Domain XII · Complementary, energy & biofield

What it is

"Biohacking" is a consumer self-optimisation movement in which people take substances, often bought online, to try to change body and brain function. Two strands are covered here:

Format

• For the psychotherapist the core idea is different: change comes from the client making an informed, values-based decision about these products with accurate safety information from their prescriber or pharmacist, while the therapist works with the needs the products are meant to meet (control over…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Promotion. Social media and influencers, wellness and longevity content, and websites that describe research findings in ways regulators read as therapeutic claims.
• Oral methylene blue sold online as a supplement, often not listed in the federal supplement-label registry.
• Australia. Peptides are therapeutic goods under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989; BPC-157, GHK-Cu, TB-500, retatrutide and CJC-1295 are unapproved; promoting unapproved peptides on social media or via influencers is likely to breach advertising law; a "research use only" label does not make supply lawful; practitioners who compound, prescribe or supply them must meet regulatory and AHPRA standards.

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• United States, peptides. FDA lists BPC-157, TB-500 and many other peptides among bulk substances whose nominations for compounding were withdrawn, citing immunogenicity, peptide-related impurities and limited or absent human safety data. In April 2026 FDA announced removal of 12 peptides from its…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Client fear of legal consequences for personal use; balance reporting against confidentiality.
• Personal interest in biohacking colouring the work; being asked for your own "stack". Working when the client is clear about your role.
• Escalating cost, secrecy from partner, loss of other supports, pressure to recruit others. Working when the client can discuss these openly and seek help.
• Substitution of one "protocol" with another; the therapist being drawn into debating mechanisms. Working when anxiety and checking reduce and the client's life widens.
• The therapist's own disapproval leaking in; the client deciding to please the therapist; pressure from a coach, partner or online group. Working when the client can state the choice and their…

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.