BMJ Open
May 11, 2026
Julia Colcott, Alexandre A. Guerin, Olivia Carter et al.
Despite growing interest in the therapeutic potential of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), no targeted measure to systematically assess side effects of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy (MDMA-AP) exists. Our aim was to develop an MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Side Effects Tool (M-SET) to capture side effects over the course of MDMA-AP. Informed by a systematic review and a review of other...
Journal of Affective Disorders
February 2, 2026
Alene Sze Jing Yong, Aimee Freeburn, Suzie Bratuskins et al.
Australia recently became the first country to reschedule methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) to permit authorized prescribing for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) outside of clinical trials. This study explored the direct experience of Australian clinicians, researchers, and patients regarding the use of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy (MDMA-AP) for PTSD to inform guideline development....
BJPsych Open
November 1, 2025
Jonathon Marinis, Sarah Clarke, Alexandre A. Guerin et al.
2 citations
Background Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) has gained attention as a promising intervention for conditions including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, but understanding of its side-effects is limited. This review evaluates the quality of side-effects reporting in PAP trials, to guide treatment, policy and research. Aims To assess side-effects reporting quality in...
Addiction
September 20, 2025
Elizabeth Knock, Krista J. Siefried, Gillinder Bedi et al.
4 citations
Abstract Background & Aims There are few effective treatments for methamphetamine use disorder, despite increasing global demand. Here, we assessed the safety and feasibility of outpatient psilocybin‐assisted psychotherapy for methamphetamine use disorder. Design Single arm, open label pilot study. Setting Outpatient public stimulant treatment program at St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney,...
Journal of Affective Disorders
July 17, 2025
Alene Sze Jing Yong, Sue E Brennan, Suzie Bratuskins et al.
3 citations
Despite recent clinical and research interest, medical use of psychedelics has not been legalised in most jurisdictions. The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration rescheduled methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in July 2023 to permit authorised prescribing of MDMA for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) outside of the clinical trial setting. This manuscript describes the development of...
BMJ Open
February 10, 2025
Kathryn Fletcher, Nadine Ezard, Krista J. Siefried et al.
1 citation
Methamphetamine use disorder is a significant public health concern. No pharmacological treatment options currently exist for methamphetamine use disorder, and psychotherapy is only moderately effective. Preliminary evidence suggests that ketamine-assisted psychotherapy produces sustained improvements in substance use and mental health symptomatology. In addition to direct antidepressant...
May 17, 2024
Jonathon Marinis, Sarah Clarke, Gillinder Bedi
preprint
Methodological issues undermine evidence about adverse effects of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy
Neuropsychopharmacology
April 23, 2024
Julia Colcott, Olivia Carter, Sally Meikle et al.
37 citations
Abstract Evidence suggests that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy (MDMA-AP) has therapeutic potential for treatment of psychiatric illness. We conducted the first comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of the side effects of MDMA-AP across indications. We also assessed the quality of side effects-reporting in published trials of MDMA-AP. PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, MEDLINE and Cochrane...
Psychological Medicine
July 19, 2023
Tehseen Noorani, Gillinder Bedi, Suresh Muthukumaraswamy
49 citations
Abstract What happens when an emerging programme of medical research overlaps with a surging social movement? In this article we draw on the anthropological term ‘chemosociality’ to describe forms of sociality born of shared chemical exposure. Psychedelic administration in the context of recent clinical trials appears to have been particularly chemosocial in nature. We argue that one...
The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry
April 1, 2023
Gillinder Bedi, Susan M Cotton, Alexandre A. Guerin et al.
17 citations
Recent years have seen escalating media, public and scientific interest in psychedelic medicine. Australia and New Zealand have been late to this research; however, in the past 2 years, rapid developments suggest that this is changing. Here, we argue for the need to critically review existing evidence in this field to guide future directions. We focus on...
March 15, 2023
Will Lawn, Xuejun Hao, Anna B. Konova et al.
preprint
Background: Despite the critical role of choice processes in substance use disorders, the neurobehavioral mechanisms guiding human decisions about drugs remain poorly understood. We adapted a neuroeconomic framework to characterize the neural encoding of subjective value (SV) for cannabis versus non-drug rewards (snacks) in near-daily cannabis users. We also assessed the impact of cannabis and...
Neuropsychopharmacology
January 24, 2020
Carla Agurto, Guillermo Cecchi, Raquel Norel et al.
33 citations
Abstract The detection of changes in mental states such as those caused by psychoactive drugs relies on clinical assessments that are inherently subjective. Automated speech analysis may represent a novel method to detect objective markers, which could help improve the characterization of these mental states. In this study, we employed computer-extracted speech features from multiple domains...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
April 29, 2015
Matthew J. Baggott, Matthew G. Kirkpatrick, Gillinder Bedi et al.
69 citations
Rationale: ±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is widely believed to increase sociability. The drug alters speech production and fluency, and may influence speech content. Here, we investigated the effect of MDMA on speech content, which may reveal how this drug affects social interactions. Method: Thirty-five healthy volunteers with prior MDMA experience completed this two-session,...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
May 13, 2012
Michael E. Ballard, Gillinder Bedi, Harriet de Wit
52 citations
There is growing evidence that drugs of abuse alter processing of emotional information in ways that could be attractive to users. Our recent report that Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) diminishes amygdalar activation in response to threat-related faces suggests that THC may modify evaluation of emotionally-salient, particularly negative or threatening, stimuli. In this study, we examined the...
The Open Addiction Journal
March 29, 2011
Gillinder Bedi
1 citation
Ecstasy users report that the drug produces feelings of increased empathy and sociability [1]. Such ‘empathogenic’ effects are thought to motivate recreational use of ecstasy [2]. In addition, the rationale for the proposed use of MDMA as an adjunct to psychotherapy centers on these effects [3]. Controlled studies confirm that MDMA administration produces prosocial feelings in humans [e.g. 4],...