Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
September 30, 2019
Maha N. Mian, Brianna R. Altman, Mitch Earleywine
47 citations
Ayahuasca, a plant-based hallucinogen used as a spiritual medicine in South America, has shown antidepressant effects in at least one placebo-controlled trial, but the mechanisms remain unclear. A survey of 152 individuals examined changes in depressive symptoms, behavioral activation, and mindfulness after an Ayahuasca experience. Mindfulness was strongly linked to reduced depression severity, but behavioral activation—engaging in rewarding activities—was a stronger predictor of improvement. Changes in behavioral activation likely serve as a mechanism underlying Ayahuasca's antidepressant effects, suggesting future clinical trials could benefit from tracking behavioral activation.
Journal of Psychopharmacology
March 28, 2021
Mitch Earleywine, Luna F. Ueno, Maha N. Mian et al.
36 citations
High doses of cannabis can produce subjective effects similar to those of the psychedelic psilocybin, but at a lower rate. In a survey, 17–19% of cannabis users reported a “breakthrough” experience, compared to 59% in psilocybin clinical trials. Heavier cannabis users reported lower scores. These effects may parallel the therapeutic benefits seen with psilocybin, suggesting potential for cannabis-assisted psychotherapy.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
March 23, 2022
Mitch Earleywine, Fiona Low, Brianna R. Altman et al.
31 citations
People with depressive symptoms consider it somewhat important that guides in psilocybin-assisted therapy have personally used psilocybin. In a survey of over 800 MTurk respondents with depressive symptoms, ratings for the importance of a guide who had used psilocybin exceeded the "somewhat important" level (50 on a 0–100 scale) and were higher than ratings for other guide qualities and for a cognitive behavioral therapist who shared demographics, had depression experience, or received personal therapy. People of color and those with prior therapy gave even higher importance ratings. Participants listed similar desired qualities—proper training and empathy—for both psilocybin guides and CBT therapists. The findings suggest that guides who have used psilocybin and inform clients might enhance therapy's antidepressant effects for some clients.
Cannabis
July 11, 2022
Mitch Earleywine, Maha N. Mian, Brianna R. Altman et al.
11 citations
People who use cannabis expect that a cannabis-assisted psychotherapy session, modeled on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, would reduce depression. Over 500 participants in each of two studies imagined such a session and reported expected antidepressant effects. Expected reductions in depression were linked to anticipated psychedelic-like subjective experiences, such as mystical-type feelings, and also to expected changes in dysfunctional attitudes—a separate pathway that resembles how cognitive therapy works. These findings support calls for clinical trials of cannabis-assisted psychotherapy and indicate that users anticipate it would work through mechanisms similar to both psychedelics and cognitive therapy.
Journal of Psychopharmacology
December 4, 2023
Maha N. Mian, Brianna R. Altman, Fiona Low et al.
8 citations
A new 32-item scale, the Protective Strategies for Psychedelics Scale (PSPS), measures strategies people use to reduce harm when taking psychedelics. Two factors emerged: long-term preparation (mood, setting, scheduling) and short-term preparation (social context, health, other substances). The scale showed excellent reliability and was strongly correlated with existing protective behavior scales for cannabis and alcohol, and moderately with lifetime psychedelic use. The authors call for further validation in diverse samples.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
April 20, 2021
M. Earleywine, Brianna R. Altman, Joseph A. de Leo
8 citations
People with depressive symptoms find a combination of ketamine and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as credible as CBT alone, and both are seen as more credible than ketamine alone. Those who have had psychotherapy before tend to view ketamine as less credible. Depression severity does not relate to credibility ratings. The findings suggest that potential clients are cautious about ketamine despite media attention, and that providing balanced treatment descriptions may reveal important credibility information.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
January 3, 2022
Brianna R. Altman, Mitch Earleywine, Joseph A. de Leo
4 citations
People with depressive symptoms view cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) as more credible than psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT). In a study of 803 adults recruited from Amazon's MTurk, participants read descriptions of each therapy and rated their credibility. Those with prior therapy experience rated CBT higher than those without. Men and individuals who had used hallucinogens rated PAT more favorably than women and non-users. Other demographic and clinical factors explained little of the variation in credibility ratings. The findings suggest that potential clients are cautious about PAT, and researchers and clinicians should consider patients' treatment beliefs as possible predictors of outcomes.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
March 12, 2020
Brianna R. Altman, Maha N. Mian, Mitch Earleywine
4 citations
Ayahuasca users expect its effects to differ from those of other hallucinogens like LSD or psilocybin in several ways, including stronger positive connections to nature and other people, more dramatic or terrifying thoughts, greater variability of effects, and distinct physical reactions. Among 139 experienced users surveyed online, intentions to use ayahuasca again increased when they expected positive connections but decreased when they expected physical reactions. One version of a scale measuring the novelty of ayahuasca effects predicted a preference for ayahuasca over other hallucinogens, while another version did not, indicating a need for further research. Understanding these expectancies may help guide choices among hallucinogens for therapeutic use.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
April 19, 2021
Cody Gilbert, Mitch Earleywine, Maha N. Mian et al.
3 citations
Ayahuasca affects some depressive symptoms more than others. In a retrospective survey of over 120 participants who used ayahuasca, affective symptoms such as hope, depressed mood, and happiness improved more than cognitive, interpersonal, and somatic symptoms like restless sleep, loneliness, and difficulty focusing. This pattern of symptom specificity resembles that of serotonergic antidepressant medications. People seeking relief from affective symptoms may find ayahuasca more helpful, while those targeting sleep, loneliness, or concentration problems may benefit less. The rapid onset of relief could also be useful for jumpstarting psychotherapy.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
July 11, 2024
Alyssa B. Oliva, Mitch Earleywine, Fiona Low et al.
In a survey of 635 adults in the United States, the importance people place on having a therapist of the same gender or same race differs by the type of therapy and by the participant's own race and gender. For both cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT), racial and ethnic minority participants and female participants rated a same-gender practitioner as more important than did White or male participants. A same-gender CBT therapist was rated as more important than a same-gender PAT guide.
Cannabis
July 11, 2022
Brianna R. Altman, Mitch Earleywine, Maha N. Mian et al.
Cannabis users and non-users do not differ on a standard measure of schizotypal personality (the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief, SPQ-B) when potential measurement bias is accounted for. In a sample of 705 participants recruited via Amazon's MTurk, over 500 reported lifetime cannabis exposure, and 259 reported current use averaging 4.53 days per week. Users and non-users showed no significant differences on total SPQ-B scores or its three established subscales. A re-examination of the SPQ-B's factor structure identified a novel three-factor solution (difficulty opening up to others, hyperawareness, and odd or unusual behavior).
January 1, 2019
Brianna R. Altman
People who have used ayahuasca report that its effects differ from those of classic hallucinogens like LSD or psilocybin, particularly in fostering positive connections to nature and others, provoking dramatic or terrifying negative thoughts, and causing aversive physical reactions. In a survey of 139 experienced users, the likelihood of choosing ayahuasca again increased with stronger positive connections but decreased with more aversive physical reactions. A global score from the survey scale significantly predicted individuals' preference for ayahuasca over other hallucinogens. These findings point to unique qualities of ayahuasca that may influence future use, and similar approaches could identify distinctive attributes of other hallucinogens.