Frontiers in Psychiatry
September 1, 2026
Gabrielle Agin-Liebes, Sarah Shnayder, Geena Fram et al.
Introduction Psilocybin treatment has shown promise for treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), yet clinical response is variable. Little is known about the subjective experiences associated with divergent outcomes or the psychological processes differentiating responders from non-responders. Materials and methods A qualitative case comparison was conducted using...
February 11, 2026
Sarah Shnayder, Gabrielle Agin-Liebes, Troy Hubert et al.
preprint
Background: Psilocybin treatment has shown promise across a range of psychiatric conditions. Mystical-type experiences during dosing sessions have been shown to predict the clinical effects of psilocybin treatment in depression, anxiety, and addiction. However, no studies have examined whether acute subjective experiences predict treatment response in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)....
January 15, 2026
Benjamin Kelmendi, Thomas G. Adams, Terence H. W. Ching et al.
preprint
Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affects 2-3% of the population worldwide. 40-60% of patients do not respond to first-line interventions. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of a single dose of psilocybin in patients with treatment-resistant OCD.Methods: In this phase 2, randomized, double-blind trial, we randomly assigned 28 adults with treatment-resistant OCD to receive a...
European Journal of Psychotraumatology
December 1, 2025
Gabrielle Agin-Liebes, Richard J. Zeifman, Jennifer Mitchell
11 citations
Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe condition often complicated by co-occurring disorders, such as major depression, alcohol use disorder, and substance use disorders. A well-powered phase 3 randomized, placebo-controlled trial has shown that MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) may be an effective treatment for severe PTSD. However, the psychological mechanisms driving the...
J Psychoactive Drugs
November 10, 2025
Nicky J. Mehtani, Maha N. Mian, Gabrielle Agin-Liebes et al.
1 citation
Psychedelic Augmentation of 12-Step Engagement: A Novel, Accessible Approach to Enhance Community-Based Recovery from Substance Use Disorders.
Research Square
August 22, 2025
Richard J. Zeifman, George Danias, Gabrielle Agin-Liebes et al.
2 citations
Abstract Background: Psychedelics can acutely induce mystical experiences and elevated positive mood, which may contribute to the potential benefits of psychedelic therapy. However, there remains limited understanding of the occurrence and importance of specific positive emotional experiences within psychedelic therapy. Therefore, we examined the effects of psychedelics on positive emotional...
June 10, 2025
Gabrielle Agin-Liebes, Petros Petridis, Richard J. Zeifman et al.
1 citation
preprint
A recent randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial (NCT02061293) found that psilocybin-assisted therapy significantly improved drinking outcomes compared to an active placebo in adults with alcohol use disorder (AUD). In this secondary analysis, we assessed whether psilocybin-assisted therapy improved self-compassion and whether these changes predicted drinking...
Nature Medicine
June 3, 2025
Chloé Pronovost-Morgan, Kyle T. Greenway, Leor Roseman et al.
26 citations
Psychedelic substances exhibit complex interactions with the 'set and setting' of use, that is, the mental state of the user and the environment in which a psychedelic experience takes place. Despite these contextual variables' known importance, psychedelic research has lacked methodological rigor in reporting extra-pharmacological factors. This study aimed to generate consensus-based...
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
January 24, 2025
Cecile Giovannetti, Anja Loizaga-Velder, Ricardo Campoy Gomez et al.
5 citations
Abstract Background The Yaqui Intercultural Medicine Clinic was established in 2020 to provide accessible, culturally-attuned treatment for substance use and mental health disorders among an Indigenous Yaqui community in Mexico. The treatment program integrates ayahuasca ceremonies and psychotherapeutic support within a community-based outpatient treatment service. This observational pilot...
Psychedelic Medicine
January 20, 2025
Marianna Graziosi, Gabrielle Agin-Liebes, Mary P Cosimano et al.
9 citations
Introduction: Serotonergic psychedelics, serotonin 2A receptor agonists such as psilocybin that can result in substantially altered states of consciousness, are used in recreational and research settings. The safety of psychedelic experiences in research settings is supported by controlled physical environments, presence of clinical and medical staff to address emergent issues, screening for...
Nature Mental Health
October 7, 2024
Petros Petridis, Jack Grinband, Gabrielle Agin-Liebes et al.
10 citations
Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) has shown promise in treating mood and anxiety disorders in patients with cancer. However, patients with cancer often suffer from more than just depression and anxiety, and so far, PAP's effect on other psychiatric symptoms remains largely unknown. To address this gap, we pooled previously unpublished data from two phase II, randomized, placebo-controlled...
Psychopharmacology
August 1, 2024
Kimberly Sakai, Ellen Bradley, Joseph A. Zamaria et al.
10 citations
Treatments with the serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin are being investigated for multiple neuropsychiatric disorders. Because many patients with these disorders use selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), understanding interactions between psilocybin and SSRIs is critical for evaluating the safety, efficacy, and scalability of psilocybin-based treatments. Current knowledge about...
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors
June 5, 2023
Gabrielle Agin-Liebes, Elizabeth M. Nielson, Michael Zingman et al.
42 citations
OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this qualitative study was to delineate psychological mechanisms of change in the first randomized controlled trial of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to treat alcohol use disorder (AUD). Theories regarding psychological processes involved in psychedelic therapy remain underdeveloped. METHOD: Participants (N = 13) mostly identified as non-Hispanic and White, with...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
2023
Anja Loizaga-Velder, Cecile Giovannetti, Ricardo Campoy Gomez et al.
9 citations
This paper describes three case studies from an outpatient intercultural therapeutic program founded and run by Yaqui health professionals and traditional healers to serve members of the Yaqui tribe residing in Sonora, Mexico. This pilot therapeutic program has been designed specifically for Indigenous individuals, incorporating the ceremonial use of naturally derived psychedelics in addressing...
Frontiers in Epidemiology
March 23, 2022
Alan K. Davis, Brooke J. Arterberry, Yitong Xin et al.
20 citations
Background The current study is one of the first to examine race, ethnic, and sex differences in the prevalence of and trends in hallucinogen use among lifetime users in the United States. Methods Data came from the 2015–2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health and included respondent's reporting ever-using hallucinogens ( n = 41,060; female = 40.4%). Descriptive and multinomial logistic...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
March 1, 2022
Gabrielle Agin-Liebes, Richard J. Zeifman, Jason B. Luoma et al.
51 citations
Background: Evidence suggests that psychedelic-assisted therapy carries transdiagnostic efficacy in the treatment of mental health conditions characterized by low mood and the use of avoidance coping strategies. Aims: While preliminary evidence suggests that psychological flexibility and emotion regulation processes play an important role within psychedelic therapy, this prospective study...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
January 27, 2022
Ciarán Martin Fitzpatrick, B. Anderson, Gabrielle Agin-Liebes et al.
1 citation
The Journal of Psychoactive Drugs published a case study reporting reduction of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms after consumption of psilocybincontaining mushrooms (Lugo-Radillo & Cortes-Lopez, 2021).We subsequently received a letter suggesting that psychedelic research has progressed beyond case studies, and recommending that journals focus on publication of clinical trials rather...
Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences
2022
Gabrielle Agin-Liebes, Alan K. Davis
16 citations
Depression is highly prevalent and represents the leading cause of global disability and primary contributor to overall global burden of disease. Several lines of evidence from early-phase experimental trials suggest that serotonergic psychedelics, particularly psilocybin, with therapeutic support show great promise in the treatment of depression with large effect sizes. Neuroimaging data have...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
September 1, 2021
Alan K. Davis, Gabrielle Agin-Liebes, Megan España et al.
103 citations
Psychologists are a vital component of mental health treatment and their perceptions of psychedelic-assisted therapy are critical for future implementation. This cross-sectional quasi-experimental electronic survey study explored the attitudes about psychedelics used in treatment among 366 clinical psychologists in the United States. Participants expressed cautiously favorable attitudes toward...
Journal of Humanistic Psychology
June 12, 2021
Gabrielle Agin-Liebes, Eve Ekman, B. Anderson et al.
47 citations
The primary objective of this qualitative study was to explore the therapeutic trajectories of individuals undergoing psilocybin-assisted group therapy. This interpretive phenomenological analysis focused on an enriched study sample of gay-identified cisgender men ( n = 9) with human immunodeficiency virus diagnosed before 1996 and clinically significant trauma symptoms. Microphenomenological...
ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science
April 9, 2021
Gabrielle Agin-Liebes, Trevor F Haas, Rafael Lancelotta et al.
121 citations
Mescaline is a naturally occurring psychoactive alkaloid that has been used as a sacrament by Indigenous populations in spiritual ritual and healing ceremonies for millennia. Despite promising early preliminary research and favorable anecdotal reports, there is limited research investigating mescaline's psychotherapeutic potential. We administered an anonymous online questionnaire to adults (N...
ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science
March 18, 2021
Stephen Ross, Gabrielle Agin-Liebes, Sharon L. Lo et al.
133 citations
People with advanced cancer are at heightened risk of desire for hastened death (DHD), suicidal ideation (SI), and completed suicide. Loss of Meaning (LoM), a component of demoralization, can be elevated by a cancer diagnosis and predicts DHD and SI in this population. We completed a randomized controlled trial in which psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) produced rapid and sustained...
EClinicalMedicine
September 24, 2020
B. Anderson, Alicia Danforth, Prof Robert Daroff et al.
271 citations
BACKGROUND: Psilocybin therapy has shown promise as a rapid-acting treatment for depression, anxiety, and demoralization in patients with serious medical illness (e.g., cancer) when paired with individual psychotherapy. This study assessed the safety and feasibility of psilocybin-assisted group therapy for demoralization in older long-term AIDS survivor (OLTAS) men, a population with a high...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
January 9, 2020
Gabrielle Agin-Liebes, Tara C. Malone, Matthew M. Yalch et al.
353 citations
Background: A recently published randomized controlled trial compared single-dose psilocybin with single-dose niacin in conjunction with psychotherapy in participants with cancer-related psychiatric distress. Results suggested that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy facilitated improvements in psychiatric and existential distress, quality of life, and spiritual well-being up to seven weeks prior...
Frontiers in Pharmacology
April 3, 2018
Tara C. Malone, Sarah E. Mennenga, Jeffrey Guss et al.
128 citations
A growing body of evidence shows that existential and spiritual well-being in cancer patients is associated with better medical outcomes, improved quality of life, and serves as a buffer against depression, hopelessness, and desire for hastened death. Historical and recent research suggests a role for psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy in treating cancer-related anxiety and depression. A...