npj Mental Health Research
July 27, 2026
J. Swainson, P. Grewal, S. Polard et al.
This scoping review maps literature for use of ketamine or esketamine with psychotherapy for depression or depressive symptoms. Forty-seven studies were identified including 4/47 (9%) randomized controlled trials, 4/47 (9%) open label trials, 27/47 (57%) observational or retrospective studies, and 12/47 (26%) individual case reports. Studies were categorized as Ketamine/Esketamine Combined with...
Psychopharmacology
July 1, 2026
Sarah Ann Smith, Haseeb Mohammad, Lik Hang N Lee et al.
Interest in psychedelic drugs has increased rapidly because of their potential therapeutic role in psychiatric disorders. Impairments in the sociocognitive skills needed to build and maintain social relationships are prominent features of many psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. Emerging evidence suggests that compounds such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), lysergic acid...
European Psychiatry
2026
Shakila Meshkat, Qiaowei Lin, Rachel Sousa-Ho et al.
Abstract Background Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has shown potential for psychiatric disorders. However, the magnitude of symptom change in control groups remains poorly understood. We aim to evaluate within-group effects in control groups and compare them to treatment groups in psychedelic trials. Methods A systematic search was conducted up to 1 July 2025. The study protocol was...
Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology
August 11, 2025
Reinhard Janssen-Aguilar, Shakila Meshkat, Huda Al-Shamali et al.
4 citations
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe, often difficult-to-treat condition, highlighting the need for innovative therapies. Interventional treatments, including neuromodulation, rapid-acting pharmacotherapies such as intravenous ketamine (IV-KET) and esketamine (ESK), and emerging psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies, offer promising solutions. This systematic review evaluates the...
Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology
August 11, 2025
Lisa Burback, Olga Winkler, Rakesh Jetly et al.
Traditional trauma-focused psychotherapies (TFPs) were developed based on an anxiety disorder model of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, PTSD is a more complex disorder with heterogeneous onset, presentation, trajectory, and treatment responsivity. As half of treated patients do not respond to first-line treatments, innovative therapies are emerging to improve outcomes. This...
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
June 1, 2025
Shakila Meshkat, Gunjan Malik, Richard J. Zeifman et al.
11 citations
Psilocybin, a serotonergic psychedelic, may have therapeutic benefits for Substance Use Disorders (SUDs), but its overall efficacy and safety remain uncertain. This systematic review assessed the safety and efficacy of psilocybin for SUDs through a systematic database search conducted via OVID on May 22, 2024, and summarized 26 ongoing clinical trials registered on clinicaltrials.gov. Among 16...
Psychedelic Medicine
April 28, 2025
Shakila Meshkat, Howell Fang, Rachel Sousa-Ho et al.
Introduction: High-dose psilocybin has shown potential in treating various psychiatric disorders, but its perceptual and cognitive effects, along with the risk of adverse events, highlight the need for alternative treatment approaches. One such approach is the use of low-dose psilocybin, which does not significantly alter cognition or perception. While low-dose psilocybin has garnered growing...
Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry
April 2, 2025
Viktoriia Kurkova, Olga Winkler, Andrew J. Greenshaw et al.
This scoping review addresses the need to comprehensively explore the potential of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) to facilitate recovery from moral injury. Moral injury (MI), characterized by profound psychological distress arising from morally challenging experiences, has garnered increased attention as a complex mental health concern with significant functional sequelae, especially...
Pharmaceutics
March 25, 2025
Shakila Meshkat, Huda Al-Shamali, Argyrios Perivolaris et al.
22 citations
Background: Psilocybin has shown promise in therapeutic applications for mental disorders. Understanding the pharmacokinetics of psilocybin and its active metabolite psilocin is crucial for optimizing its clinical use and minimizing adverse effects. Methods: This systematic review involved a comprehensive search across MEDLINE, APA PsycINFO, and Embase databases, from inception to December...
Journal of Clinical Medicine
February 20, 2025
Shakila Meshkat, Taha Malik, Jennifer Swainson et al.
3 citations
Background/Objectives: Suicide accounts for 1.4% of global deaths, and the slow-acting nature of traditional treatments for suicide risk underscores the need for alternatives. Psychedelic therapies may rapidly reduce suicide risk. This systematic review evaluates impact of psychedelic therapies on suicide-related outcomes. Methods: A systematic search of MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and...
Psychiatr Res Clin Pract
February 11, 2025
Jules Evans, Marc Aixalà, Brian T Anderson et al.
18 citations
Objective: This article outlines recommendations from 30 psychedelic researchers on how to create a better psychedelic safety net. Methods: A survey of 30 psychedelic researchers asked them to identify key critical research gaps around psychedelic harm and safety. Results: The critical research gaps identified by the authors included defining the main types of psychedelic harm, the predictors...
Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences
October 1, 2024
Shakila Meshkat, Fatemeh Gholaminezhad, Eric Vermetten et al.
24 citations
Psilocybin is a classic psychedelic with demonstrated preliminary clinical efficacy in a range of psychiatric disorders. Evaluating the impact of psilocybin on cognitive function is essential to unravel its potential benefits and risks. In this systematic review, we assessed psilocybin's effect on cognitive function through a comprehensive search of electronic databases from inception to...
Psychology Research and Behavior Management
June 1, 2024
Lisa Burback, Christine Forner, Olga Winkler et al.
7 citations
Purpose: Dissociation is a necessary part of our threat response system, common to all animal species, normally temporarily activated under conditions of extreme or inescapable threat. Pathological dissociation, however, continues to occur after the initial threat has passed, in response to reminders or inaccessibility of safety and security. Present across the spectrum of psychiatric...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
May 14, 2024
Zijia Yu, Lisa Burback, Olga Winkler et al.
38 citations
Intense interest surrounds current research on psychedelics, particularly regarding their potential in treating mental health disorders. Various studies suggest a link between the subjective effects produced by psychedelics and their therapeutic efficacy. Neuroimaging evidence indicates an association of changes in brain functional connectivity with the subjective effects of psychedelics. We...
Current Neuropharmacology
2024
Lisa Burback, Suzette Brémault-phillips, Mirjam J Nijdam et al.
187 citations
This narrative state-of-the-art review paper describes the progress in the understanding and treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Over the last four decades, the scientific landscape has matured, with many interdisciplinary contributions to understanding its diagnosis, etiology, and epidemiology. Advances in genetics, neurobiology, stress pathophysiology, and brain imaging have...