Abstract Background Anxiety disorders are a major health burden and current treatment options yield unsatisfactory results. Psychedelics, such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) that act via agonism on serotonin 2A receptors, have recently been shown to be effective in the treatment of anxiety symptoms. Aims & Objectives Here, we determine the relationship between the acute experience and...
Psychedelic substances have gained recognition for their therapeutic potential, but they also present challenges, with individuals occasionally experiencing distressing episodes referred to as challenging experiences or, in the recreational setting, “bad trips”. Trial therapists and physicians, but also healthcare professionals in emergency rooms, need a comprehensive strategy to effectively...
The authors offer a model for curriculum for education and training in substance-assisted psychotherapy (SAP), that is, psychedelic, psycholytic, and entactogen/MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine)-assisted psychotherapy, addressing both the detailed contents of training and the question of experiential training. All authors of this model have an abiding interest and extensive experience in...
Background: Classic psychedelics such as psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide are anecdotally associated with the phenomenon of “psychedelic afterglow,” a set of predominantly pleasant, temporary psychological effects reported after the acute effects have subsided. Since post-acute effects are crucial for the therapeutic use of psychedelics, an instrument to systematically assess subacute...
The growing interest in psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) for treating psychiatric disorders such as treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, and anxiety has led to an increasing demand for specialized training. In Switzerland, MDMA, psilocybin, and LSD are applied in the framework of limited medical use as exceptional treatment options since 2014. The Swiss Medical Association for Psychedelic...
This article describes the Swiss limited access program for psychedelic/3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted therapy. The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health can issue authorizations for the limited medical use of otherwise prohibited substances. To be eligible, patients suffer from a mostly incurable disease, the prohibited substance can alleviate the suffering, and there are no...
A 64-year-old male patient who suffered from traumatic life experiences and neuropathic pain after oncological chemotherapy was treated with medium to high doses of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and high doses and microdoses of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). At the beginning of treatment, the patient did not experience any acute subjective effects of LSD at a dose of 200 µg. After...
Anxiety disorders are a major public health burden with limited treatment options. We investigated the long-term safety and efficacy of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)-assisted therapy in patients with anxiety with or without life-threatening illness. This study was an a priori-planned long-term follow-up of an investigator-initiated, two-centre trial that used a double-blind,...
Switzerland's early contributions to the 'psychedelic renaissance', the revival of psychedelic science starting in the early 21st century, might be particularly noteworthy given the growing global interest in using psychedelics for research and therapy.In 2023, the Swiss Interest Group for Psychedelic-assisted Therapy was established to provide a clear and widely accepted framework for work...
Zusammenfassung Seit den späten 1990er-Jahren erfahren Psychedelika eine Renaissance und ziehen international vermehrt die Aufmerksamkeit auf sich. Es gibt zunehmend wissenschaftliche Studien, die sich mit den Möglichkeiten und Risiken der Psychedelika-assistierten Therapie (PAT) befassen. Seit 2014 werden auf der Grundlage von Ausnahmebewilligungen der Schweizer Gesundheitsbehörde (Bundesamt...
Zusammenfassung Erste Studienergebnisse zeigen ein Potenzial von Psychedelika und 3,4-Methylendioxy-N-methylamphetamin (MDMA) für die Behandlung von affektiven Störungen. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird argumentiert, dass die Ausbildung von Therapeut*innen von entscheidender Bedeutung ist, um diese Substanzen in der Psychedelika-assistierten Therapie (PAT) sicher und wirksam einzusetzen....
This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)-assisted therapy in patients who experienced anxiety with or without association with a life-threatening illness. The study is an investigator-initiated 2-center trial that used a double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2-period, random-order, crossover design with 2 sessions with either oral LSD (200 μg) or...
The Swiss Federal Act on Narcotics allows for the restricted medical use of scheduled psychotropic drugs in cases of resistance to standard treatment, and preliminary evidence of efficacy of the scheduled drug for the particular condition. Since 2014, the authors have obtained 50 licenses on a case-by-case basis and developed a psychedelic-assisted group therapy model utilizing MDMA and LSD....
Gatherings in groups are a ubiquitous phenomenon throughout human history. This is true for everyday social tasks as well as for healing and spiritual purposes. In psychotherapy, group treatment started soon after developing psychoanalytic treatment procedures. For psychedelic therapy however, individual treatment guided by one or sometimes even two therapists is the most common and widespread...
Introduction: Psychological support throughout psilocybin therapy is mandated by regulators as an essential part of ensuring participants' physical and psychological safety. There is an increased need for specially trained therapists who can provide high-quality care to participants in clinical studies. This paper describes the development and practical implementation of a therapist training...
Background: Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) were used in psychotherapy in the 1960s–1980s, and are currently being re-investigated as treatments for several psychiatric disorders. In Switzerland, limited medical use of these substances is possible in patients not responding to other treatments (compassionate use). Methods: This study aimed to...
Anxiety and depression are some of the most common psychiatric symptoms of patients suffering with life-threatening diseases, often associated with a low quality of life and a poor overall prognosis. 5-HT2A-receptor agonists (serotonergic hallucinogens, 'psychedelics') like lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin were first investigated as therapeutic agents in the 1960s. Recently,...
BackgroundAfter no research in humans for >40 years, there is renewed interest in using lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in clinical psychiatric research and practice. There are no modern studies on the subjective and autonomic effects of LSD, and its endocrine effects are unknown. In animals, LSD disrupts prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle response, and patients with...
Objective: A recently published study showed the safety and efficacy of LSD-assisted psychotherapy in patients with anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases. Participants of this study were included in a prospective follow-up. Method: 12 months after finishing LSD psychotherapy, 10 participants were tested for anxiety (STAI) and participated in a semi-structured interview. A...
A double-blind, randomized, active placebo-controlled pilot study was conducted to examine safety and efficacy of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)-assisted psychotherapy in 12 patients with anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases. Treatment included drug-free psychotherapy sessions supplemented by two LSD-assisted psychotherapy sessions 2 to 3 weeks apart. The participants received...