Molecular Psychiatry
May 29, 2026
Mickael Eskinazi, Rayan Nasserdine, Romane M Cusin et al.
Serotonergic psychedelics are increasingly investigated as treatments for affective disorders. Concerns persist regarding their potential to induce hypomania or mania, particularly in individuals with bipolar spectrum vulnerability. Whether these substances precipitate transient mood switches or contribute to persistent bipolar illness or diagnostic transition remains unclear. We conducted a...
Schizophrenia Research
March 13, 2026
Michel Sabé, Paul Grof, Nathan Sackett et al.
1 citation
Serotonergic psychedelics are re-emerging as therapeutic candidates across psychiatry, particularly for treatment-resistant depression. Their rapid and sustained antidepressant effects, alongside evidence for neuroplastic, dopaminergic, and glutamatergic modulation, have prompted interest in whether they could address depressive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs)....
Psychiatry Research
February 2, 2026
Tatiana Aboulafia Brakha, Albert Buchard, Cédric Mabilais et al.
1 citation
Classic serotonergic psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin show promising antidepressant effects in controlled trials, but real-world data from routine clinical care remain limited. This study retrospectively analysed routine data from adults with treatment-resistant depressive and/or anxiety disorders who received a first standardized Psychedelic-assisted Psychotherapy (PAP) cycle with 100...
Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology
2026
Kristian Beichmann, Polina Catzeflis, Helena Aicher et al.
The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health provides case-by-case exemptions allowing physicians to provide psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) using psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), or 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methamphetamine (MDMA). The study provided an overview of PAT as currently provided in Switzerland under the regulatory framework of the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH)....
Psychology International
December 19, 2025
Morgan C H Cheng, Tatiana Aboulafia Brakha, Albert Buchard et al.
Classic psychedelics such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin induce mild cardiovascular activation in addition to their psychological effects. While these effects are well described in healthy adults, little is known about their dynamics in clinical populations undergoing psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. This retrospective, observational, single-center study analyzed...
Research Square
December 1, 2025
Albert Buchard, Federico Seragnoli, Michel Sabé et al.
Abstract Early maladaptive schemas (EMS) are highly prevalent in patients seeking psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and correlate strongly with baseline depression and anxiety. This study characterized EMS in 192 adults and longitudinally followed 74 patients receiving psilocybin- or LSD-assisted therapy. We found that baseline schema burden, particularly related to failure and defectiveness,...
Emerging Trends in Drugs, Addictions, and Health
December 1, 2025
Federico Seragnoli
Introduction Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy (PAP) has been legal in Switzerland since 2014 under supervised exceptional medical use with MDMA, LSD and Psilocybin with case by case authorisations delivered from the Federal Office of Public Health. In particular, since 2021, we have implemented a clinical activity at Geneva University Hospital (HUG) for treatment resistant patients using LSD...
Psychoactives
September 1, 2025
M Mercier, Cédric Mabilais, Vasileios Chytas et al.
Psychedelic substances have experienced a resurgence of clinical interest in recent years, particularly for their promising effects in the treatment of psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. While evidence regarding their role in chronic pain management remains limited, emerging studies suggest potential therapeutic benefits. This case report describes a patient with persistent...
J Psychiatry Neurosci
July 25, 2025
Michel Sabé, Federico Seragnoli, Gabriel Thorens et al.
2 citations
Treatment of depressive and negative symptoms in individuals with schizoaffective disorders using serotoninergic psychedelics: a case report.
Philosophical Psychology
July 7, 2025
Florián Cova, Federico Seragnoli
2 citations
Psychedelics are known to elicit intense and meaningful subjective experiences. These subjective experiences are supposed to play a major role in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. However, not much attention has been paid to the role played by emotions in these experiences. In this paper, we argue that typical psychedelic-induced experiences share many phenomenological features with two...
Asian Journal of Psychiatry
June 26, 2025
Adi Sulstarova, Luise Scheuerlein, Silvia Monari et al.
4 citations
Psychedelics are increasingly used in the general population, yet they are associated with increased risk of psychosis in a minority of users that can experience psychedelic-induced psychosis (<1 % in controlled trial settings). In contrast, the evidence regarding the treatment of psychedelics-induced psychosis remains to date scarce. We conducted a PRISMA 2020-compliant systematic review...
Cognitive Therapy and Research
March 29, 2025
Federico Seragnoli, Fabienne Picard, Gabriel Thorens et al.
4 citations
Abstract Purpose Despite the presence of mystical-type experiences in psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT), an understanding of the cognitive processes involved is still lacking. Guided by theory and empirical research, we hypothesized a cognitive-grounded perspective based on current metacognition models to promote the understanding of the psychological processes involved in mystical-type...
Molecular Psychiatry
March 1, 2025
Michel Sabé, Adi Sulstarova, Alban Glangetas et al.
39 citations
Persons with schizophrenia are excluded from psychedelic-assisted therapy due to concerns about the risk of triggering or worsening psychosis. However, there is limited meta-analytic data on the risk of psychedelic-induced psychosis in individuals with pre-existing psychotic disorders. We conducted a systematic review, meta-analysis, and overview of reviews to assess the incidence of...
Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences
2025
Nina M Sooter, Federico Seragnoli, Fabienne Picard
Ecstatic epilepsy is a rare form of focal epilepsy linked to the anterior insula in which patients experience a blissful state with a unique set of symptoms, including a feeling of physical well-being, mental clarity, a sense of oneness with the universe, and time dilation. In this chapter, we reflect on how these symptoms coincide with our current knowledge of the insula's functions and...
Annales Médico-psychologiques revue psychiatrique
July 10, 2024
Federico Seragnoli, Gabriel Thorens, Louise Penzenstadler et al.
8 citations
Dans cet article, nous avons pour objectif de décrire un modèle interdisciplinaire de psychothérapie assistée par psychédéliques (PAP) que nous avons développé dans un cadre institutionnel aux hôpitaux universitaires de Genève. La psychothérapie assistée par psychédéliques (PAP) est une approche psychothérapeutique exploitant l’altération de l’état de conscience induite par une substance...
Revue medicale suisse
August 23, 2023
Gabriel Thorens, Louise Penzenstadler, Federico Seragnoli et al.
2 citations
This article proposes 10 points considered essential on the ethics associated with the practice of psychotherapy assisted by psychedelics (PAP) : 1) respect of the legal framework (LStup) of the use of psychotropic drugs ; 2) adequately manage psychedelics (storage, production and safety) ; 3) announce adverse effects to the competent authority ; 4) guarantee a psychotherapeutic follow-up ; 5)...
European Neuropsychopharmacology
August 7, 2023
Natacha Perez, Florent Langlest, Luc Mallet et al.
85 citations
Psilocybin is increasingly studied for its antidepressant effect, but its optimal dosage for depression remains unclear. We conducted a systematic review and a dose-response meta-analysis to find the optimal dosage of psilocybin to reduce depression scores. Following our protocol (CRD 42022220190) multiple electronic databases were searched from their inception until February 2023, to identify...
Research Square (Research Square)
May 12, 2023
Gabriel Thorens, Louise Penzenstadler, Leonice Furtado et al.
Abstract Case report of a patient with GAD and claustrophobia who underwent exposure therapy using psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy. The patient had failed to respond to conventional psychotherapeutic treatment. After three sessions of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy, the patient experienced a reduction in anxiety and fear associated with closed spaces, elevators, and planes. The protocol...
J Psychopharmacol
February 28, 2023
Polina Ponomarenko, Federico Seragnoli, Abigail E. Calder et al.
22 citations
BACKGROUND: Despite the growth of psychedelic research, psychedelic-assisted group psychotherapy (PAGP) has received little attention in comparison to individual psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy models. METHODS: In this article, we aim to discuss the therapeutic potential of PAGP, as well as outline existing models and the challenges of this approach. Using Irvin Yalom's 11 therapeutic...