Psilocybin-assisted therapy has emerged as a promising treatment for major depressive disorder, but little attention has been paid to the psychotherapy that adjoins psilocybin. Providing an adjunctive psychotherapy that is manualized and evidence-based may make psilocybin treatment more acceptable, effective, and disseminable. We examined the acceptability, feasibility, and clinical outcomes of...
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...
May 1, 2025Jessi Humphreys, Lou Lukas, Yvan Beaussant et al.
Abstract Psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychoactive compound found in more than 200 mushroom species, has an enduring history of use in sacred rituals of Indigenous healers worldwide. With selective serotonin receptor binding, activation of the serotonergic neurological system enables psilocybin to potentiate neuroplasticity, enabling individuals to engage in meaning-making from psychedelic...
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...
We are writing in response to 2 Letters to the Editor, both of which discussed our commentary, entitled "Clinical Research Trials of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in Adolescents Aged 16 to 17 Years: Rationale Balanced With Caution."1 We appreciate the thoughtful responses to our commentary, and we invite further dialogue about this important subject. Both letters emphasized the importance in...
Youth today are burdened by significant mental health challenges. In 2022, 25% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 years experienced a mental illness, with 20% experiencing a depressive episode, 12.5% reporting serious thoughts of suicide, and 17% meeting criteria for a substance use disorder.1 Close to 5% of adolescents experience posttraumatic stress disorder.2 Impairing psychiatric symptoms remain...
As government agencies around the globe contemplate approval of the first psychedelic medicines, many questions remain about their ethical integration into mainstream medical practice. To identify key ethics and policy issues related to the eventual integration of psychedelic therapies into clinical practice. From June 9 to 12, 2023, 27 individuals representing the perspectives of clinicians,...
The trial will provide preliminary data on the feasibility, safety, acceptability, and psychosocial effects of PA-CBT. Results will inform randomized clinical trials to test the effects of PA-CBT for patients with depression and other mental health conditions, as well as hypotheses concerning mediating mechanisms at the cognitive and affective levels. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05227612.
Psychedelics and related compounds have shown efficacy for the treatment of a variety of conditions that are prevalent among older adults, including mood disorders, the psychological distress associated with a serious medical illness, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and prolonged grief disorder. Psychedelics also have properties that could help provide therapeutic benefits for patients...
As individuals and communities around the world confront mounting physical, psychological, and social threats, three complimentary mind-body-spirit pathways toward health, wellbeing, and human flourishing remain underappreciated within conventional practice among the biomedical, public health, and policy communities. This paper reviews literature on psychedelic science, contemplative practices,...
Psychedelic substances have played important roles in diverse cultures, and ingesting various plant preparations to evoke altered states of consciousness has been described throughout recorded history. Accounts of the subjective effects of psychedelics typically focus on spiritual and mystical-type experiences, including feelings of unity, sacredness, and transcendence. Over the past 2 decades,...
There is mounting evidence suggesting psychedelic and entactogen medicines (namely psilocybin and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine [MDMA]), in conjunction with proper psychosocial support, hold the potential to provide safe, rapid acting, and robust clinical improvements with durable effects. In the US, both psilocybin and MDMA have been granted Breakthrough Therapy designations by the US Food...
Despite substantial progress in the use of mind-altering drugs to treat psychiatric disorders, the psychological processes through which these drugs change mood or behavior are poorly understood. Controlled laboratory studies with well-defined psychological constructs are valuable to understand how these drugs manifest their therapeutic benefit. However, there are substantial methodological...
Background: With support from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, we convened researchers representing palliative care, psychosocial oncology, spiritual care, oncology, and psychedelic-assisted therapies. We aimed to define priorities and envision an agenda for future research on psychedelic-assisted therapies in patients with serious illness. Over two days in...
After decades of quiescence, psychedelics are back and making quite a ruckus. In the 1950s and 1960s, a flurry of cutting-edge psychedelic research engendered real enthusiasm among clinicians, suggesting potential treatment efficacy for a range of serious refractory disorders. But a cultural and political backlash led to the imposition of draconian laws, effectively sidelining psychedelic...
Standard therapeutic approaches to reduce social anxiety in autistic adults have limited effectiveness. Since 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy shows promise as a treatment for other anxiety disorders, a blinded, placebo-controlled pilot study was conducted. To explore feasibility and safety of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for reduction of social fear and avoidance...
Abstract A fascinating class of psychoactive substances possessing a long and mysterious history of human use are the classic hallucinogens. Forming a vital component of prehistorical and aboriginal culture and belief systems, hallucinogens were ultimately condemned and repressed by evolving civilizations, only to the “rediscovered” in the 20th century. Of compelling interest to...
LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) was discovered almost 75 years ago, and has been the object of episodic controversy since then. While initially explored as an adjunctive psychiatric treatment, its recreational use by the general public has persisted and on occasion has been associated with adverse outcomes, particularly when the drug is taken under suboptimal conditions. LSD's potential to...
4-phosphorloxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (psilocybin) and methylenedioxymethamfetamine (MDMA), best known for their illegal use as psychedelic drugs, are showing promise as therapeutics in a resurgence of clinical research during the past 10 years. Psilocybin is being tested for alcoholism, smoking cessation, and in patients with advanced cancer with anxiety. MDMA is showing encouraging results as...
The first study of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted therapy for the treatment of social anxiety in autistic adults commenced in the spring of 2014. The search for psychotherapeutic options for autistic individuals is imperative considering the lack of effective conventional treatments for mental health diagnoses that are common in this population. Serious Adverse Events (SAEs)...
New Mexico was the first state to list post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a condition for the use of medical cannabis. There are no published studies, other than case reports, of the effects of cannabis on PTSD symptoms. The purpose of the study was to report and statistically analyze psychometric data on PTSD symptoms collected during 80 psychiatric evaluations of patients applying to...
CONTEXT: Researchers conducted extensive investigations of hallucinogens in the 1950s and 1960s. By the early 1970s, however, political and cultural pressures forced the cessation of all projects. This investigation reexamines a potentially promising clinical application of hallucinogens in the treatment of anxiety reactive to advanced-stage cancer. OBJECTIVE: To explore the safety and efficacy...
Introduction The use of psychoactive substances has been frequently associated with cognitive impairment. More and more people, including adolescents, use the plant hallucinogen beverage “ayahuasca” throughout the world. Long-term ayahuasca use by adolescents might eventually result in impaired cognitive performance. Objective The objective of this study is to assess neuropsychological...
In the brief period before it was legally terminated, considerable human subjects research was conducted on psychedelics. More than 1,000 clinical reports documented a wide array of psychological effects and therapeutic possibilities. The findings held major implications for disciplines as diverse as psychology, psychiatry, neuro-science, anthropology, sociology, and religious studies....
J.C. Callaway, Charles S. Grob, Dennis J. McKenna, David E. Nichols, Alexander Shulgins, Kenneth W. Tupper; A Demand for Clarity Regarding a Case Report on the