Psychodynamic psychiatry
June 1, 2026
Nadav Liam Modlin, Zsofia Elek, Carolina Maggio et al.
Recent clinical trials have suggested the safety and efficacy of psychedelic therapy for treatment-resistant depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, addiction, and end-of-life distress. While neurobiological mechanisms such as 5-HT2A receptor activation, increased neural entropy, and default mode network modulation have been well-characterized, significantly less attention has been given to...
Psychedelic Medicine
March 10, 2026
Amy Lehrner, Miryam Sperka, Lauren Lepow et al.
1 citation
There is growing interest in incorporating MDMA (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine) into structured, evidence-based cognitive-behavioral treatment protocols for post-traumatic stress disorder. Yet this risks overlooking the distinctive qualities of MDMA-assisted therapy, which has already demonstrated strong clinical effects, high response rates, and low dropout using a principle-guided,...
Psychedelics
January 8, 2026
Rachel Yehuda, Amy Lehrner, Miryam Sperka et al.
2 citations
The original MAPS manual for MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) opened a therapeutic frontier for PTSD. However, it drew critique for concepts—such as “inner healing intelligence” – that originated in transpersonal traditions rather than academic or empirically grounded clinical models. While many patients found the therapies helpful, these constructs were difficult to interpret and standardize....
Current Neuropharmacology
January 5, 2024
Tamar Glatman Zaretsky, Kathleen M. Jagodnik, Robert Barsic et al.
73 citations
Abstract: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can occur following exposure to a traumatic experience. An estimated 12 million U.S. adults are presently affected by this disorder. Current treatments include psychological therapies (e.g., exposure-based interventions) and pharmacological treatments (e.g., selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs))....
Psychedelic Med (New Rochelle)
December 13, 2023
Lauren Lepow, Hope Kronman, Rachel Yehuda
2 citations
Introduction: The field of psychedelic research and therapy is growing at an unprecedented rate, as is the need for shared terminology to allow for coherent conversations about these medicines. However, proclaiming consensus definitions at the present time may be a premature closure, limiting the possibility of what psychedelics can teach about the mind and brain. Objective: Our goal in this...
Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing)
July 1, 2023
Lauren Lepow, Hirofumi Morishita, Rachel Yehuda
9 citations
As psychedelic compounds gain traction in psychiatry, there is a need to consider the active mechanism to explain the effect observed in randomized clinical trials. Traditionally, biological psychiatry has asked how compounds affect the causal pathways of illness to reduce symptoms and therefore focus on analysis of the pharmacologic properties. In psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP),...
Frontiers in Neuroscience
September 20, 2021
Lauren Lepow, Hirofumi Morishita, Rachel Yehuda
70 citations
As psychedelic compounds gain traction in psychiatry, there is a need to consider the active mechanism to explain the effect observed in randomized clinical trials. Traditionally, biological psychiatry has asked how compounds affect the causal pathways of illness to reduce symptoms and therefore focus on analysis of the pharmacologic properties. In psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP),...