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Joseph A. de Leo

12 papers in the library · 156 citations · publishing 2020-2025

Papers

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Intentional Choices of Metaphors for Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy

Cognitive and Behavioral Practice April 1, 2025 M. Earleywine, Henry A MacConnel, Joseph A. de Leo

Metaphors applied in psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) influence expectations and outcomes. They might help minimize therapist burnout as well. Nevertheless, relatively few publications address their conscious application, especially within a cognitive behavioral framework. Metaphors in PAT related to journeys, rewiring the brain, and medicines are prevalent, but these approaches may not...

Client treatment preferences in psychedelic-assisted therapy for depression in participants with depressive symptoms

Journal of Psychedelic Studies July 11, 2024 Alyssa B. Oliva, Mitch Earleywine, Fiona Low et al.

AbstractBackground and AimsResearch on psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT), a promising treatment option for major depression, has not revealed if potential clients show preferences about the demographic characteristics of providers comparable to those common in other forms of psychotherapy. Previous work suggests that honoring comparable client preferences can enhance therapeutic outcomes. This...

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Provides Lasting and Effective Results in the Treatment of Depression, Anxiety, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder at 3 and 6 Months: Findings from a Large Retrospective Effectiveness Study.

Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.) June 1, 2024 Ryan Yermus, John Bottos, Nathan Bryson et al. 13 citations

Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) is an emerging treatment option to alleviate treatment-resistant affective disorders, but its long-term effectiveness remains unclear. To examine the treatment effects of KAP on anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at 1, 3, and 6 months post-treatment. This retrospective effectiveness study included self-reported outcomes from...

An examination of internal family systems interventions for trauma with implications for ethical psychedelic-assisted treatment

Journal of Psychedelic Studies March 5, 2024 Mitch Earleywine, Alyssa B. Oliva, Joseph A. de Leo et al. 6 citations

Though several treatments effectively address the pervasive impact of trauma, they do not achieve complete symptom resolution for all clients, inspiring the search for alternatives. Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy has grown popular, especially in informal psychedelic-assisted treatments (PAT). Compared to stereotypes of empirically validated, exposure-based treatments, IFS has novel...

Expectancies for Subjective and Antidepressant Effects in Psilocybin Users

Journal of Humanistic Psychology September 22, 2023 Mitch Earleywine, Maha N. Mian, Joseph A. de Leo 5 citations

Expectancy effects for many psychoactive substances appear to play a role in consumption, problematic use, subjective responses to acute administration, and subsequent effects. Expectancies of psychedelics have received little attention in published research despite their reputation for creating dramatic changes in subjective state. Psilocybin-assisted treatment (PAT) improves depression, but...

Scoping Review of Experiential Measures from Psychedelic Research and Clinical Trials.

Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 2023 Zachary Herrmann, Mitch Earleywine, Joseph A. de Leo et al. 19 citations

Subjective responses to psychoactive drugs have served as intriguing windows into consciousness as well as useful predictors. Subjective reactions to psychedelic molecules are particularly interesting given how they covary with subsequent improvements associated with psychedelic-assisted treatments. Although links between subjective reactions and decreases in treatment-resistant clinical...

Expectancies for Cannabis-Induced Emotional Breakthrough, Mystical Experiences and Changes in Dysfunctional Attitudes: Perceptions of the Potential for Cannabis-Assisted Psychotherapy for Depression

Cannabis July 11, 2022 Mitch Earleywine, Maha N. Mian, Brianna R. Altman et al. 11 citations

Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has established antidepressant effects. Cannabis users appear to expect high doses administered in a session much like psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to create comparable subjective effects. The current studies explored expectations of antidepressant effects of such cannabis-assisted sessions to replicate and extend previous work. Users not only expected a...

Integration in Psychedelic-Assisted Treatments: Recurring Themes in Current Providers’ Definitions, Challenges, and Concerns

Journal of Humanistic Psychology April 2, 2022 Mitch Earleywine, Fiona Low, Carmen Lau et al. 47 citations

Integration therapy, an integral part of psychedelic-assisted treatment, usually includes sessions devoted to making meaning of relevant psychedelic experiences after subjective effects have subsided. As the psychedelic renaissance continues, offers for this integration therapy have proliferated. In the present project, semi-structured interviews with 30 integration therapists focused on...

How Important Is a Guide Who Has Taken Psilocybin in Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy for Depression?

Journal of Psychoactive Drugs March 23, 2022 Mitch Earleywine, Fiona Low, Brianna R. Altman et al. 31 citations

Promising outcomes of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy (PAT) for depression have generated concerted efforts to replicate, extend, and refine protocols to maximize efficacy. Psychotherapy research reveals that clients benefit most when important components of treatment align with their personal preferences. One open question related to PAT concerns the importance of the psilocybin experience of the...

Exploring the Credibility of Psilocybin-assisted Therapy and Cognitive-behavioral Therapy for Depression

Journal of Psychoactive Drugs January 3, 2022 Brianna R. Altman, Mitch Earleywine, Joseph A. de Leo 4 citations

Depression treatments succeed with many but leave others unimproved, and they can generate concerns about side effects, time, and cost. Psilocybin has generated media attention and empirical support for antidepressant effects, but lay impressions of its effectiveness are unclear. Although perceptions of treatment credibility contribute to outcome, beliefs about the credibility of...

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Ketamine, and Combination Treatment for Depression: Impressions of Credibility in Participants with Self-Reported Depressive Symptoms

Journal of Psychoactive Drugs April 20, 2021 M. Earleywine, Brianna R. Altman, Joseph A. de Leo 8 citations

ABSTRACT Ketamine, a novel treatment for depression, has generated considerable interest and research. Few experiments address lay impressions of the credibility of ketamine treatment relative to another popular intervention for depression, CBT. Over 500 participants with depressive symptoms read descriptions of CBT, ketamine, and a treatment that combined the two. Descriptions included pros...

Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for depression: How dire is the need? How could we do it?

Journal of Psychedelic Studies June 1, 2020 Mitch Earleywine, Joseph A. de Leo 12 citations

Abstract Despite the popular support for psychedelics as aids for depression, academics and the public frequently overestimate the efficacy of available medications and psychotherapies. Metaanalyses reveal that antidepressant medications alone help only one in four patients and rarely surpass credible placebos. Their effects, though statistically significant, might not impress depressed...