In group psychedelic sessions, the quality of intersubjective experience—the sense of shared connection and mutual understanding among participants—predicts lasting improvements in psychological wellbeing and social connectedness. The study followed participants over time and found that those who reported stronger communal feelings during sessions showed greater enduring benefits. This suggests that the social context and relational dynamics of psychedelic experiences may be as important as the drug effects themselves for producing positive outcomes.
Psychedelics can re-orient beliefs, but they may also produce false insights that lead to false beliefs. A model based on the active inference framework connects laboratory findings on false insights and false memories to psychedelic experiences. Subjective and brain-based changes from psychedelics increase the quantity and intensity of insights and beliefs, including false ones. The neurobiological action of psychedelics may heighten the experience of insight, enabling flexible belief updating but also the adoption of false beliefs. Future research should aim to minimize the risk of false and potentially harmful beliefs to safely leverage psychedelics' therapeutic potential.
Healthcare professionals who completed an eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course reported changes that included allowing pauses, focusing on one thing at a time, greater awareness of choice, increased self-compassion, and more presence and calmness with patients. They also became more aware of how stressful behavior affects themselves and others and valued practicing mindfulness with colleagues. The findings suggest that such training can shift tendencies from neglecting personal needs toward greater compassion for oneself and others, potentially preventing burnout and fostering a more compassionate workplace culture that may improve patient care. Sustaining these changes may require collective understanding and knowledge of mindfulness in the work setting.