Skip to content

Frontiers in Psychiatry

ISSN 1664-0640

434 papers in the library · 7,744 citations · publishing 2011-2026

Papers

Sort Most recent Most cited

Systems-based psychiatry: insights from psychedelic research on mechanisms of healing

Frontiers in Psychiatry July 13, 2026 Scott Shannon, Andrew T. Weil

Current psychiatric models, while clinically valuable, remain limited in their ability to account for the complexity, variability, and context dependence of mental disorders. Converging evidence from neuroscience, complexity science, and psychedelic research suggests that psychiatric symptoms may be better understood as stable patterns of organization within dynamic, multilevel systems rather...

Treating addiction with an addictive drug: the ketamine paradox revisited

Frontiers in Psychiatry July 9, 2026 Alqassem Y. Hakami

Background Substance use disorders (SUDs) and treatment-resistant depression (TRD) remain a major global health challenge, marked by high relapse rates and limited long-term effectiveness of existing treatments. Ketamine, a glutamatergic modulator with rapid neuroplastic effects, has emerged as a novel intervention for TRD and is increasingly investigated as an adjunctive treatment for...

Real-world outcomes of intranasal esketamine and intravenous ketamine induction therapy for treatment-resistant depression in a community clinic: a retrospective cohort study

Frontiers in Psychiatry July 9, 2026 Patrice A. Bellanti, Jordan Lewis, Brian Seifferth et al.

Introduction Intravenous (IV) ketamine and intranasal esketamine are NMDA receptor antagonists used for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Both have demonstrated efficacy in controlled trials, but observational evidence from real-world community settings is limited. Methods We conducted a single-center retrospective cohort study of adults aged 18 to 65 receiving induction therapy for TRD...

Dissociation and PTSD in women with a history of childhood sexual abuse: a pilot examination of a specialized inpatient unit

Frontiers in Psychiatry July 8, 2026 Lotem Zvi, Jonathan E. Handelzalts, Danny Horesh et al.

Background Worldwide, there are relatively few specialized inpatient units dedicated to women with histories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and comorbid psychiatric disorders. This pilot study examined dissociation and PTSD among women admitted to such a specialized integrative inpatient unit in Israel. We conduct an in-depth analysis of the role of dissociation in these women’s clinical...

Disrupted self-referential processing and empathy-based interventions in mental disorders: neural mechanisms, cognitive biases, and therapeutic integration

Frontiers in Psychiatry July 6, 2026 Qinglin Bao, Dezhi Yang, Zhiheng Dong et al.

Self-referential processing (SRP), the mental activity of linking experiences and stimuli to the self, is fundamental to shaping identity, regulating affect, and navigating complex social environments. Disruptions in SRP are increasingly recognized as a transdiagnostic hallmark across psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia spectrum disorders, major depressive disorder, and anxiety...

Intranasal esketamine plus oral antidepressant for treatment-resistant depression: acute induction and maintenance relapse-prevention outcomes in a systematic review and meta-analysis

Frontiers in Psychiatry July 3, 2026 Jingqiang Xie, Chunying Pu, Mingyue Sun

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) remains a major clinical challenge. Intranasal esketamine, used adjunctively with an oral antidepressant, has been evaluated in randomized trials, but uncertainty persists regarding the magnitude and consistency of benefit, durability, and key harms. This systematic review and meta-analysis included randomized controlled trials comparing intranasal...

Effects of Balint group combined with mindfulness-based stress reduction on humanistic care ability and psychological resilience among obstetric nurses

Frontiers in Psychiatry July 2, 2026 Ranran Zhao, Yuan-Yuan Li, Feifei Meng et al.

Background Humanistic care competence and psychological resilience are essential for improving nursing quality, particularly in high-stress specialties such as obstetrics. However, effective interventions that simultaneously enhance both interpersonal and intrapersonal capacities among nurses remain limited. Methods A total of 87 obstetric nurses from a tertiary hospital in Hebei Province,...

Case Report: Intranasal esketamine and accelerated intermittent theta-burst stimulation for severe treatment-resistant depression with suicidal ideation

Frontiers in Psychiatry July 1, 2026 Chun-Hung Chang, Yu-Der Hsia, W Liu et al.

Introduction Treatment-resistant major depressive disorder with high-risk suicidal ideation is a psychiatric emergency that requires rapid and effective intervention. Although intranasal esketamine and intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) are time-efficient therapeutic options, clinical reports describing their combined use in an accelerated inpatient schedule are limited, particularly...

A mechanism-driven real-time respiratory modulation framework for rapid affective regulation via prefrontal EEG computational phenotyping

Frontiers in Psychiatry June 29, 2026 Minglei Sun, H. Wu, Ming Deng et al.

Respiratory modulation has emerged as a measurable psychomotor phenotype and a promising non-invasive approach for the regulation of affective disturbances. In this study, a mechanismdriven real-time respiratory modulation framework is proposed to investigate its rapid effects on affective states and underlying neurophysiological dynamics in the context of computational psychiatry. A total of...

Navigating ‘k-land’: a qualitative exploration of participants’ experiences of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy for methamphetamine use disorder

Frontiers in Psychiatry June 24, 2026 Kathryn Fletcher, Nadine Ezard, Krista J. Siefried et al.

Background Methamphetamine use disorder (MAUD) is associated with substantial psychiatric and physical morbidity, and current treatment options remain limited. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) has shown promise in substance use disorders, but little is known about how individuals experience and interpret this intervention, particularly in MAUD. Qualitative investigation may provide insight...

Dissociative amnesia with fugue following a suicide attempt: a rare clinical intersection of identity loss and suicidal ambivalence: a case report

Frontiers in Psychiatry June 11, 2026 Mohammed Salah Alfahal, Mohamed Hassan, Maryam Alowais

Background Dissociative amnesia with dissociative fugue is a rare dissociative disorder characterized by abrupt loss of autobiographical memory and disruption of personal identity, most often emerging in the context of severe psychological stress. Although dissociative phenomena are increasingly recognized in individuals with suicidal behavior, the development of fugue states in the immediate...

The therapeutic role of self-transcendence in moral injury recovery: theory, mechanisms, and clinical implications

Frontiers in Psychiatry June 10, 2026 Wesley H. Fleming

A growing body of psychological and neuroscientific research suggests that moral injury (MI) involves maladaptive self-referential processing, including disruptions in moral identity, rigid negative self-appraisals, and impaired meaning-making following exposure to potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs). Building on Mindfulness-to-Meaning Theory (MMT), this paper proposes...

Mental health consequences of contemporary cannabis use in Europe: potency, patterns of use, and health system context

Frontiers in Psychiatry June 10, 2026 Justyna Śniadach, Sylwia Szymkowiak, Przemysław Osip et al.

Background: Cannabis use has increased across Europe over the last decade, accompanied by growing availability of high-potency THC products and rising psychiatric presentations. Despite these trends, European countries differ substantially in monitoring systems, clinical preparedness and public health responses. These disparities are especially visible between Western Europe, which has more...

Protracted encephalopathy and subacute combined degeneration associated with chronic nitrous oxide use: a case report

Frontiers in Psychiatry May 15, 2026 Kaevon Brasfield, Eugene Pahk, Conrado Sevilla

Nitrous oxide is a dissociative hallucinogen that is increasingly used recreationally, in part due to its widespread availability. Its use is known to cause subacute combined degeneration via inactivation of vitamin B12; it may also result in acute delirium and chronic progressive encephalopathy. Though current practice guidelines call for treatment of neurological sequelae of nitrous oxide use...

Inaugural year of regulated psilocybin services in Oregon: safety, motivations, and utilization

Frontiers in Psychiatry May 13, 2026 Feliciano Yu, Joe Tafur, Francisco Moreno et al. 2 citations

Importance: The Oregon Psilocybin Services (OPS) program is the first statewide, regulated framework for legal psilocybin in the U.S. Analyzing inaugural-year utilization and safety is essential for informing policy and equity monitoring. Methods: We conducted a descriptive analysis of statewide aggregate data from the OPS Public Dashboard (January 1-December 31, 2025). Outcomes included...

Detached mindfulness as a stand-alone intervention: a Systematic Review and meta-analysis

Frontiers in Psychiatry April 15, 2026 Samuel G. Myers, Stian Solem

Background Detached Mindfulness (DM) is a central, transdiagnostic technique within Metacognitive Therapy (MCT). It involves increasing meta-awareness of intrusions while decentring from and disengaging with them, and is used to reduce the Cognitive Attentional Syndrome and dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs—key components of the metacognitive model of psychological disorders. Although DM is...

Filtering the noise: a cerebellar-centered framework for understanding and treating mental illness -a paradigm shift in psychiatry

Frontiers in Psychiatry April 13, 2026 Craig F. Ferris

For the past half-century, psychiatric drug development has largely focused on tweaking neurotransmitter receptors and chemical pathways. Yet despite billions of dollars invested and major advances in neuroscience, truly innovative treatments for mental illness remain scarce. Disorders like depression, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) continue to be managed with drugs...

Biomarkers for complex post-traumatic stress disorder: translational and evolutionary perspectives

Frontiers in Psychiatry April 7, 2026 Ravi Philip Rajkumar

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic mental illness that occurs following exposure to traumatic stressors such as combat, disasters, or assault. It is characterized by a triad of reexperiencing of the trauma, avoidance of triggers for such recollections, and increased vigilance towards threats (1). In 1992, Judith Herman described a variant of PTSD that occurred in persons who had...

Synergies in psychedelic-assisted therapy: a qualitative interview study of psychotherapeutic processes

Frontiers in Psychiatry April 1, 2026 Jonathan Stellmacher, Christopher Schmidt, Helena Aicher et al.

Research on the therapeutic effects of psychedelics in psychiatry, commonly referred to as Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (PAT), has expanded substantially in recent years. The context-dependent nature of psychedelics has sparked discussion about the importance of the psychotherapeutic environment in achieving beneficial outcomes. This study explores the contribution of psychotherapeutic factors...

Beyond standard therapy: clinical transdiagnostic study evaluating mindfulness-based training as an adjunct to CBT for dissociation

Frontiers in Psychiatry March 31, 2026 O. Fedyk, B. Croissant, C. Schulz et al.

Background Mindfulness-based interventions show promise for trauma-related conditions, yet controlled trials examining their efficacy for dissociative symptoms remain scarce. This feasibility study evaluated whether Mindfulness-Based Training (MBT), when added to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), reduces dissociative symptoms more effectively than CBT combined with guided physical exercise....

From mechanisms to meanings: toward a content-sensitive psychiatry

Frontiers in Psychiatry March 6, 2026 Lucas Ferrer Nappe

Neurobiological advances-from Global Neuronal Workspace (GNW) and Integrated Information Theory (IIT) to predictive processing-have transformed how we model conscious access, integration, and inference. These frameworks primarily explain capacities and mechanisms (how information becomes globally available, is integrated, or is prediction-driven), not what is experienced in a situation nor what...

Ketamine as an NMDA-modulating therapy in bipolar disorder: rationale and evidence

Frontiers in Psychiatry March 4, 2026 Robert Queissner, F. Fellendorf, E. Z. Reininghaus

Background Bipolar depression remains a leading cause of morbidity, functional impairment, and suicide risk in bipolar disorder. Conventional pharmacotherapies often provide delayed or incomplete relief and may increase the risk of treatment-emergent affective switching. Recent evidence highlights the therapeutic potential of NMDA receptor antagonists, particularly ketamine and its S-enantiomer...

Sexual hallucinations and delusions in borderline personality disorder

Frontiers in Psychiatry February 25, 2026 Rosemarij J. B. van Veen, Jan Dirk Blom, Emma H. C. van Rooijen et al. 1 citation

Introduction: Sexual hallucinations have lifetime prevalence rates of 0.4% in the general population and up to 44% in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. For borderline personality disorder (BPD) these rates are unknown. We therefore studied prevalence rates of sexual hallucinations and delusions in this group, as well as their phenomenological characteristics and their connection with childhood...

The existential fracture model: reconceptualizing narcissistic personality disorder through a phenomenological-existential lens

Frontiers in Psychiatry February 16, 2026 Jian Sun

Current paradigms for understanding Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)-including psychoanalytic, cognitive-behavioral, and neuroscientific approaches-offer valuable insights but remain fragmented. They largely fail to explain the deep motivational structure of narcissism, particularly the co-existence of grandiose and vulnerable subtypes and the disorder's profound resistance to treatment....

Ketamine-assisted group psychotherapy integrating cognitive processing therapy to address identity-based trauma: a pilot study

Frontiers in Psychiatry January 22, 2026 Jae Sevelius, Rachel Lynn Golden, B. Stott et al. 1 citation

Introduction Transgender and gender-expansive people experience high rates of depression, anxiety, and trauma-related distress, yet few evidence-based interventions are tailored to their needs. Kindred is a novel, group-based ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) program that integrates cognitive processing therapy (CPT) to address identity-based trauma. Methods This mixed-methods pilot study...