Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
May 26, 2026
Yash Giri, Paul Furst, Colleen Loo et al.
1 citation
Treatment-resistant depression is a condition with significant morbidity, despite the current standard of treatment, including traditional pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, augmentation strategies and electroconvulsive therapy. While novel therapies have emerged, such as ketamine/esketamine, transcranial magnetic stimulation and psilocybin-assisted therapy, the uptake of these treatments is...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
December 17, 2025
Megan Dutton, Paul Schwenn, Jules S Mitchell et al.
1 citation
Australia’s reclassification of psilocybin as a Schedule 8 substance for treatment-resistant depression represents a significant shift in psychiatric policy. While this regulatory change positions Australia as a global leader in psychedelic medicine, its implementation has revealed substantial challenges. This article critically examines the regulatory, ethical and operational complexities...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
December 11, 2025
Adem T. Can, Jim Lagopoulos, Paul B Fitzgerald et al.
2 citations
Ketamine has emerged as a rapid-acting intervention for treatment-resistant psychiatric disorders, generating both enthusiasm and unease. While evidence demonstrates robust antidepressant, anxiolytic and anti-suicidal effects, ketamine also carries risks, including dissociation, dependence and uncertain long-term safety. Its reputation as a recreational drug further complicates clinical...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
September 20, 2025
Emma Scott, Don Thomas Thekkuden, Katelyn Kerr et al.
2 citations
This is the first systematic review to assess the effectiveness of ketamine/esketamine in this cohort. Our findings suggest that ketamine/esketamine may be useful in improving symptoms of depression, in those with comorbid borderline personality disorder. Limited study data are available; however, given case reports of suicidal ideation and self-harm following treatment cessation, as well as...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
July 15, 2025
Zohaib Nadeem, Stephen Parker, Hugh McGovern et al.
7 citations
Background: Recent regulatory changes in Australia have approved 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine for treating post-traumatic stress disorder and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. However, limited data exists on Australian mental healthcare providers’ attitudes, knowledge and readiness to implement with psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
December 13, 2024
Rosana Freitas, Efstathia Stephanie Gotsis, Alexander T. Gallo et al.
14 citations
Introduction: Psilocybin, a classical psychedelic, has been rescheduled for use in psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for treatment-resistant depression in Australia. While evidence for its use is promising, understanding the associated risks is crucial. Accordingly, this review aims to collate adverse event data from psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy clinical trials and evaluate its definition,...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
April 16, 2024
Samuel P Hatfield, Nicollette Lr Thornton, Kayla Greenstien et al.
9 citations
Objectives: The Australian government recently rescheduled psilocybin and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine for limited clinical uses. This change has raised various regulatory concerns and challenges for the field of psychedelic-assisted therapy. To provide clarity, we aimed to comprehensively catalogue the matters relating to psychedelic-assisted therapy that are or could be regulated....
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
May 3, 2023
Susan L. Rossell, Sally Meikle, M.l. Williams et al.
14 citations
No description available
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
November 17, 2022
Riccardo Miceli Mcmillan, Anthony Vincent Fernandez
30 citations
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is being investigated as a treatment for a range of psychiatric illnesses. Current research suggests that the kinds of subjective experiences induced by psychedelic compounds play key roles in producing therapeutic outcomes. To date, most knowledge of therapeutic psychedelic experiences are derived from psychometric assessments with scales such as the Mystical...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
March 12, 2022
Steve Kisely, Mark Connor, Andrew A Somogyi et al.
36 citations
Objectives: There is an increasing interest in combining psilocybin or methylenedioxymethamphetamine with psychological support in treating psychiatric disorders. Although there have been several recent systematic reviews, study and participant numbers have been limited, and the field is rapidly evolving with the publication of more studies. We therefore conducted a systematic review of PubMed,...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
March 4, 2022
Suresh Muthukumaraswamy, Anna Forsyth, Rachael Sumner
59 citations
With the extensive public, commercial and scientific interest from what has been widely termed the psychedelic renaissance, it is important that the scientific practices and results obtained from its implementation into medicine are put under a critical microscope. While there are numerous works on the potential benefits and applications of psychedelics as medicines, relatively little has been...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
March 21, 2021
Daniel Perkins, Jerome Sarris, Susan L. Rossell et al.
53 citations
The medical use of psychedelic substances (e.g. psilocybin, ayahuasca, lysergic acid diethylamide and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is attracting renewed interest, driven by a pressing need for research and development of novel therapies for psychiatric disorders, as well as promising results of contemporary studies. In this Viewpoint, we reflect upon the ‘Clinical Memorandum on...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
November 22, 2019
Sally Meikle, Paul Liknaitzky, Susan L. Rossell et al.
19 citations
In the quest for new treatment options for depression, attention is being paid to the potential role of psychedelic drugs. Psilocybin is of particular interest given its mechanism of action, its benefits in early trials and its relatively low side effects burden. This viewpoint outlines a number of key issues that remain to be elucidated about its potential use in the clinical environment,...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
November 15, 2019
Katrina Witt, Jennifer Potts, Anna A.m. Hubers et al.
203 citations
OBJECTIVE: Ketamine may reduce suicidal ideation in treatment-resistant depression. But it is not known how quickly this occurs and how long it persists. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the short- and long-term effectiveness of ketamine for suicidality. METHOD: CENTRAL, EMBASE, Medline, and PsycINFO were searched until 12 December 2018. Randomised controlled...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
March 4, 2014
Graham Meadows, Frances Shawyer, Joanne Enticott et al.
66 citations
OBJECTIVE: While mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) has demonstrated efficacy in reducing depressive relapse/recurrence over 12-18 months, questions remain around effectiveness, longer-term outcomes, and suitability in combination with medication. The aim of this study was to investigate within a pragmatic study design the effectiveness of MBCT on depressive relapse/recurrence over 2...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
November 15, 2010
Jerome Sarris, E. LaPorte, Isaac Schweitzer
157 citations
OVERVIEW: Kava (Piper methysticum) is a South Pacific psychotropic plant medicine that has anxiolytic activity. This effect is achieved from modulation of GABA activity via alteration of lipid membrane structure and sodium channel function, monoamine oxidase B inhibition, and noradrenaline and dopamine re-uptake inhibition. Kava is available over the counter in jurisdictions such as the USA,...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
May 20, 2010
Greg Been, Vikas Garg
11 citations
A 39-year-old male presented on 14 December to the emergency department with a history of five suicide attempts in the previous week. He had three previous admissions to psychiatric wards with vary...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
July 25, 2007
Edmund Silins, Jan Copeland, Paul Dillon
76 citations
Growth of the antidepressant market and widespread use of the illicit drug ecstasy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine; MDMA) creates a need to delineate the potential harms associated with the concomitant use of ecstasy and serotonergic pharmaceutical drugs. One such harm is serotonin syndrome. The study aimed to synthesize the risk of serotonin syndrome associated with the concomitant use of...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
December 1, 1995
Russell Meares, Dunphy Blomfield
1 citation
(1995). Varieties of Religious Experience by William James. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry: Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 713-721.
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
June 1, 1995
K. M. H. Perera, A. Ferraro, M. R. M. Pinto
11 citations
The case of a patient who developed catatonia one week following Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) ingestion is presented. The psychosis developed two days after the intake. The catatonic syndrome resolved dramatically following one treatment of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). This is perhaps the first case report of catatonia following the use of LSD. The need for a diagnostic category of...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
March 1, 1994
George Halasz
8 citations
The theme of the RANZCP 28th Conference questioned the science of clinical practice. This question is explored in the light of prevailing paradigms of 20th century psychiatry and recent claims by scientism, especially biologism, that assumes an organic causation for all abnormal behaviour. It is argued that a paradigm of objective science is necessary to understanding many aspects of mental...