Acute subjective effects of psychedelics, particularly mystical and insightful experiences, are linked to reductions in depression and anxiety. In a cross-sectional survey of 985 people who had used a psychedelic, increases in psychological flexibility fully mediated the relationship between these acute effects and decreases in depression and anxiety. This suggests that psychological flexibility may be a key mechanism through which psychedelics produce therapeutic benefits. Future prospective studies are needed to test this directly.
Psilocybin, a hallucinogen, significantly reduces anxiety in patients undergoing psychological therapy. In a sample of 60 individuals with anxiety disorders, 70% reported decreased symptoms after treatment combined with psilocybin and acceptance and commitment therapy. This approach enhances experiential learning, allowing patients to confront and manage their fears more effectively. The intervention showed an effect size of 0.8, indicating strong benefits. By influencing neurotransmitter receptors, psilocybin may promote greater psychological flexibility, a key factor in successful counseling outcomes in clinical psychology and psychiatry.
A group designing a psilocybin-assisted therapy protocol for major depressive disorder adopted Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as the psychotherapeutic framework, citing strong overlap between ACT's proposed mechanisms of change and those of psilocybin therapy. The psilocybin experience may provide direct experiential contact with ACT processes that increase psychological flexibility, which can then be reinforced during ACT-informed follow-up sessions. The paper describes the rationale for selecting ACT, areas of synergism between ACT and psilocybin therapy, the treatment model's structure, and its limitations.
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Among White college students, the relationship between meaning in life and racial prejudice depends on self-transcendence and psychological inflexibility. Self-transcendence and psychological inflexibility each mediated the link between meaning and prejudice; meaning also mediated the links from self-transcendence and psychological inflexibility to prejudice. Without self-transcendence and psychological flexibility, meaning in life could actually increase prejudice.