Patients’ Accounts of Increased “Connectedness” and “Acceptance” After Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression
Rosalind Watts, Camilla Day, Jacob Krzanowski, David Nutt, Robin Carhart-Harris
Journal of Humanistic Psychology June 19, 2017 DOI: 10.1177/0022167817709585 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Open-label Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 20 |
| Population | Patients with treatment-resistant depression enrolled in an open-label trial of psilocybin |
| Intervention | psilocybin |
| Duration | 6-month follow-up |
| Topics | Depression Psychedelic-assisted therapy Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Psilocybin therapy Psychedelic treatment Mushroom therapy Entheogenic medicine Trd Severe depression Chronic depression Mental well-being Mental health Psychological health Emotional health Interconnectedness Relatedness Belonging Social connection Self-connection Emotional acceptance Emotional processing Emotional regulation Affective acceptance |
| Citations | 582 |
| Key findings | Patients reported psilocybin treatment fostered connection and emotional acceptance, unlike conventional treatments which they felt reinforced disconnection and avoidance. |
Abstract
Objective: To identify patients’ perceptions of the value of psilocybin as a treatment for depression.
Method: Twenty patients enrolled in an open-label trial of psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression participated in a semistructured interview at 6-month follow-up. Thematic analysis was used to identify patients’ experiences of the treatment and how it compared with previous treatments.
Results: Two main change processes were identified in relation to the treatment. The first concerned change from disconnection (from self, others, and world) to connection, and the second concerned change from avoidance (of emotion) to acceptance. A third theme concerned comparison between psilocybin and conventional treatments. Patients reported that medications and some short-term talking therapies tended to reinforce their sense of disconnection and avoidance, whereas treatment with psilocybin encouraged connection and acceptance.
Conclusions: These results suggest that psilocybin treatment for depression may work via paradigmatically novel means, antithetical to antidepressant medications, and some short-term talking therapies.
In the evidence
This study is part of the evidence base for 3 syntheses in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.
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Patients described psilocybin treatment as fostering connection and emotional acceptance, in contrast to conventional treatments they felt reinforced disconnection and avoidance.
Synthesized
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Patients reported that psilocybin treatment fostered connection and emotional acceptance, unlike conventional treatments which they felt reinforced disconnection and avoidance.
Synthesized
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Patients reported psilocybin treatment fostered connection and emotional acceptance, unlike conventional treatments which they felt reinforced disconnection and avoidance.
Synthesized
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on psilocybin and psychedelic-assisted therapy, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient Experiences of Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Adults aged 22 to 69 with clinically elevated anxiety associated with a cancer diagnosis | 2017 | Qualitative study | n = 13 |
| Psychedelic therapy for smoking cessation: Qualitative analysis of participant accounts Participants who completed a psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation pilot study | 2018 | Qualitative follow-up study using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis | n = 12 |
| Cancer at the Dinner Table: Experiences of Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy for the Treatment of Cancer-Related Distress Adult participants with clinically elevated anxiety associated with a cancer diagnosis | 2017 | Qualitative study using interpretative phenomenological analysis | n = 13 |
| Reports of self-compassion and affect regulation in psilocybin-assisted therapy for alcohol use disorder: An interpretive phenomenological analysis. non-Hispanic White cisgender men and women with alcohol use disorder | 2023 | Qualitative study | n = 13 |
| Expert Opinion on Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy for People with Psychotic Symptoms Experts in psychiatry, clinical psychology, medicine, and psychedelics | 2022 | Qualitative study | n = 12 |