Psilocybin in Treatment-Resistant Depression

Abstract

Depression ranks first among psychiatric disorders that dominate the global burden of disease, posing a substantial personal strain and economic drain on nations.1 At least 30 drugs are Food and Drug Administration (FDA)–approved to treat depression,2 yet a systematic review and meta-analysis of 22 antidepressants concluded that although they were more effective than placebo in adults with major depressive disorder, effect sizes were mostly modest and tempered by an array of side effects.3 Because medicine abhors a therapeutic vacuum, the hallucinogens (psychedelic agents) psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) are being revisited as potential candidate medications decades after their demise in . . .

In the evidence

This study is part of the evidence base for a synthesis in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.

• State of the evidence: LSD for depression ↑Supports

  Because existing antidepressants are only modestly more effective than placebo, psilocybin and LSD are being revisited as potential treatments for depression.

  Synthesized October 22, 2026

Comparable studies

Other narrative reviews on LSD for depression, most cited first.