The Heffter Research Institute: Past and Hopeful Future
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 2014 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2014.873688 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Psilocybin |
| Topics | Anxiety Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Distress Depression economics Psychotherapist Hallucinogen |
| Citations | 24 |
| Key points | Describes the Heffter Research Institute's founding and its series of clinical studies on psilocybin for conditions including obsessive-compulsive disorder, end-of-life distress, anxiety and depression from cancer, alcoholism, smoking cessation, and effects in long-term meditators. |
Abstract
This essay describes the founding of the Heffter Research Institute in 1993 and its development up to the present. The Institute is the only scientific research organization dedicated to scientific research into the medical value of psychedelics, and it has particularly focused on the use of psilocybin. The first clinical treatment study was of the value of psilocybin in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Next was a UCLA study of psilocybin to treat end-of-life distress in end-stage cancer patients. While that study was ongoing, a trial was started at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) to study the efficacy of psilocybin in treating anxiety and depression resulting from a cancer diagnosis. Following the successful completion of the UCLA project, a larger study was started at New York University, which is near completion. A pilot study of the value of psilocybin in treating alcoholism at the University of New Mexico also is nearing completion, with a larger two-site study being planned. Other studies underway involve the use of psilocybin in a smoking cessation program and a study of the effects of psilocybin in long-term meditators, both at JHU. The institute is now planning for a Phase 3 clinical trial of psilocybin to treat distress in end-stage cancer patients.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on psilocybin for anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychedelics as Medicines: An Emerging New Paradigm General population | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Taking Psychedelics Seriously | 2018 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Virtual Reality as a Moderator of Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Out of the box: A psychedelic model to study the creative mind | 2018 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Psilocybin as a Novel Pharmacotherapy for Treatment-Refractory Anorexia Nervosa | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 21
- Psilocybin-assisted treatment for alcohol dependence: A proof-of-concept study Journal of Psychopharmacology January 13, 2015
- Psychiatry & the psychedelic drugs. Past, present & future. Neuropharmacology December 25, 2017
- Developing Guidelines and Competencies for the Training of Psychedelic Therapists Journal of Humanistic Psychology June 29, 2017
- Psychedelics and health behaviour change Journal of Psychopharmacology May 29, 2021
- Psilocybin and MDMA for the treatment of trauma-related psychopathology International Review of Psychiatry April 3, 2021
and 16 more in the library
Cites 11
- Pilot Study of Psilocybin Treatment for Anxiety in Patients With Advanced-Stage Cancer Archives of General Psychiatry September 7, 2010
- Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) for alcoholism: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials Journal of Psychopharmacology March 8, 2012
- Dose-Response Study of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine in Humans Archives of General Psychiatry February 1, 1994
- ADVERSE REACTIONS TO PSYCHEDELIC DRUGS. A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease October 1, 1984
- The Experimental Use of Psychedelic (LSD) Psychotherapy JAMA June 15, 1970
and 6 more in the library