LSD-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety associated with a life-threatening disease: A qualitative study of acute and sustained subjective effects
Peter Gasser, Katharina Kirchner, Torsten Passie
Journal of Psychopharmacology November 11, 2014 DOI: 10.1177/0269881114555249 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Prospective follow-up with qualitative content analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 10 |
| Population | Patients with anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases |
| Intervention | LSD-assisted psychotherapy |
| Duration | 12-month follow-up |
| Topics | Anxiety LSD Psychedelic-assisted therapy |
| Keywords | Psychotherapist Situational ethics Clinical psychology Qualitative research |
| Citations | 458 |
| Post-publication review | 1 comment on PubPeer (opens in new tab) · last active September 2016 |
| Key findings | LSD-assisted psychotherapy produced sustained reductions in anxiety and improvements in quality of life over 12 months, with no lasting adverse reactions. |
Abstract
Objective: A recently published study showed the safety and efficacy of LSD-assisted psychotherapy in patients with anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases. Participants of this study were included in a prospective follow-up.
Method: 12 months after finishing LSD psychotherapy, 10 participants were tested for anxiety (STAI) and participated in a semi-structured interview. A Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) was carried out on the interviews to elaborate about LSD effects and lasting psychological changes.
Results: None of the participants reported lasting adverse reactions. The significant benefits as measured with the STAI were sustained over a 12-month period. In the QCA participants consistently reported insightful, cathartic and interpersonal experiences, accompanied by a reduction in anxiety (77.8%) and a rise in quality of life (66.7%). Evaluations of subjective experiences suggest facilitated access to emotions, confrontation of previously unknown anxieties, worries, resources and intense emotional peak experiences à la Maslow as major psychological working mechanisms. The experiences created led to a restructuring of the person’s emotional trust, situational understanding, habits and world view.
Conclusions: LSD administered in a medically supervised psychotherapeutic setting can be safe and generate lasting benefits in patients with a life-threatening disease. Explanatory models for the therapeutic effects of LSD warrant further study.
In the evidence
This study is part of the evidence base for 4 syntheses in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.
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LSD-assisted psychotherapy produced sustained reductions in anxiety and improvements in quality of life over 12 months, with no lasting adverse reactions.
Synthesized
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At 12 months, anxiety reductions measured by STAI were sustained, and participants reported reduced anxiety and improved quality of life with no lasting adverse reactions.
Synthesized
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State of the evidence: LSD Supports
LSD-assisted psychotherapy produced sustained reductions in anxiety and improvements in quality of life over 12 months, with no lasting adverse reactions.
Synthesized
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LSD-assisted psychotherapy produced sustained reductions in anxiety and improvements in quality of life over 12 months, with no lasting adverse reactions.
Synthesized
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on LSD, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Response of cluster headache to psilocybin and LSD Cluster headache patients who used psilocybin or LSD | 2006 | Qualitative study | n = 53 |
| Making "bad trips" good: How users of psychedelics narratively transform challenging trips into valuable experiences. Norwegian users of psychedelics | 2021 | Qualitative study | n = 50 |
| Psychedelic microdosing benefits and challenges: an empirical codebook Active microdosing community | 2019 | Mixed-methods study | |
| Psychoactive substances as a last resort—a qualitative study of self-treatment of migraine and cluster headaches Users of online forums discussing cluster headache and migraine treatments | 2017 | Qualitative thematic analysis | |
| A phenomenological analysis of the subjective experience elicited by ibogaine in the context of a drug dependence treatment Patients with substance-related disorders | 2017 | Qualitative study | n = 22 |