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Safety and Efficacy of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide-Assisted Psychotherapy for Anxiety Associated With Life-threatening Diseases

Peter Gasser, Dominique Holstein, Yvonne Michel, Rick Doblin, Berra Yazar-Klosinski, Torsten Passie, Rudolf Brenneisen

The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease March 4, 2014 DOI: 10.1097/nmd.0000000000000113 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Randomized controlled trial Placebo-controlled Double-blind Open-label Peer reviewed
Sample size 12
Population Patients with anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases
Intervention LSD-assisted psychotherapy
Dose 200 μg of LSD
Duration 2-month follow-up, with sustained effects at 12 months
Topics Anxiety LSD Psychedelic-assisted therapy
Keywords Adverse effect Crossover study Placebo Trait anxiety Randomized controlled trial Psychotherapist Double blind Clinical psychology
Citations 752
Key findings LSD-assisted psychotherapy reduced trait and state anxiety at 2 months, with effects sustained for 12 months, and no serious adverse events.

Abstract

A double-blind, randomized, active placebo-controlled pilot study was conducted to examine safety and efficacy of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)-assisted psychotherapy in 12 patients with anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases. Treatment included drug-free psychotherapy sessions supplemented by two LSD-assisted psychotherapy sessions 2 to 3 weeks apart. The participants received either 200 μg of LSD (n = 8) or 20 μg of LSD with an open-label crossover to 200 μg of LSD after the initial blinded treatment was unmasked (n = 4). At the 2-month follow-up, positive trends were found via the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) in reductions in trait anxiety (p = 0.033) with an effect size of 1.1, and state anxiety was significantly reduced (p = 0.021) with an effect size of 1.2, with no acute or chronic adverse effects persisting beyond 1 day after treatment or treatment-related serious adverse events. STAI reductions were sustained for 12 months. These results indicate that when administered safely in a methodologically rigorous medically supervised psychotherapeutic setting, LSD can reduce anxiety, suggesting that larger controlled studies are warranted.

In the evidence

This study is part of the evidence base for 4 syntheses in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.

  • State of the evidence: LSD and psychedelic-assisted therapy Supports

    LSD-assisted psychotherapy reduced state and trait anxiety at 2 months with large effect sizes, and reductions were sustained for 12 months with no serious adverse events.

    Synthesized

  • State of the evidence: LSD for anxiety Supports

    LSD-assisted psychotherapy reduced state and trait anxiety at 2 months with large effect sizes and reductions were sustained to 12 months, with no serious adverse events.

    Synthesized

  • State of the evidence: Anxiety Supports

    LSD-assisted psychotherapy significantly reduced state and trait anxiety at 2 months with large effect sizes, and reductions were sustained for 12 months with no serious adverse events.

    Synthesized

  • State of the evidence: LSD Supports

    LSD-assisted psychotherapy reduced state and trait anxiety at 2 months with large effect sizes, and reductions were sustained for 12 months with no serious adverse events.

    Synthesized

Comparable studies

Other randomized controlled trials on LSD and psychedelic-assisted therapy, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
LSD-assisted therapy in patients with anxiety: open-label prospective 12-month follow-up. Patients with anxiety with or without life-threatening illness 2024 Randomized controlled trial n = 39
Efficacy and safety of low- versus high-dose-LSD-assisted therapy in patients with major depression: A randomized trial. Patients with moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder 2025 Randomized controlled trial n = 61
PAM trial protocol: a randomised feasibility study of psychedelic microdosing-assisted meaning-centred psychotherapy in advanced stage cancer patients. Māori and non-Māori adults with advanced-stage cancer and symptoms of anxiety and/or... 2024 Randomized controlled trial protocol n = 40

Citations in the library

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Related reading

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Anxiety LSD Psychedelic-assisted therapy

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