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THE USE OF LSD IN TIME-LIMITED PSYCHOTHERAPY

Robert A. Soskin

The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease December 1, 1973 DOI: 10.1097/00005053-197312000-00002 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed
Sample size 28
Population Psychosomatic and nonpsychotic psychiatric inpatients
Interventions LSD placebo
Duration 13-week intervention, 18-month follow-up
Topics LSD
Keywords Placebo Psychotherapist Clinical psychology Group psychotherapy
Citations 15
Key findings LSD as an adjunct to psychotherapy produced no greater improvement than placebo, and at 18-month follow-up the placebo group showed better outcomes on some self-report measures.

Abstract

Numerous investigators have reported impressive improvement rates when LSD has been used as an aid to ongoing psychotherapy, but absence of controls makes these findings difficult to evaluate. In the present study, 21 psychosomatic inpatients and 7 nonpsychotic psychiatric inpatients were randomly assigned to two psychotherapy groups, one of which received five LSD sessions and a second which received five placebo drug sessions during the course of psychotherapy. Patients in both groups were seen twice weekly over a period of 13 weeks for psychotherapy interviews in addition to the drug sessions. As measured by a number of self-report devices and clinical ratings there were no differential effects of treatment, as both groups improved to a modest extent. Twenty of the patients, equally divided between the LSD and the control groups, were followed up after 18 months. At this point the few differences found between the LSD and placebo group favored the latter. The placebo group was more emotionally stable, conscientious, and more socially precise than the LSD group according to self-report measures. There was a tendency for scores on both groups' self-report measures to regress to their pretreatment levels. According to clinical ratings, the gains in level of adjustment shown at post-treatment were maintained at the 18-month follow-up period regardless of the type of treatment received. The results and clinical impressions suggest that LSD is of minimal value as an adjunct in the treatment of marginally motivated and psychologically unsophisticated individuals.

Comparable studies

Other randomized controlled trials on LSD, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Safety and Efficacy of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide-Assisted Psychotherapy for Anxiety Associated With Life-threatening Diseases Patients with anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases 2014 Randomized controlled trial n = 12
Dose-Response Study of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine in Humans Experienced hallucinogen users 1994 Double-blind, saline placebo-controlled, randomized study n = 12
Acute Effects of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in Healthy Subjects Healthy subjects (8 women, 8 men) 2014 Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover study n = 16
Changes in global and thalamic brain connectivity in LSD-induced altered states of consciousness are attributable to the 5-HT2A receptor Healthy human participants 2018 Double-blind, randomized, counterbalanced, cross-over study n = 24
LSD-induced entropic brain activity predicts subsequent personality change. Healthy adults 2016 Balanced-order, placebo-controlled study n = 19

Citations in the library

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