Leveraging meditation research for the study of psychedelic-related adverse effects.
Roman Palitsky, Nicholas K. Canby, Nicholas T. van Dam, Holly F Levin-Aspenson, Deanna M Kaplan, Jessica L Maples-Keller, Charles L. Raison, George H. Grant, Boadie W Dunlop, Willoughby B. Britton
International Review of Psychiatry December 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1080/09540261.2024.2420745 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Integrative review Longitudinal Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation Psychedelic-assisted therapy |
| Keywords | Psychedelics Adverse effects Measurement |
| Citations | 6 |
| Key findings | Meditation-related adverse effect research offers thematic and methodological insights that can advance the investigation of psychedelic adverse effects. |
Abstract
Psychedelics have shown early evidence for a range of benefits and low harm profiles in extant research. However, adverse effects (AEs) research in psychedelics has been limited, leading to underspecified AE profiles, inconsistent measurement, and potential undercounting of AEs. The development of safe, effective psychedelic therapies and treatments for AEs when they occur requires a thorough assessment of psychedelic-related AEs, their phenomenology, risk factors, and longitudinal duration. This article proposes that research on meditation-related AEs, which overlap in important ways with the phenomenological and contextual characteristics of psychedelic-related AEs, has engaged many methodological challenges present in the study of psychedelic-related AEs. Thus, meditation-related AE research offers thematic and methodological insights that are valuable to psychedelic AE research. An integrative review of extant AE research in both psychedelics and meditation is provided, and an agenda for leveraging meditation research to advance the investigation of psychedelic AEs is recommended. This includes the utility of meditation-related AEs as a comparator condition for psychedelic-related AEs, as well as recommendations for the adoption of (1) detailed and comprehensive, (2) user-informed, (3) impact-based, (4) standardized, (5) unbiased, and (6) representative measures of AEs and (7) examining factors that influence their impacts and trajectories.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical populations | 2003 | Review | |
| Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects | 2007 | Review | |
| Mindfulness Interventions | 2016 | Review | |
| Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation | 2017 | Review | |
| Mindfulness and acceptance: expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition | 2005 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- On Minimizing Risk and Harm in the Use of Psychedelics. Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice February 11, 2025
- Insights on psychedelics: A systematic review of therapeutic effects. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews June 1, 2025
- Spiritual wellbeing in psychedelic-assisted therapy with palliative care populations: An analysis of outcome measures Palliative & Supportive Care 2026
Cites 90
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- Single-Dose Psilocybin for a Treatment-Resistant Episode of Major Depression. New England Journal of Medicine November 3, 2022
- What defines mindfulness-based programs? The warp and the weft Psychological Medicine December 29, 2016
- Psychedelics and the essential importance of context. Journal of Psychopharmacology February 15, 2018
- Validation of the revised Mystical Experience Questionnaire in experimental sessions with psilocybin Journal of Psychopharmacology October 6, 2015
and 85 more in the library