Psilocybin and meditation

Studies whose primary subject is both Psilocybin and Meditation, with an evidence synthesis read across the most-cited and most recent of them.

State of the evidence

Synthesized September 21, 2026

Synthesized from 23 studies in the library · AI-generated, grounded in the abstracts below

Found by searching the library for Psilocybin, magic mushrooms, psilocin, psychedelic mushrooms, Meditation, mindfulness, then ranked by relevance.

The research suggests that psilocybin and meditation can act synergistically, with several studies showing that combining psilocybin with meditation or mindfulness practices produces lasting improvements in mindfulness, psychological functioning, and prosocial attitudes. Effects appear strongest when psilocybin is given in a supportive meditation context, and some benefits persist for months. However, most evidence comes from small, short-term studies, and the durability of effects beyond six months is largely unexamined.

Evidence by study

Direction is which way each study's own result points, not our rating of the study. All 25 matching studies were reviewed; the 23 that directly address the question are shown here.

What the directions mean

Supports:: the study found the intervention worked, or its hypothesis held.
Opposes:: it found the opposite, no benefit or a harm.
No effect:: no significant difference either way.
Mixed:: effects in both directions within the same study.
Unclear:: the abstract does not report a direction.

Study	Design	Sample size	Direction	Finding
Psilocybin-occasioned mystical-type experience in combination with meditation and other spiritual practices produces enduring positive changes in psychological functioning and in trait measures of prosocial attitudes and behaviors 2017	RCT	75	Supports	High-dose psilocybin combined with meditation and spiritual practices produced enduring increases in prosocial attitudes and psychological functioning at six months, mediated by mystical-type experience and practice rates.
Psychedelics, Meditation, and Self-Consciousness 2018	review		Mixed	Both meditation and psychedelics can disrupt self-consciousness and underlying neural processes, but they are not conceptually identical and may affect narrative and embodied aspects of self differently.
Psilocybin-assisted mindfulness training modulates self-consciousness and brain default mode network connectivity with lasting effects. 2019	RCT	38	Supports	Psilocybin combined with meditation facilitated decoupling of medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortices, associated with ego dissolution and predicting positive psychosocial changes four months later.
A single psilocybin dose is associated with long-term increased mindfulness, preceded by a proportional change in neocortical 5-HT2A receptor binding 2020	observational cohort	10	Supports	A single psilocybin dose was associated with long-term increases in Openness and mindfulness, and changes in 5-HT2A receptor binding correlated negatively with mindfulness changes.
Characterization and prediction of acute and sustained response to psychedelic psilocybin in a mindfulness group retreat. 2019	observational cohort		Supports	Acute response to psilocybin in a mindfulness retreat setting predicted sustained improvements in well-being, with individual and contextual factors influencing the experience.
Clinical Interpretations of Patient Experience in a Trial of Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy for Alcohol Use Disorder 2018	qualitative case series	3	Supports	Psilocybin-assisted treatment elicited vivid experiences involving catharsis, forgiveness, self-compassion, and love, along with lasting shifts in self-perception and relationship with alcohol.
Psychedelics and health behaviour change 2021	review		Supports	Psilocybin and other psychedelics may assist in promoting positive lifestyle change conducive to good health, with research advancing rapidly and showing promising results.
Depression, Mindfulness, and Psilocybin: Possible Complementary Effects of Mindfulness Meditation and Psilocybin in the Treatment of Depression. A Review 2020	review		Mixed	Mindfulness meditation and psilocybin show similar effects on mood, social skills, and neuroplasticity but different effects on executive functioning, neural core networks, and neuroendocrine and neuroimmune markers, suggesting potential complementary therapeutic effects when combined for depression treatment.
Participant Reports of Mindfulness, Posttraumatic Growth, and Social Connectedness in Psilocybin-Assisted Group Therapy: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis 2021	qualitative study	9	Supports	Psilocybin-assisted group therapy facilitated a shift from habitual, evaluative processing to mindful, experiential processing, enabling emotional release and posttraumatic growth.
Mindfulness meditation and psychedelics: potential synergies and commonalities 2023	review		Supports	Psychedelic and mindfulness-based interventions share common mechanisms and can produce synergistic positive effects when combined, though further research is needed for clinical translation.
Linkages between Psychedelics and Meditation in a Population-Based Sample in the United States. 2023	cross-sectional survey	953	Supports	Lifetime classic psychedelic use and ego dissolution were positively associated with meditation exposure, more frequent practice, and fewer perceived barriers to meditation, without increasing meditation-related adverse effects.
Lasting increases in trait mindfulness after psilocybin correlate positively with the mystical-type experience in healthy individuals 2022	observational cohort	39	Supports	Psilocybin-induced mystical-type experience intensity was positively associated with lasting increases in trait mindfulness three months later.
Psilocybin-Assisted Compassion Focused Therapy for Depression 2022	theoretical paper		Unclear	Argues that Compassion Focused Therapy can provide a theoretical model and compassion practices to reinforce experiences during psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for depression.
Virtual Reality as a Moderator of Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy 2022	theoretical paper		Unclear	Proposes that virtual reality can enhance psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy by capitalizing on therapeutic aspects like detachment from reality and mystical experiences, but notes the need for empirical evidence.
Decreases in State and Trait Anxiety Post-psilocybin: A Naturalistic, Observational Study Among Retreat Attendees 2022	observational cohort	52	Supports	Psilocybin-containing truffles reduced state and trait anxiety for up to one week, with ego dissolution and decreased neuroticism predicting the effect.
The Alchemy of Mind: Integrating Sanyam and Joriki into the Framework of Fundamental Peace 2026	integrative review		Unclear	Argues that Sanyam and Joriki cultivate one-pointedness and share structural parallels with clinical hypnosis, facilitating access to non-ordinary states characterized by reduced default mode network activity and dissolution of subject-object duality.
Sense-Making Around Psilocybin in UK Women Experiencing Cancer-Related Existential Distress: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis 2026	qualitative study	7	Mixed	Participants considered psilocybin a much-needed alternative to traditional treatments for cancer-related depression and anxiety but felt its legal status was a significant barrier to access.
The Psychological Support Model in Psilocybin Research: Psychotherapy in Disguise? 2026	theoretical paper		Unclear	Argues that the Compass Psychological Support Model constitutes bona fide psychotherapy and that describing it as merely 'psychological support' undermines methodological transparency.
The CAnadian Network for Psychedelic-Assisted Cancer Therapy (CAN-PACT): A Multi-Phase Program Overview. 2025	research program overview		Unclear	Describes a multi-phase program to build capacity and generate evidence for psilocybin-assisted therapy in cancer-related distress.
A Naturalistic Study on the Combined Neural and Psychological Effects of Psilocybin and Compassion Focused Imagery 2025	experimental study	105	Supports	Combining psilocybin with compassion-focused imagery, compared to attention to breathing, produced long-term synergistic effects on cognitive absorption, self-compassion, and decentering.
Psilocybin-assisted group psychotherapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction for frontline healthcare provider COVID-19-related depression and burnout: A randomized controlled trial 2025	RCT	25	Supports	Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy plus MBSR produced a significantly larger decrease in depressive symptoms at two weeks compared to MBSR alone, though the effect waned by six months.
Psilocybin-Assisted Group Psychotherapy + Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for Frontline Healthcare Provider COVID-19 Related Depression and Burnout: A Randomized Clinical Trial 2025	RCT	25	Supports	Psilocybin-assisted therapy plus MBSR led to larger reductions in depressive symptoms and burnout than MBSR alone, with no serious adverse events.
Meditating on psychedelics. A randomized placebo-controlled study of DMT and harmine in a mindfulness retreat 2024	RCT	40	Mixed	DMT-harmine, compared to placebo, enhanced mystical-type experiences, non-dual awareness, emotional breakthrough, and psychological insight during a meditation retreat, but did not significantly affect mindfulness or compassion.

Points of agreement

Psilocybin combined with meditation or mindfulness practices is associated with lasting increases in trait mindfulness and psychological well-being.
Mystical-type experiences and ego dissolution appear to mediate the enduring positive effects of psilocybin when combined with meditation.
Psilocybin and meditation may share neurophysiological mechanisms, including effects on the default mode network and self-referential processing.
Combining psilocybin with mindfulness-based interventions may produce synergistic benefits for depression, anxiety, and burnout.

Conflicts

Some studies report that psilocybin enhances mindfulness and compassion, while a DMT-harmine study found no significant effect on these outcomes.
The durability of benefits varies: some studies show effects persisting for months, while one RCT found that antidepressant effects waned by six months.

Gaps

Long-term durability of psilocybin-plus-meditation effects beyond six months is largely unexamined.
Most studies have small sample sizes and lack active control conditions or blinding.
The optimal dose, timing, and type of meditation practice to pair with psilocybin are not established.
Generalizability to diverse populations and clinical groups is limited.

Browse these studies in the library

Common questions

What does the research agree on about psilocybin and meditation?

Psilocybin combined with meditation or mindfulness practices is associated with lasting increases in trait mindfulness and psychological well-being.
Mystical-type experiences and ego dissolution appear to mediate the enduring positive effects of psilocybin when combined with meditation.
Psilocybin and meditation may share neurophysiological mechanisms, including effects on the default mode network and self-referential processing.
Combining psilocybin with mindfulness-based interventions may produce synergistic benefits for depression, anxiety, and burnout.

Where do studies on psilocybin and meditation conflict?

Some studies report that psilocybin enhances mindfulness and compassion, while a DMT-harmine study found no significant effect on these outcomes.
The durability of benefits varies: some studies show effects persisting for months, while one RCT found that antidepressant effects waned by six months.

What is still unknown about psilocybin and meditation?

Long-term durability of psilocybin-plus-meditation effects beyond six months is largely unexamined.
Most studies have small sample sizes and lack active control conditions or blinding.
The optimal dose, timing, and type of meditation practice to pair with psilocybin are not established.
Generalizability to diverse populations and clinical groups is limited.

How we analyze this

This synthesis reads the 15 most-cited and 10 most recent studies whose primary subject is Psilocybin and meditation, up to 25 in all. The most-cited set anchors the established evidence, and the recent set surfaces work that is too new to have gathered citations yet.

A study qualifies only when Psilocybin and meditation or a known alias appears in its title or keywords, so broad reviews that mention it only in passing are left out. Each study is read from its abstract, strongest evidence first, and the summary reports the direction of the results along with any conflicts and gaps.

The full method, including what a person does and does not review, is on the methods page.

Ask your own question in the Research Synthesis Tool

37 articles · 9 from the last two years · 19,132 participants across 21 studies reporting sample size

Common study designs

review 5 observational cohort 6 viewpoint or opinion paper 1 randomized controlled trial 5 theoretical or philosophical paper 4

Research volume by year

Compare topics →

36 studies whose primary subject is psilocybin and meditation since 2017

2026 is partial

Show the numbers

Studies about psilocybin and meditation per year, 2017 to 2026, peaking at 7 in 2022
Year	Studies
2017	1
2018	2
2019	2
2020	2
2021	3
2022	7
2023	6
2024	5
2025	5
2026	3

Research

Synthesize the evidence →

The Alchemy of Mind: Integrating Sanyam and Joriki into the Framework of Fundamental Peace

Preprints.org April 27, 2026 Luis Miguel Gallardo preprint

Ancient contemplative traditions offer sophisticated technologies for cultivating stable states of consciousness underlying sustainable well-being. This integrative review synthesizes empirical and theoretical literature on Patañjali’s Sanyam—the integrated practice of Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditative absorption), and Samadhi (non-dual awareness)—and its Zen parallel, Joriki...

DOI: 10.20944/preprints202604.1821.v1 Mindfulness Psilocybin Happiness Consciousness +17

Sense-Making Around Psilocybin in UK Women Experiencing Cancer-Related Existential Distress: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Qualitative Health Research February 17, 2026 Zaynab Khan, Sterre Weaver, Rachael V. Dando et al. 1 citation

People with cancer often experience anxiety and depression following a diagnosis and can face barriers to accessing treatment for their mental health. An increasing number of patients are considering alternative approaches to managing their mental health symptoms, such as the psychedelic, psilocybin. A growing number of clinical trials show significant and enduring improvements in mood and...

DOI: 10.1177/10497323261419338 Psilocybin Anxiety Mindfulness Interpretative phenomenological analysis +13

The Psychological Support Model in Psilocybin Research: Psychotherapy in Disguise?

Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice January 14, 2026 Celia Faye Jacobsen, Dea Siggaard Stenbæk, Stig Poulsen et al. 3 citations

A key distinction among clinical trials on psilocybin treatments, for example, those targeting depression, has been whether the psilocybin dosing session is combined with bona fide psychotherapy or with what is referred to as “psychological support” (1-3). The most developed model of psychological support is the Compass Psychological Support Model (CPSM; 1). Kirlić and colleagues specifically...

DOI: 10.1176/appi.prcp.20250113 Psilocybin Mindfulness Psychoeducation Psychological intervention +3

The CAnadian Network for Psychedelic-Assisted Cancer Therapy (CAN-PACT): A Multi-Phase Program Overview.

Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) December 22, 2025 Linda E. Carlson, Harriet Richardson, Ron Shore et al. 1 citation

The CAnadian Network for Psychedelic-Assisted Cancer Therapy (CAN-PACT) was launched in 2025 to address urgent gaps in supportive care for Canadians with cancer experiencing demoralization syndrome (loss of meaning, dysphoria, disheartenment, helplessness, a sense of failure) and related psychosocial distress. CAN-PACT has six major objectives: (1) to develop a national interdisciplinary...

DOI: 10.3390/curroncol33010007 Full text Mindfulness Psilocybin Cancer Clinical trials +3

A Naturalistic Study on the Combined Neural and Psychological Effects of Psilocybin and Compassion Focused Imagery

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) December 22, 2025 Carla Pallavicini, Lorena Llobenes, Federico Cavanna et al. preprint

Abstract Psilocybin is a classic psychedelic drug known to alter subjective experience and elicit long-term psychological changes, enhancing cognitive flexibility and reducing rigid self-related beliefs. Combined with compassion motivational primes that involve generating mental representations of compassion, it may increase the potential for activating the care-affiliative motivational...

DOI: 10.64898/2025.12.17.694940 Psilocybin Default mode network Mindfulness Cognition +11

S1 Appendix - Psilocybin-assisted group psychotherapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction for frontline healthcare provider COVID-19-related depression and burnout: A randomized controlled trial

OPAL (Open@LaTrobe) (La Trobe University) September 19, 2025

Supplement 1. Additional tables presenting primary and secondary outcomes, sensitivity analyses, and exploratory findings. Table A1. ITT analyses for QIDS-SR-16 and MBI-HSS-MP. Table A2. Adjusted ITT analyses for QIDS-SR-16 and MBI-HSS-MP. Table B1. Intent-To-Treat (ITT) Analysis for Demoralization Scale (DSII) and PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Table B2. Adjusted Intent-To-Treat (ITT)...

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004519.s001

Psilocybin-assisted group psychotherapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction for frontline healthcare provider COVID-19-related depression and burnout: A randomized controlled trial

PLoS Medicine September 19, 2025 Benjamin R. Lewis, John Hendrick, Kevin Byrne et al. 5 citations

Background Depression and burnout, which are common among healthcare workers, were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and psilocybin have been reported to reduce depressive symptoms, but the efficacy of the combination requires comparison to an active treatment control. We sought to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of psilocybin and MBSR...

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004519

Psilocybin-Assisted Group Psychotherapy + Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for Frontline Healthcare Provider COVID-19 Related Depression and Burnout: A Randomized Clinical Trial

medRxiv 2025 Benjamin R. Lewis, John Hendrick, Kevin Byrne et al. 3 citations preprint

Abstract Objective This clinical trial sought to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of psilocybin and MBSR for frontline healthcare providers with symptoms of depression and burnout related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods This was a randomized controlled trial that enrolled physicians and nurses with frontline clinical work during the COVID-19 pandemic and symptoms of depression and...

DOI: 10.1101/2024.12.31.24319806 Full text Psychedelic therapy Mental health Healthcare workers Clinical trials +1

Meditating on psychedelics. A randomized placebo-controlled study of DMT and harmine in a mindfulness retreat

Journal of Psychopharmacology September 27, 2024 Daniel Meling, Klemens Egger, Jovin Mueller et al. 15 citations

Background: In recent years, both meditation and psychedelics have attracted rapidly increasing scientific interest. While the current state of evidence suggests the promising potential of psychedelics, such as psilocybin, to enhance meditative training, it remains equivocal whether these effects are specifically bound to psilocybin or if other classical psychedelics might show synergistic...

DOI: 10.1177/02698811241282637 Ayahuasca Meditation Mindfulness Psilocybin +4