The acute subjective effects of psychedelics are responsive to users’ expectations and surroundings (i.e., “set and setting”). Accordingly, a great deal of thought has gone into designing the psychosocial context of psychedelic administration in clinical settings. But what theoretical paradigms inform these considerations about set and setting? Here, we describe several historical, sociological...
This project is a systematic review that highlights how beneficial psychedelic psychotherapy can be to those suffering with mental illness. The three mental illnesses chosen to be analyzed in the literature were depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety. The drugs used in the specific articles included Psilocybin, Ayahuasca(DMT), and MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine;...
Psilocybin therapy shows antidepressant potential, but its therapeutic actions are not well understood. We assessed the subacute impact of psilocybin on brain function in two clinical trials of depression. The first was an open-label trial of orally administered psilocybin (10 mg and 25 mg, 7 d apart) in patients with treatment-resistant depression. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)...
Psychotherapy with the use of psychedelic substances, including psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), ketamine, and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), has demonstrated promise in treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, addiction, and treatment-resistant depression. Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PP) represents a unique psychopharmacological model that...
Psychedelics, such as psilocybin represent one of the most promising current therapeutic approaches in psychiatry. Psychedelics seem to have not only potent antidepressant effects. Do they also work particularly quickly, i.e. within one day? The available literature on clinical studies of psychedelics in depressive syndromes is presented both from the period up to the prohibition of these...
Abstract Background Currently, personal or familial histories of psychotic symptoms are exclusionary criteria for most psychedelic clinical trials, studies, and treatment programs. This study sought to determine why such an exclusion exists, what the implications of the exclusion criteria are, and if there was agreement in expert opinion. Methods In-depth interviews with 12 experts in the...
Substance use disorders (SUD) represent a significant public health issue with a high need for novel and efficacious treatment options. In light of this high unmet need, recent results reporting beneficial outcomes of psychedelic-assisted therapy in SUD are particularly relevant. However, several questions remain with regard to this treatment approach. The clinical mechanisms of action of...
Medicine is currently experiencing a "psychedelic renaissance", said by many to have commenced in 2006. Since then, clinical trials have consistently demonstrated promising findings for psychedelic-assisted therapies in the treatment of various mental health conditions and addictions. While most of this work has been privately funded, governmental biomedical research funding bodies in countries...
Objective: The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) has positioned itself against medically controlled patient access (at this current time) to 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and psilocybin-assisted therapies in its Therapeutic Use of Psychedelic Substances Clinical Memorandum, May 2020. The main reason given by the RANZCP for its stance is safety...
Abstract Background Existential distress is a significant source of suffering for patients facing life-threatening illness. Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies (PAT) are novel treatments that have shown promise in treating existential distress, but openness to providing PAT may be limited by stigma surrounding psychedelics and the paucity of education regarding their medical use. How PAT might be...