In recent years a renewed scientific, public and commercial interest in psychedelic medicines can be observed across the globe. As research findings have been generally promising, there is hope for new treatment possibilities for a number of difficult-to-treat mental health concerns. While honouring positive developments and therapeutic promise in relation to the medical use of psychedelics,...
Psychedelic substances have a long history of use in traditional healing and religious ceremonies worldwide and are increasingly being investigated for their possible therapeutic usage. However, there is still a lack of consensus regarding how best to characterize the psychological effects of psychedelics and how they bring about the positive therapeutic outcomes observed in clinical studies....
Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy shows promise in treating depression and existential distress in people with serious medical illness. However, its individual-based methodology poses challenges for scaling and resource availability. The HOPE trial (A Pilot Study of Psilocybin Enhanced Group Psychotherapy in Patients with Cancer) is an Institutional Review Boards-approved open-label feasibility...
This article reviews the historical protocols for the administration of “classic” psychedelics in France, from the 1920s to the 1960s. Taking a chronological approach, it investigates the way mescaline, LSD, and psilocybin were administered, the subjects involved, the route of administration, the dosage, and the epistemological context of the research. From the 1930s, the Sainte-Anne school...
Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) has re-emerged as a promising intervention for addressing mental health conditions and existential concerns. Despite growing enthusiasm, PAT may be difficult to integrate into mainstream health systems. The rich sacramental traditions of psychedelics, their centering of the human experience, proposed substrates of action, context-dependent outcomes, and highly...
An increasing number of clinicians and researchers have become interested in the potential of psychedelic drugs for the treatment of mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, and addictions.1,2
Background: Psychedelics are known for their powerful mental effects due to the activation of 5HT-2A receptors in the brain. During the 1950s and 1960s, research was conducted on these molecules until their criminalization. However, their clinical investigation as therapeutic tools for psychiatric disorders has revived the deontological ethics surrounding this subject. Questions arise as...
This article proposes 10 points considered essential on the ethics associated with the practice of psychotherapy assisted by psychedelics (PAP) : 1) respect of the legal framework (LStup) of the use of psychotropic drugs ; 2) adequately manage psychedelics (storage, production and safety) ; 3) announce adverse effects to the competent authority ; 4) guarantee a psychotherapeutic follow-up ; 5)...
Abstract Background and aims Because psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is likely to be provided by interdisciplinary professional teams comprised of social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists, understanding the acceptability of this treatment approach among these professional disciplines is essential as the treatment advances through approval processes at the Food and Drug...
Clinical trials support the promise of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) and reveal potential mechanisms underlying efficacy. Out of necessity, initial studies of PAT have focused on feasibility and impact with special attention to acute responses to the molecules, but investigations of the psychotherapy components of PAT have lagged other work. Years of research on other forms of...
This viewpoint discusses integrating biomarkers, psychedelics, and AI into psychiatry for enhanced diagnostics, prognosis, and treatment. It highlights the potential of psychedelics in therapy, AI's role in predicting treatment response, and the challenges that must be addressed. The aim is to encourage research for more precise, personalized psychiatric care.
The pharmacological treatment of depression consists of taking antidepressant drugs for prolonged periods; its modest therapeutic effect can often be associated with significant adverse effects, while its discontinuation can lead to relapses. Psilocybin is today a novel and breakthrough therapy for major depression. It is a natural alkaloid in Psilocybe mushrooms, which are endemic to Mexico....
Abstract This perspective paper explores the choice of psychotherapy for psilocybin‐assisted psychotherapy for treatment‐resistant depression. There is evidence to support the use of some psychotherapies in treating ‘treatment‐resistant’ depression, and emerging evidence for the efficacy of psilocybin. The next step which is the focus of this paper is to identify psychotherapies that are both...
Context: Measuring therapeutic connection during psilocybin-assisted therapy is essential to understand underlying mechanisms, inform training, and guide quality improvement. Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of directly observing indicators of therapeutic connection during psilocybin administration encounters. Methods: We evaluated audio and video data from a recent clinical trial for...
Abstract Objective This study invited providers who care for patients with eating disorders to inform engagement, communication, and collaboration with psilocybin‐assisted psychotherapy interventions. Method Medical and mental health providers who treat patients with eating disorders were recruited via professional referral networks and participant driven sampling from across California to...
Psychological distress at the end of life is a common experience that lacks effective treatments. This is in part due to the multidimensional nature of psychological distress at the end of life, encompassing an interplay between psychosocial and existential distress as well as physical symptom burden. Research shows that psychedelic-assisted therapy is an effective treatment of end of life...
Psilocybin therapy is receiving attention as a mental health intervention with transdiagnostic potential. In line with psychotherapeutic research, qualitative research has highlighted the role of reductions in experiential avoidance (and increases in connectedness) within psilocybin therapy. However, no quantitative research has examined experiential avoidance as a mechanism underlying...
Research SquareJuly 27, 2023Claire Finkelstein, Olivia Soha, Alana Roy et al.2 citations
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Abstract Background: Body Image Disturbance (BID) is the distorted experience of one’s body. BID presents a risk for the onset, maintenance and relapse of body dysmorphic disorder and eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa (AN). Current treatments tend to focus on the cognitive and behavioural aspects while overlooking the perceptual symptoms and BID frequently persists beyond physical...
Recent clinical and preclinical evidence suggests that psychedelics and entactogens may produce both rapid and sustained therapeutic effects across several indications. Currently, there is a disconnect between how these compounds are used in the clinic and how they are studied in preclinical species, which has led to a gap in our mechanistic understanding of how these compounds might positively...
The clinical investigation of psychedelic medicines has blossomed over the last 5 years. Data from a Phase 3 industry trial and a multicenter Phase 2 industry trial, in addition to multiple early phase investigator-initiated and industry trials, have now been published in peer-reviewed journals. This narrative review summarizes both the recent data and the current clinical trials that are being...