Psychedelic-assisted therapy research published in 2025
219 studies whose primary subject is psychedelic-assisted therapy were published in 2025, up from 192 in 2024 and the most of any year since 2002.
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Background: Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has shown promising results for treating alcohol use disorder (AUD) and other mental health conditions. Although the precise mechanisms of psychedelic therapies remain unclear, many studies report increased feelings of connectedness following psychedelic experiences. Specifically, both nature relatedness (one’s subjective sense of being connected...
PsychoactivesDecember 24, 2025Brendan Driscoll, Shaheen E. Lakhan1 citation
Psychedelic-assisted therapy offers rapid and profound benefits for treatment-resistant psychiatric conditions but remains constrained by the need for intensive, clinic-based administration. Concurrently, advances in digital health technologies have introduced scalable tools. This systematic review evaluates the safety, efficacy, and implementation of digitally enabled psychedelic-assisted...
Abstract Background and aims There is an urgent unmet need for novel treatments for methamphetamine (MA) use disorder. We explored the qualitative experiences of people participating in a study of psilocybin‐assisted psychotherapy (PAT) to treat MA use disorder. Design and setting Qualitative study of participants enrolled in a single arm, open‐label pilot study of PAT for MA use disorder...
Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) has emerged as a promising and innovative approach to treating a range of mental health disorders, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorders. Once sidelined due to regulatory bans and social stigma, psychedelics such as psilocybin, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and...
Background Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating mental disorder commonly treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, atypical antipsychotic augmentation and cognitive–behavioural therapy. However, up to 60% of people with OCD do not respond to these treatments. Therefore, a novel intervention, psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP), is an option of interest....
This qualitative study of how successful Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy (PAP) transforms the way of life of terminally ill subjects provides new knowledge for researchers and clinicians contemplating its use. Using an interpretive phenomenological approach (IPA) and interviews with subjects before and after PAP from a recent randomised control trial, we find that participants with extreme...
Psychedelics, historically used for transcendent experiences, have garnered renewed interest for their potential therapeutic applications, particularly in treating mental health conditions such as depression, PTSD, and addiction. Despite initial enthusiasm in the mid-20th century, the War on Drugs led to a decades-long hiatus in research. However, recent studies have demonstrated promising...
Background: As the use of psychedelics increases in both therapeutic and non-clinical settings, reports of extended post-experience difficulties have also emerged. While many individuals integrate their experiences effectively, others face persistent challenges. Despite growing recognition of these issues, there is limited research on best practices for mitigating and addressing prolonged...
To aid the therapeutic process, illicit chemical substances and drugs are used in drug therapy. Various cultures have used illegal substances for thousands of years in medicine and various practices. The present study is a general approach to pharmaceutical science and attempts to contextualize drug-assisted therapy through an integrative literature review. All related articles were found...
Introduction Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy (PAP) has been legal in Switzerland since 2014 under supervised exceptional medical use with MDMA, LSD and Psilocybin with case by case authorisations delivered from the Federal Office of Public Health. In particular, since 2021, we have implemented a clinical activity at Geneva University Hospital (HUG) for treatment resistant patients using LSD...
This paper proposes a psychedelic theory of desistance, arguing that psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) may support the desistance from crime - the cessation of criminal behavior - by promoting identity transformation and personal meaning-making among criminal justice-involved individuals. Drawing from psychedelic science and desistance focused criminological theories, it suggests that, when...
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating condition leading to significant personal and societal burden. Standard treatments frequently demonstrate limited efficacy, leading to persistent symptoms and high dropout rates. Psilocybin has shown promise in treating depression, a condition that is often comorbid with PTSD. We aimed to explore participant experiences of psilocybin...
CureusDecember 1, 2025Paweł Liszka, Agata Ogórek, Klaudia M Olejnik-Chlewicka et al.
Classic psychedelics and related substances, such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), have again become a focus of interest in psychiatry as potential therapeutic tools. The aim of this paper is to review current data on their mechanisms of action, clinical applications in the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders, addictions and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as to...
The global population is ageing rapidly, with the number of individuals aged 60 and older reaching 1 billion in 2019 and expected to double by 2050. As people age, neuropsychological health often deteriorates, leading to a higher prevalence of age-related depression. Symptoms may include anxiety, apathy, mood instability, sadness, and, in severe cases, suicidal thoughts. Depression in the...
Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe condition often complicated by co-occurring disorders, such as major depression, alcohol use disorder, and substance use disorders. A well-powered phase 3 randomized, placebo-controlled trial has shown that MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) may be an effective treatment for severe PTSD. However, the psychological mechanisms driving the...
Psychedelics profoundly alter subjective experience and brain dynamics. Brain oscillations express signatures of near-critical dynamics, relevant for healthy function. Alterations in the proximity to criticality have been suggested to underlie the experiential and neurological effects of psychedelics. Here, we investigate the effects of a psychedelic substance (DMT) on the criticality of brain...
Touch has long been an essential element in human communication and healing. In the field of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT), the role of touch (and by extension, non-touch) presents complex ethical and practical challenges, particularly due to the heightened vulnerability of individuals in altered states of consciousness. Recent public discourse, including reports of boundary violations and...
The aim of the study was to evaluate the practice of using ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAT) in accordance with international clinical guidelines at the State Institution "Center for Mental Health and Veterans' Rehabilitation 'Lisova Polyana' of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine" (Ukraine).Adapting the international clinical guidelines on ketamine therapy for treatmentresistant depression...
Objective: On 7 October 2023, a mass-casualty attack at the Nova festival in Israel created an unprecedented convergence of collective trauma and altered states of consciousness. Many survivors were under the influence of psychedelics or other psychoactive substances at the time of the attack. This study explored how survivors made sense of and navigated recovery, with a focus on relational,...