• A 60-year-old man with recurrent depression and history of delusions died after psilocybin-assisted therapy. • Psilocybin-triggered delusions and emotional dysregulation may have contributed. • Weak therapeutic alliance hindered assessment of patient's internal state. • Delusional symptoms may contraindicate psychedelic interventions. • This case emphasizes the need for thorough assessment...
Context: Psychiatric and existential distress are common and difficult-to-treat symptoms that are frequently encountered in the palliative care setting; current treatment options are limited in efficacy and tolerability. Psychedelic-assisted therapies (PAT) have gained public and scientific interest in their potential to induce rapid and effective reductions in psychiatric and existential...
Psychedelic research has experienced a renaissance in recent years, with many researchers exploring the possible therapeutic effects of these drugs. Medical institutions, universities, pharmaceutical companies, and governmental institutions alike have been showing an increase in support of this research, as shown through the recent establishment of various psychedelic research facilities across...
The recent wave of clinical trials of psychedelic substances among patients with life-limiting illness has largely focused on individual healing. This most often translates to a single patient receiving an intervention with researchers guiding them. As social isolation and lack of connection are major drivers of current mental health crises and group work is expected to be an important aspect...
Background: Recent clinical trials suggest promising antidepressant effects of psilocybin, despite methodological challenges. While various studies have investigated distinct mechanisms and proposed theoretical opinions, a comprehensive understanding of psilocybin’s neurobiological and psychological antidepressant mechanisms is lacking. Aims: Systematically review potential antidepressant...
This paper presents insights from the Psychedelic Therapists Diversity (PTD) study, a qualitative study conducted to understand how BIPOC therapists perceive psychedelic therapy and research. The inciting incident for this research occurred during our collaboration on a clinical trial of psilocybin-assisted therapy for depression in cancer patients.1 Candace Oglesby was the only therapist of...
Different study designs of psychedelic trials may impact the blinding and expectance, leading to biased treatment effects. This study aimed to examine the association between antidepressant efficacy and study designs in psychedelic trials. Six databases were systematically searched. Eligible trials were required to investigate the efficacy of psychedelics (psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide...
Neitzke-Spruill et al. (2025) offer an important overview of the ethical considerations around the use of touch within psychedelic assisted therapies (PAT) and MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT). Thei...
Current research on psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) focuses on their potential to treat clinical psychiatric conditions such as treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Presumably, if ...
The integration of psychedelic substances into modern Western therapeutic practice has sparked a critical examination of many topics including: efficacy of psychedelics to treat mental health diagnoses without psychotherapeutic intervention, what models of therapy to use, and ethical implications related to altered states of consciousness. Of utmost concern are issues of power dynamics leading...
Psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) is an experimental treatment with transformative promise. Developing standards for PAT psychotherapy protocols is a priority, but psychotherapeutic protocol components of PAT have been subjected to little rigorous research. This study was designed to assess protocol components in a trial of PAT. The Enhanced Critical Incident Technique (E-CIT) was used to...
There are currently no evidence-based treatment guidelines for antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). Instead, treatment typically focuses on comorbid conditions. There is currently no literature documenting cases or research, theoretical or otherwise of using ketamine-assisted therapy or any other psychedelic therapy in cases of ASPD. In this case report, a 43-year-old man seeking...
As psilocybin awaits approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), scholars debate whether psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy should be required when prescribing this medicine. Here, we report the case of a patient who underwent a psilocybin experience without psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, resulting in inpatient psychiatric admission. This case underscores the importance of taking...
The recent surge in psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) research and anticipated Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine) and psilocybin treatments has bro...
The role of touch in psychotherapy has been a topic of debate for several decades, now gaining renewed salience with the (re-)emergence of psychedelic-assisted therapy (P-AT), where altered states ...
The field of psychedelic medicine is currently developing evidence-based standards and core competencies for training providers who offer psychedelic treatments. This article contributes to this effort by describing the iterative development of the EMBARK training program. This program has been developed by Cybin, Inc. for training session monitors in clinical trials of psychedelic treatments....
On August 9, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declined to approve Lykos Therapeutics’ application for MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT), in alignment with the recommendation of its i...
Psychedelic therapies have emerged as a modality of treatment for several treatment resistant diseases, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), treatment resistant depression, substance use disorders, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Arguably more than with other therapies, their success is dependent on the facilitator and the context of the administration. Several programs...
Despite national efforts to curb the opioid crisis, the clinical and societal challenges continue to grow. FDA-approved medications for opioid use disorder (OUD) are effective but are associated with high rates of treatment discontinuation and relapse. A collection of agents with acute effects on consciousness, collectively (if variably) categorized as 'psychedelics', have emerged as potential...
This rapid review aims to synthesise recommendations and statements from international clinical guidelines, consensus statements, and position statements regarding the medical use of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) in adults living with depression.