Background/Objectives: Patients in palliative care often experience multifaceted forms of suffering that extend beyond physical symptoms, including existential distress, loss of meaning, and emotional pain. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) has emerged as a promising intervention for alleviating such complex forms of suffering, yet models specifically tailored to palliative populations...
ABSTRACT Psychedelics offer an intriguing novel method for changing minds, supposedly by destabilizing the neurobiology of the belief system. The resulting power to change minds raises ethical and epistemic concerns. This article examines the epistemic status of psychedelic experiences and suggests a skeptical attitude towards beliefs formed under their influence, a position that stands in...
As psychedelic-assisted therapies gain prominence, queer and non-binary individuals remain largely marginalized within this emerging field. This Critical Interpretive Synthesis (CIS) reviews 44 empirical studies (2014–2024) to explore how queer experiences are represented and erased in psychedelic research. Guided by queer theory, intersectionality, and post-psychiatry frameworks, the synthesis...
Social WorkOctober 1, 2025Heidi L Allen, Brooke L Stott
With MDMA, LSD, and psilocybin receiving “Breakthrough Therapy” designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and moving into Phase 3 clinical trials, we are closer than ever to legal administration of these compounds for mental health treatment. Research from Lykos, Usona Institute, Mindmed, Compass Pathways, and Johns Hopkins, among others, has shown promising efficacy of the...
Background: Job-related stress and its extreme form, burnout, continue to affect almost half of all frontline healthcare workers and first responders. Current treatments are inadequate. Objectives: To evaluate a model of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) delivered in a group format to address symptoms of anxiety, depression, trauma, and burnout via repeated measures of the Generalized...
PAP combined with structured psychological support shows sustained reductions in depressive symptoms for treatment-resistant depression and major depressive disorder. Higher doses generally yield stronger benefits. While PAP holds significant potential as a holistic treatment, methodological limitations, such as heterogeneity in study designs, inconsistent levels of psychological support and...
Abstract Background & Aims There are few effective treatments for methamphetamine use disorder, despite increasing global demand. Here, we assessed the safety and feasibility of outpatient psilocybin‐assisted psychotherapy for methamphetamine use disorder. Design Single arm, open label pilot study. Setting Outpatient public stimulant treatment program at St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney,...
Psychedelic-assisted therapy is currently in its second wave and enjoying a renaissance of sorts. This article describes a narrative therapy–inspired approach to working therapeutically with psychedelics. My intent in writing this paper is to provide a model for how narrative therapy ideas in practice can be applied to the three stages of psychedelic-assisted therapy: preparation, medicine work...
Background: Evidence is growing that psychedelic substances have positive effects in the setting of Palliative Care (PC), focusing on special needs in this patient population. After a scoping review of the literature, no published expert recommendations guiding best practice for psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) towards the end of life were identified. Objective: To draw conclusions from...
Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is an emerging intervention in psychiatry, for which there is preliminary evidence for effectiveness in eating disorders (EDs). The subjective psychedelic experience is considered an important driver of positive outcomes following PAT; however, conventional study design approaches often overlook many of the nuances inherent to the experience. Consequently,...