European PsychiatryApril 1, 2025T. Fernandes, J. G. Freire, M. C. Pais et al.
Introduction Functional neurological disorders (FND), also referred to as conversion disorder or psychogenic neurological disorders, are one of the most common and disabling conditions in the neurology practice field, with very limited treatment options. FNDs present with sensory and/or motor symptoms that can mimic other neurological conditions, but appear to be related to recognizable...
What kind of experience is “literary experience,” and what might it have in common with psychedelics? This essay exposes a poetics of experience embedded within psychedelics and shows its common ground with the literary space of a poem in the Middle Ages. While writers like Aldous Huxley have often appealed to the precursor of the medieval, this essay takes a different turn. By looking at the...
Psychedelic-assisted therapy could transform treating psychiatric illness, but harms from exacerbating substance use disorder (SUD) among adults with psychiatric illness using psychedelics have not been studied. A cross-sectional survey in the US was used to test whether Drug Abuse Screening Test scores (DAST-10, validated instrument predicting SUD) were more severe when psychiatric illnesses...
Abstract The potential of psychedelic substances to treat mental illness is of significant clinical and societal interest, leading to academic and industry-based research to test their effects. Partly, such research was conducted to fulfil requirements of government agencies such as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), that have started defining...
Introduction Persons with schizophrenia are currently excluded from psychedelic-assisted therapy due to concerns about psychedelic-induced acute or persistent psychotic symptoms. However, meta-analytic evidence of the precise risk for psychedelic-induced de novo and exacerbation of psychosis in people with pre-existing psychotic disorders is lacking. Objectives We conducted an overview of...
European PsychiatryApril 1, 2025P. Andres-Olivera, Janis V. de la Iglesia, E. Dominguez-Alvarez et al.
Introduction Psilocybin, a psychedelic compound, has shown potential in treating depression, especially in cases resistant to conventional treatments. This study systematically reviews the scientific literature to assess its efficacy and safety. Objectives The main objective of this study is to evaluate the therapeutic effects of psilocybin for the treatment of depressive disorder through a...
BMJ OpenApril 1, 2025Vanessa L. Beesley, Tom Kennedy, Fiona Maccallum et al.2 citations
Introduction Prolonged grief disorder (PGD) represents a substantial public health issue, especially in oncology settings where it affects up to 30% of bereaved carers. Current best-practice treatments are lengthy, and up to 50% of participants have persistent PGD. Building on encouraging recent research with psychedelic-assisted therapies, the Psilocybin-Assisted suppoRtive psychoTherapy IN...
The recent rejection of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted therapy by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a dramatic moment in the re-emergence of psychedelic research. In this perspective, I argue that it represents a case study for paradigmatic tensions within psychopharmacology. The regulatory system is still influenced by a paradigm that sees the therapeutic...
Given the widespread interest and ongoing study on MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) for PTSD, its implications for unique populations-such as adolescents-require further understanding. Social workers will likely play a crucial role in the potential implementation of this intervention, but their perspectives remain unknown. The study includes 222 social workers randomized to read one of two...
Betty Eisner represents a prominent figure in the "golden age" of psychedelics research, as well as a cautionary tale about questionable therapeutic practices, exercising authority and control, and the misuse of psychedelics during the counterculture of the 1960s and 70s. Situating her work and the consequences of her problematic practices in the counterculture, the Human Potential Movement,...