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...
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.
This article describes the Swiss limited access program for psychedelic/3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted therapy. The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health can issue authorizations for the limited medical use of otherwise prohibited substances. To be eligible, patients suffer from a mostly incurable disease, the prohibited substance can alleviate the suffering, and there are no...
Physical touch is often included as a supportive or therapeutic tool in psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT), involving instrumental forms of physical contact, supportive touch and somatic techniques. However, participants under the influence of psychedelics have reduced capacity to provide consent, are more suggestible and may experience and interpret therapeutic touch in ways they did not...
People living with cancer (PLWC) often face profound existential distress that is insufficiently addressed by conventional psychosocial supports. This qualitative study explored PLWC's attitudes, beliefs, and experiences regarding psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) as a novel approach to addressing psychosocial suffering, particularly existential distress. Fifteen participants with varying...
There is a disparity between contemporary scientific investigations into psychedelic phenomena and their 20th-century counterparts, notably the lack of examination of psychedelic experiences within group settings. Whereas early research studies from the 1950s to the 1970s explored communal settings in psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT), today's resurgence of scholarship in the field primarily...
Recent legislative initiatives in the United States have focused on the medical and legal status of psychedelics, prompting interest in understanding public perceptions of their risks. This study investigates rural-urban differences in the perception of LSD and cannabis risks using national survey data. Data from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) between 2015 and 2021 were...
Music has been identified as a central feature of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) and has hitherto been understood to amplify the psychedelic experience in a predictable way that has been codified into music recommendations and playlists. To re-evaluate the nature and role of music within the participant's world during psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Phenomenological analysis of...
Background: Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is experiencing a resurgence, with expanding evidence proving its efficacy for treatment-resistant psychiatric-mental health conditions. Psychiatric-mental health nurses (PMHNs) are uniquely positioned to provide PAT due to their integrated care capabilities, yet their roles are poorly defined. Aim: This review synthesizes PAT's clinical...