ABSTRACT Background: Psychedelic substances are increasingly recognized for their therapeutic potential to ease psychological suffering linked to end-of-life issues. However, amid renewed scientific and public interest, policy remains restrictive. Existing reviews have made progress in synthesizing the results of studies of psychedelic interventions, especia...
Long-term adverse experiences following psychedelic use can persist for weeks, months, or even years, and are relatively unexplored in psychedelic research. Our convergent mixed-method study gained quantitative and qualitative data from 608 participants who reported extended difficulties following psychedelic experiences. Data was gathered on the context of ...
This paper explores Christian responses to religious and spiritual experiences (RSEs) associated with psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT). It addresses the challenges of defining and understanding spiritual and religious experiences and examines the theological implications of PAT-induced RSEs. It highlights the growing acceptance of PAT as a therapeutic appro...
BACKGROUND: In clinical studies, psychedelics including psilocybin and D-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) demonstrate rapid and persistent antidepressant effects. Since the effective treatment with psychedelics is usually provided with psychotherapy, it is debatable whether their prolonged efficacy can be observed in infrahuman species. Preclinical reports o...
Introduction: The classic psychedelic psilocybin has attracted special interest across clinical and non-clinical settings as a potential tool for mental health. However, despite increasing attention to challenging psychedelic experiences, few studies have explored the relevance of emotionally painful, shame-related processes with psychedelic use. Methods: Th...
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring hallucinogen found in different species of fungi. Psilocybin has gained extensive social popularity and political attention in the United States. Research has shown that psilocybin and psychological therapy may have promising therapeutic applications for safer and more effective treatment of mental illnesses such as major ...
Executive function deficits, common in psychiatric disorders, hinder daily activities and may be linked to diminished neural plasticity, affecting treatment and training responsiveness. In this pioneering study, we evaluated the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of psilocybin-assisted frontal-midline theta neurofeedback (NF), a neuromodulation technique l...
Introduction: In psychedelic therapy, mystical as well as challenging experience may influence therapeutic outcome. However, predictors of such experience have not been sufficiently established. Determining predictors of their intensity is, therefore, potentially beneficial in targeting psilocybin therapy for depression. Methods: In a post hoc data analysis ...
Expectancy effects for many psychoactive substances appear to play a role in consumption, problematic use, subjective responses to acute administration, and subsequent effects. Expectancies of psychedelics have received little attention in published research despite their reputation for creating dramatic changes in subjective state. Psilocybin-assisted treat...
Psychedelic-assisted treatment (PAT) for mental health is in renaissance. Psilocybin and MDMA stand near FDA approval, and US cities and states are decriminalizing or regulating the non-clinical use of psilocybin. However, neither FDA indications nor a regulated use model sufficiently address the complex needs and opportunities for an improved treatment of a...
Abstract Introduction It is not known how self-perception and self-recognition are influenced when one is highly self-focused under the influence of psilocybin. Here we examine self-reports of mirror self-recognition and self-perception during a psilocybin experience. Methods Reddit posts were examined in a systematic manner. Posts that were written by indiv...
Patients characterized by stress-related disorders such as depression display elevated circulating concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines and a hyperactive HPA axis. Psychedelics are demonstrating promising results in treatment of such disorders, however the mechanisms of their therapeutic effects are still unknown. To date the evidence of acute and pe...
This article reviews the historical protocols for the administration of “classic” psychedelics in France, from the 1920s to the 1960s. Taking a chronological approach, it investigates the way mescaline, LSD, and psilocybin were administered, the subjects involved, the route of administration, the dosage, and the epistemological context of the research. From ...
This perspective paper explores the choice of psychotherapy for psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for treatment-resistant depression. There is evidence to support the use of some psychotherapies in treating 'treatment-resistant' depression, and emerging evidence for the efficacy of psilocybin. The next step which is the focus of this paper is to identify psy...
This retrospective case report explores the impact of psilocybin mushroom intake on the emergence of mental imagery in an autistic woman with aphantasia. Aphantasia refers to the inability to generate visual mental images, which can significantly affect individuals' experiences and cognitive processes. The case study focuses on a 34-year-old autistic woman w...
Introduction: There is substantial public interest in psychedelics as potential treatments for psychiatric conditions. However, most psychedelics are criminalized under federal law in the USA, so it is unclear whether use occurs with clinical support. Our objective was to assess whether naturalistic psychedelic use occurs with clinical support, interactions ...
Respondents with experience in the use of psychedelics (psilocybin, LSD, ketamine, MDMA, etc.) participated in the study. Based on the subjective assessment of the level of awareness in the topic of psychedelics, it was found that 49% of respondents have a high level, 47% have an average level, and 4% have a low level of awareness in the topic. Most of the s...
Since reports about CIA-funded LSD studies came out in the 1970s, psychedelic drugs have invoked images of unethical experimentation and “mad scientists” in the public imagination. Even now, as the stigma surrounding psychedelics diminishes in the 21st century, the figure of the “mad scientist” continues to occupy a space in what Ido Hartogsohn calls the “co...
The efficacy of psilocybin and other psychedelics as modes of treatment have been demonstrated through clinical trials and other studies in the management of a number of mental illnesses, including some treatment resistant cases. In Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy (PAP), psychedelics catalyze or enhance the experience fostered by psychotherapeutic methods...
In a recent article, Messell and colleagues provide a curated list, the "Copenhagen Music Program for Psilocybin". We test their music program with an experienced Indigenous therapist/psychonaut on a 3.5 gram psilocybin journey. Based on comments provided by the Indigenous therapist, we find the program contains musical choices that evoke specific colonial a...
