OBJECTIVES: Psychospiritual distress affects many patients with cancer, contributing to diminished quality of life, decreased survival and a desire for hastened death. The current standard of care, which primarily consists of antidepressants and psychotherapy, has demonstrated only modest benefits. Psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) has shown evidence of rapi...
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 therape...
The revival of psilocybin in psychopharmacological research heralds a potential paradigm shift for treating mood and anxiety disorders, and other psychiatric conditions beyond the psychotic spectrum. This critical review evaluates current evidence on psilocybin's efficacy, juxtaposing potential benefits with the practical aspects of psychedelic-assisted psyc...
Although studies of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy are accumulating, there is no consensus regarding best practice of the psychotherapeutic component. In this systematic review, we summarised the quality of reporting on psychological interventions in research about psychedelic treatments. The design followed PRISMA guidelines and was preregistered in PRO...
Importance: The psychological morbidity experienced by physicians, advanced practice practitioners (APPs), and nurses from working during the COVID-19 pandemic includes burnout, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Objective: To investigate whether psilocybin therapy could improve symptoms of depression, burnout, and PTSD in US clinicians wh...
OBJECTIVES: Understanding variations in knowledge and attitudes of psychiatrists to psilocybin therapy is important for the collective discourse about the potential impact on clinical practice and public health in Ireland. METHODS: A28-item questionnaire was designed based on previous studies and distributed to psychiatrists in Ireland via online mailing lis...
Substance use disorder (SUD) is common in psychiatric patients and has a negative impact on health and well-being. However, SUD often goes untreated, and there is a need for psychiatrists, of all specialties, to address this pervasive clinical problem. In this review, the authors' goal is to provide a resource that describes treatments for SUD, using neurosc...
The recent review of a new drug application for MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) highlighted epistemological and methodological challenges for evidence assessments. Similar challenges will also be faced in reviews of other compounds in early- and late-stage development, like psi...
BackgroundThe applications of psilocybin, derived from 'magic mushrooms,' are vast, including a burgeoning practice known as microdosing, which refers to the administration of sub-hallucinogenic doses of psychedelic substances to obtain benefits without experiencing significant cognitive and perceptual distortion. However, current research is fairly new with...
In the contemporary landscape of psychiatric medicine, critical advancements have been noted in the utilization of psychoactive substances such as hallucinogens, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and ketamine for the treatment of severe mental health disorders. This review provides a detailed evaluation of these substances, focusing on their mechanis...
Psychedelics have emerged as promising therapeutics for several psychiatric disorders. Hypotheses around their mechanisms have revolved around their partial agonism at the serotonin 2 A receptor, leading to enhanced neuroplasticity and brain connectivity changes that underlie positive mindset shifts. However, these accounts fail to recognise that the gut mic...
There is increasing interest in the use of psychedelics for therapeutic and recreational use. Research has been hindered by federal prohibition, put in place in 1970. Despite the regulatory difficulty, research has rapidly expanded in the past decade. Multiple states and cities have drafted their own policies regarding the use of psychedelics. Assuming inter...
Current pharmacological treatments for major depressive disorder (MDD) are often only partially effective, with many patients experiencing no significant benefit, leading to treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Psilocybin, a classical serotonergic psychedelic, has emerged as a notable emerging treatment for such disorders. The aim of this systematic review ...
Background: There has been a resurgence of research into the potential therapeutic benefits of psychedelics for neuropsychiatric disorders. Classic psychedelics, such as psilocybin, exert complex effects on higher cognitive functions such as perception and awareness, but their impact on motor function remains unexplored. Moreover, there is a theoretical rati...
Introduction Since the last edition of the Black Book, several innovative agents have been approved or are poised to be approved in the coming year. These include novel antidepressants, the first muscarine agonist for the treatment of schizophrenia, the first psychedelic which may be approved for the treatment of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and th...
BackgroundTreatment-Resistant Depression (TRD) challenges psychiatric treatment, with existing guidelines covering only a subset of augmentation strategies.MethodsA network meta-analysis following PRISMA guidelines examined the efficacy and safety of TRD treatments, analyzing 72 randomized controlled trials from eight databases, assessing response and remiss...
For a new clinical trial testing a group retreat-based format of psilocybin-assisted therapy, our research team created an initial set of practice guidelines that aimed to describe facilitator use of touch in a way that is ethical, supportive, and minimizes harm. In our first three retreats, however, we had two unexpected experiences with touch that led us t...
ObjectivesThe Australian government recently rescheduled psilocybin and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine for limited clinical uses. This change has raised various regulatory concerns and challenges for the field of psychedelic-assisted therapy. To provide clarity, we aimed to comprehensively catalogue the matters relating to psychedelic-assisted therapy tha...
Background: Psilocybin is a psychedelic drug with potential therapeutic effects in patients with mood and substance use disorders. Little is known about its impact on the immune system. Methods: Multiplex immunoassay pro-inflammatory cytokine panels (Meso-Scale Discovery, Rockville, MD) were used to examine the serum from participants in three separate rando...
