Psychedelics are increasingly described as a new therapeutic approach in a variety of mental disorders including depression. Oral psychedelics such as psilocybin have an acute effect evolving over 6-8 h and are generally given in combination with psychological support. There is debate on the exact role of this support and how and by whom it should be deliver...
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Australia recently down-scheduled and authorised psychedelic-assisted therapies, including psilocybin, for certain mental health conditions. Evidence is emerging for potential application in substance use disorder treatment. However, regulatory developments have outpaced implementation readiness. While service leaders and clinicians are ...
CONTEXT: People living with serious illness frequently experience intense existential suffering related to awareness of finitude. Psychedelic-assisted therapies have been associated with reductions in death anxiety and existential distress, yet the experiential processes underlying transformations in the relationship with finitude remain insufficiently under...
Background/Objectives: Psilocybin has re-emerged as a promising intervention for neuropsychiatric disorders including major depressive disorder, treatment-resistant depression, anxiety associated with life-threatening illness, obsessive compulsive disorder, and substance use disorders. However, conventional randomized controlled trials (RCTs)-the current gol...
While the limitations of existing treatment options have spurred investigations into the applicability of psychedelic therapies for chronic and treatment-resistant psychological disorders, there remain significant unresolved issues pertaining to how these treatments should be regulated and the implementation of an ethical framework for their widespread deliv...
Background Following Australia’s landmark 2023 decision to approve psilocybin and MDMA for clinical use, psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is beginning to emerge within regulated mental health settings. This study investigates psychologists’ views on the relevance of psychedelic therapists’ lived-living experience (LLE) with psychedelics. While discussion a...
RATIONALE: The nature and role of the psychological support provided in psychedelic-assisted treatments for psychiatric disorders are currently the object of debate. How this support is conceptualized-as a vector for therapeutic change or framework for risk minimization-has far-reaching consequences in terms of how these treatments should be regulated, deliv...
Depression and psychological distress are highly prevalent among patients with cancer and are associated with impaired quality of life, reduced treatment adherence, and poorer clinical outcomes. Standard pharmacological and psychosocial interventions often demonstrate limited efficacy or delayed onset of action in oncological and palliative settings. Psilocy...
Psilocybin-assisted therapies are innovative therapeutic approaches, particularly in the treatment of depression. However, there are sparse studies providing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) evidence elucidating the underlying biological mechanisms that support clinical outcomes. This review aims to comprehensively gather all the evidence reporte...
Can a guided psychedelic experience with psilocybin successfully treat refractory depression? In other words, setting aside any simple direct biological drug effect, can psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy1 alleviate suffering via what William James would call a mystical experience?2
Introduction This computational modeling study introduces a novel Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) framework for optimizing single-dose psilocybin treatment protocols through personalized intervention modeling using publicly available mental health datasets. All results presented are derived from novel simulated data and predictive modeling only, no...
BACKGROUND: Current treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), including serotonin reuptake inhibitors and cognitive-behavioral therapy, are often insufficient. Psilocybin, a 5HT2a agonist psychedelic, has shown promise for treating OCD, but rigorous evidence is still needed. AIMS: This randomized clinical trial evaluated safety, tolerability, and b...
Abstract Background: This case describes a substance-induced manic episode with psychotic features in which interaction with an AI (artificial intelligence) chatbot appeared to corroborate and reinforce the patient’s delusional thought content and to contradict medical advice. Excerpts from the patient’s interactions with the AI chatbot provide novel clinica...
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There has been a resurgence of interest in using psilocybin to treat various mental health conditions. Although some adults in the United States (US) are using psilocybin, little is known about the epidemiology of its use, especially for microdosing (i.e., taking a fraction of a regular dose). This study aimed to present nationally repre...
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if psilocybin, given with psychological support, is safe and helps treat anorexia nervosa in young adults. Anorexia nervosa is a serious eating disorder that currently has no approved medicine. Psilocybin is a psychedelic substance that may help the brain form new connections, which could make it easier for people ...
Background: Psychedelic therapies are gaining attention as tools to alleviate anxiety and depression across various clinical populations. However, the mechanisms behind psychedelics' therapeutic efficacy and the potential differences in how patients with certain diagnoses experience their subjective effects remain unknown. One commonly suggested mediator of ...
Meaning is a primary existential concern in those with advanced illnesses and functions as an important coping mechanism. Loss of meaning contributes to existential distress, and, in particular, may manifest as demoralization, a syndrome of poor coping that is associated with negative outcomes. Psychedelics are unique psychoactive compounds that, among other...
