Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental health condition that can occur after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. The impact of PTSD extends beyond the individual, affecting families, communities, and society as a whole. This study aims to investigate the potential of psilocybin as a treatment for PTSD. Psilocybin, after bein...
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...
Introduction: Psychedelics such as psilocybin have been shown to have persistent antidepressant effects, but with considerable individual variability in optimal dosing. Intravenous (IV) dosing is rapid onset and quickly titrated, possibly preceded by an anxiolytic for patient comfort. We explored the viability of IV psilocin with and without preadministratio...
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...
Abstract Current treatments for alcohol use disorder (AUD) show large heterogeneity in response and thus limited effectiveness and high relapse rates. A precision medicine approach with biomarkers responsive to new treatments is warranted to overcome this limitation. Promising biomarkers relate to prefrontal control mechanisms that are severely disturbed in ...
Background: Internationally, there is a growing interest in the potential benefits of psilocybin-assisted therapy to treat existential distress at the end of life. However, the social acceptability of this therapy is not yet well known. Aim: This study assesses the social acceptability of the medical use of psilocybin to treat existential distress at the end...
BACKGROUND: To investigate the association between pre-trial expectancy, suggestibility, and response to treatment in a trial of escitalopram and investigational drug, COMP360, psilocybin, in the treatment of major depressive disorder (ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NCT03429075). METHODS: = 55) from our recent double-blind, parallel-group, randomized head-...
Introduction to the Special Section on Psychedelics Research and Treatment Dominic Sisti Against a backdrop of post-pandemic malaise, diseases of despair, and a fragmented mental health care system, psychedelics have enjoyed a resurgence of interest as powerful psychotherapeutic agents and as catalysts of personal growth. The true power of these substances-s...
There has been burgeoning interest in psilocybin-use for the treatment of various neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. Psilocybin is mistakenly perceived as the principal pharmacologically active compound due to its high concentrations found in magic mushrooms; however, it is the prodrug of psilocin. Despite the expanding body of clinical research se...
Background: Psilocybin has demonstrated promising clinical outcomes for nicotine and alcohol use disorders, yet its potential clinical utility in the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) remains unreported in modern literature. This technical report presents methodological considerations and preliminary data from a safety-feasibility trial examining the in...
Background: Psilocybin, a classic hallucinogen, may eventually be approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for treatment-resistant depression. However, we are aware of only one published national survey of American psychiatrists regarding their opinions about hallucinogens and hallucinogen-assisted therapy, conducted by our group in 2016. H...
Background: Recent studies suggest that one to two administrations of psilocybin have acute antidepressant effects for people with major depressive disorder. These data on psilocybin have generated considerable enthusiasm, but little empirical attention has been paid to the therapy that adjoins psilocybin treatment (psychedelic-assisted therapy, or PAT). Mat...
Rationale: N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-mediated dissociatives and serotonergic hallucinogens are being increasingly used in therapeutic interventions that involve nonordinary states of consciousness and may represent a unique mental health paradigm wherein pharmacologically induced experiences are conducive to psychological well-being. Objective: The aim o...
Background: Psilocybin and psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) have gained renewed interest due to recent findings that PAT can enhance therapeutic outcomes. In 2019, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved breakthrough therapy status to psilocybin for the treatment of depression, but PAT has yet to be approved as a therapeutic treatment for mental...
Context: Measuring therapeutic connection during psilocybin-assisted therapy is essential to understand underlying mechanisms, inform training, and guide quality improvement. Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of directly observing indicators of therapeutic connection during psilocybin administration encounters. Methods: We evaluated audio and video data f...
A multidisciplinary pharmacognostic, forensic and pharmaceutical, organizational and legal, clinical and pharmacological, forensic and medical, toxicological, chemical evaluation of the irrational use of spices in smoking mixtures from the group of entheogens was carried out. An expert assessment of spices - plants and mushrooms containing psychoactive subst...
