As both 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)- and psilocybin-assisted psychedelic psychotherapy near U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and gain acceptance as efficacious clinical approaches, concerns have been raised about the likelihood of sexual violation of a client and other relational boundary transgressions. In the current study, 23 ...
Abstract The recently published Imperial College study of a Phase II, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial comparing psilocybin-assisted therapy to a six-week titration of escitalopram for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) should raise concerns for this illness category as a target of early psychedelic research given a goal of FDA approval. There are thr...
Spontaneous Spiritual Awakenings (SSAs) are subjective experiences characterised by a sudden sense of direct contact, union, or complete nondual merging (experience of oneness) with a perceived ultimate reality, the universe, "God," or the divine. These profound transformative experiences have scarcely been researched, despite extensive anecdotal evidence su...
The therapeutic use of psilocybin in psychedelic-assisted therapy models is currently being tested for a variety of indications, necessitating the training of hundreds of therapists. At present, training programs do not include the provision of a psilocybin experience for therapists, and the last time such an experience was offered with a similar compound wa...
The primary objective of this qualitative study was to explore the therapeutic trajectories of individuals undergoing psilocybin-assisted group therapy. This interpretive phenomenological analysis focused on an enriched study sample of gay-identified cisgender men ( n = 9) with human immunodeficiency virus diagnosed before 1996 and clinically significant tra...
Objective: Recent clinical trials have demonstrated that psilocybin may have strong antidepressant effects, and may be effective in the treatment of depressive disorders when embedded in a psychotherapeutic protocol (psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy; PAP). However, despite promising results, the mechanism(s) that may be responsible for the antidepressant ef...
Psychedelic therapies intentionally combine a caring/healing environment, psychotherapy, and psychedelic medicine as a powerful means of treating intractable conditions of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. This article utilizes the nursing theory of human caring science, as articulated by Jean Watson, to describe the essential and fundamental hum...
Abstract This article reports on the experiences of four healthy individuals who attended a legal psilocybin truffle retreat in the Netherlands. The study employed a qualitative phenomenological approach, using semi-structured interviews to gain an understanding of participants' psilocybin experiences and their after-effects. The experiential themes that eme...
Despite a politically vilified past, classical psychedelics, including lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin, and dimethyltryptamine (DMT), are experiencing a revival in scientific and clinical research. When used under the appropriate guidance and setting, these substances show promise for substantially improving well-being and reducing mental ill-he...
Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Journal DigestFull AccessJournal Digest: Home Environment; Postpartum Mental Illness; Placebo in Psychedelic Study; Single Gene Mutation; TopiramateNick ZagorskiNick ZagorskiSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:28 May 2020https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2020.6a34Nurturing Home Environme...
Introduction Psilocybin (PSI) has persistent antidepressant efficacy in human trials. We have shown one dose of PSI to significantly decrease depressive-like behavior in male Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats for at least five weeks without losing efficacy. However, the outcome assay we used to evaluate depressive-like behavior, the forced swim test (FST), has been cr...
Past research suggests that use of psychedelic substances such as LSD or psilocybin may have positive effects on mood and feelings of social connectedness. These psychological effects are thought to be highly sensitive to context, but robust and direct evidence for them in a naturalistic setting is scarce. In a series of field studies involving over 1,200 pa...
BACKGROUND: Existential distress in patients with a terminal illness is often associated with (symptoms of) anxiety and depression. Psychotherapeutic interventions seem effective but effects are short-lived. There are no proven effective pharmacological interventions. AIM: To present an overview of literature on psychedelic treatment of existential distress ...
Creative thinking and empathy are crucial for everyday interactions and subjective well-being. This is emphasized by studies showing a reduction in these skills in populations where social interaction and subjective well-being are significantly compromised (e.g., depression). Anecdotal reports and recent studies suggest that a single administration of psiloc...
5-MeO-DMT is a psychoactive substance found in high concentrations in the bufotoxin of the Colorado River Toad (Bufo alvarius). Emerging evidence suggests that vaporized 5-MeO-DMT may occasion mystical experiences of comparable intensity to those occasioned by more widely studied psychedelics such as psilocybin, but no empirical study has tested this hypothe...
Background: Evidence suggests that classical psychedelics can promote enduring changes in personality, attitudes and optimism, as well as improvements in mental health outcomes. Aim: To investigate the effects of a composite intervention, involving psilocybin, on pessimism biases in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Methods: Patients with T...
In recent years, the scientific study of meditation and psychedelic drugs has seen remarkable developments. The increased focus on meditation in cognitive neuroscience has led to a cross-cultural classification of standard meditation styles validated by functional and structural neuroanatomical data. Meanwhile, the renaissance of psychedelic research has she...
