Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Clinical & ResearchFull AccessPsychedelic Renaissance: Clinical Health Justice, Patient Safety, and Equity Need to Be Put FirstJacques Ambrose, M.D., M.P.H., Jeffrey Zabinski, M.D., M.S.W.Jacques AmbroseSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., M.P.H., Jeffrey ZabinskiSearch for more papers by this a...
Moving towards a systems psychiatry paradigm embraces the inherent complex interactions across all levels from micro to macro and necessitates an integrated approach to treatment. Cortical 5-HT receptors are key primary targets for the effects of serotonergic psychedelics. However, the therapeutic mechanisms underlying psychedelic therapy are complex and tra...
Subjective responses to psychoactive drugs have served as intriguing windows into consciousness as well as useful predictors. Subjective reactions to psychedelic molecules are particularly interesting given how they covary with subsequent improvements associated with psychedelic-assisted treatments. Although links between subjective reactions and decreases i...
There has recently been a resurgence of interest in psychedelic compounds based on studies demonstrating their potential therapeutic applications in treating post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse disorders, and treatment-resistant depression. Despite promising efficacy observed in some clinical trials, the full range of biological effects and mecha...
While the literature on psychedelic medicine emphasizes the importance of set and setting alongside the quality of subjective drug effects for therapeutic efficacy, few scholars have explored the therapeutic frameworks that are used alongside psychedelics in the lab or in the clinic. Based on a narrative analysis of the treatment manual and post-session expe...
The interest in psilocybin as a therapeutic approach has grown exponentially in recent years. Despite increasing access, there remains a lack of practical guidance on the topic for health care professionals. This is particularly concerning given the medical complexity and vulnerable nature of patients for whom psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy may be conside...
AimsThis paper aims to investigate the advances in recent years in the recognition and therapy of treatment-resistant depression starting from the concepts of: depressive disorder, resistance and pseudoresistance to drug treatment in depression, and appropriate treatments of treatment-resistant depression.MethodsAn extensive research was carried out on scien...
The utility of classical drugs used to treat psychiatric disorders (e.g., antidepressants, anxiolytics) is often limited by issues of lack of efficacy, delayed onset of action or side effects. Psychoactive substances have a long history of being used as tools to alter consciousness and as a gateway to approach the unknown and the divinities. These substances...
A striking feature of psychedelics is their ability to increase attribution of truth and meaningfulness to specific contents and ideas experienced, which may persist long after psychedelic effects have subsided. We propose that processes underlying conferral of meaning and truth in psychedelic experiences may act as a double-edged sword: while these may driv...
Psychedelics have been already used by human societies for more than 3000 years, mostly in religious and healing context. The renewed interest in the potential application of psychedelic compounds as novel therapeutics has led to promising preliminary evidence of clinical benefit in some psychiatric disorders. Despite these promising results, the potential f...
Introduction Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder associated with suffering and disability. The serotoninergic system is implicated in the neurobiological processes of OCD and serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) are the first-line treatment. However, clinical improvement after starting SRIs can take long and patients may not fully r...
Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is a burgeoning treatment with growing interest across a variety of settings and disciplines. Empirical evidence supports PAT as a novel therapeutic approach that provides safe and effective treatment for people suffering from a variety of diagnoses, including treatment-resistant depression, substance use disorder, and post...
BackgroundCurrent first-line treatment for social anxiety disorder (SAD), one of the most prevalent anxiety disorders, is limited in its efficacy. Hence, novel treatment approaches are urgently needed. The current review suggests a combination of meditation-based interventions and the administration of a psychedelic as a future alternative treatment approach...
12097 Background: More than 17 million people in the U.S. live with cancer and up to 25% of them have major depression. Depression leads to lower treatment adherence, reduced quality of life, and higher rates of mortality in cancer. Yet, interventions used to treat depression in patients with cancer have limited success. Prior trials using psilocybin to trea...
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound with profound perception-, emotion- and cognition-altering properties and great potential for treating brain disorders. However, the neural mechanisms mediating its effects require in-depth investigation as there is still much to learn about how psychedelic drugs produce their profound and long-lasting...
ABSTRACT Psilocybin is a psychedelic with therapeutic potential. While there is growing evidence that psilocybin exerts its beneficial effects through enhancing neural plasticity, the exact brain regions involved are not completely understood. Determining the impact of psilocybin on plasticity-related gene expression throughout the brain can broaden our unde...
Psychotherapy with the use of psychedelic substances, including psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), ketamine, and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), has demonstrated promise in treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, addiction, and treatment-resistant depression. Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PP) represents a uniqu...
BackgroundMany benefits and some harms associated with psychedelic use could be attributable to these drugs' acceptance/avoidance-promoting effects and corresponding changes in psychological flexibility. Underlying psychological mechanisms are insufficiently understood.AimThe purpose of this study was the validation of a psychological model of acceptance/avo...
“Are magic mushrooms the miracle cure for depression we've been looking for?” (Khan, 2021). Attention-grabbing headlines such as this are becoming increasingly common and suggest that psychedelic medicines are some kind of magic bullet. This perception is increased by stories of people who had a single life-changing psychedelic experience that resulted in co...
Depression is highly prevalent and represents the leading cause of global disability and primary contributor to overall global burden of disease. Several lines of evidence from early-phase experimental trials suggest that serotonergic psychedelics, particularly psilocybin, with therapeutic support show great promise in the treatment of depression with large ...
