Qualitative Research on Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy for the Treatment of Mental Health Disorders: A Scoping Review Protocol

Introduction There has been a surge in research into psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy over the past decade, with many studies indicating this may be an effective novel intervention for several mental health disorders. Researchers are increasingly incorporating qualitative analysis into their studies in recognition of the rich, contextual information this provides. This scoping review aims to identify the existing qualitative research on psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of mental health disorders, analyse trends in research questions and methods, and recognise opportunities for future qualitative research. Methods and Analysis The methodological guidelines set out in the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis (Aromataris et al., 2024) will be used to conduct the review. The review will include qualitative studies involving psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy, administered in a controlled research setting, for the treatment of any mental health disorder. Microdosing studies will be excluded. PubMed, Scopus, PsycNET, and reference lists of included studies will be searched. Two reviewers will screen papers for inclusion. Data will be extracted into a table and findings will be presented in a narrative form. Relevant qualitative research will be identified, trends in the qualitative research questions and methods will be analysed, and opportunities for future qualitative research will be discussed. Ethics and Dissemination Ethics approval is not required. Findings will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Key Words or Phrases Anxiety, depression, psilocybin, psychedelic, qualitative.