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psychedelic-assisted therapy
Also known as: psychedelic-assisted therapy, psychedelic therapy, psychedelic-assisted therapies, psychedelic-based therapies, psychedelic psychotherapy
Facts (56)
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Published Studies — Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and ... hopkinspsychedelic.org 17 facts
referenceThe study 'Expanded Access to Psychedelic Treatments: Comparing US and Canadian Policies' was published in General Psychiatry in 2025 by Richard, J., Garcia-Romeu, A., and Henningfield, J. E.
referenceA 2025 study published in Psychopharmacology by Bender et al. examines provider perspectives on the challenges associated with treatment during psychedelic therapy.
referenceUthaug, M. V., Davis, A. K., Haas, T. F., Davis, D., Dolan, S. B., Lancelotta, R., Timmermann, C., Ramaekers, J. G. published 'Decreases in Suicidality Following Psychedelic Therapy: A Meta-Analysis of Individual Patient Data Across Clinical Trials' in 'The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry' in 2022.
referenceBarnett et al. published a commentary titled 'Commentary: On the need for metaphysics in psychedelic therapy and research' in Frontiers in Psychology in 2024.
referenceThe study 'Set and Setting: A Randomized Study of Different Musical Genres in Supporting Psychedelic Therapy' by J. C. Strickland, A. Garcia-Romeu, and M. W. Johnson was published in ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science in 2021.
referenceA 2023 study by Armstrong et al. published in the 'Journal of Psychedelic Studies' analyzed differences in attitudes and beliefs about psychedelic-assisted therapy among social workers, psychiatrists, and psychologists in the United States.
referenceA 2018 article by Johnson argued that psychiatry might need to incorporate psychedelic therapy.
referenceA 2025 study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy by Jarvis et al. reports on the neutral attitude of the United Kingdom population toward the utilization of psychedelic therapy for depression.
referenceGukasyan, N., Schreyer, C. C., Griffiths, R. R., and Guarda, A. S. published 'Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy for People with Eating Disorders' in Current Psychiatry Reports in 2022.
referenceA meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials of psychedelic-assisted therapy was conducted to evaluate efficacy.
referenceA 2018 review by Garcia-Romeu and Richards examined current perspectives on psychedelic therapy, specifically the use of serotonergic hallucinogens in clinical interventions.
referenceThe study 'Psychological Support Approaches in Psychedelic Therapy: Results From a Survey of Psychedelic Practitioners' was published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry in 2025 by Bender, D. A., Nayak, S. M., Siegel, J. S., Hellerstein, D. J., Ercal, B. C., and Lenze, E. J.
referenceBradberry, M. M., Gukasyan, N., and Raison, C. L. published a study in JAMA Psychiatry in 2022 regarding risk-benefit assessments in psychedelic- and MDMA-assisted therapies.
referenceA 2018 study by Noorani, Garcia-Romeu, Swift, Griffiths, and Johnson published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology analyzed participant accounts of using psychedelic therapy for smoking cessation.
referenceA 2025 study published in The American Journal of Psychotherapy by Bender et al. surveyed practitioners in research settings regarding the role of touch in psychedelic therapy.
referenceA 2025 article in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry by Bender et al. serves as a reply to Modesto-Lowe et al., arguing that psychedelic therapies represent one drug with multiple treatments.
referenceA 2017 study by Barrett, Robbin, Smooke, and Brown published in Frontiers in Psychology identified qualitative and quantitative features of music reported to support peak mystical experiences during psychedelic therapy sessions.
Ancient Roots of Today's Emerging Renaissance in ... link.springer.com 13 facts
claimIt is critical for health systems to preserve ancient ritualistic elements of psychedelic-based therapies, including assessment, set and setting, time for preparation, processing and dialogue, and re-integration, as practiced in current clinical research by Carhart-Harris et al. (2018) and Garcia-Romeu and Richards (2018).
perspectiveThrul and Garcia-Romeu (2021) argue that it is critical to train modern psychedelic practitioners who reflect local populations and to establish equitable, culturally-sensitive treatment networks in urban and rural environments to ensure accessibility across class, racial, gender, ethnic, and generational boundaries.
claimPsychedelic therapies have been used carefully, ritualistically, and with sacred purpose by humans outside of a market economy for tens of thousands of years.
claimPreliminary research has established the longitudinal efficacy of single-dose psychedelic treatments, which could potentially replace current mental health models that rely on long-term use of expensive, modestly effective pharmaceuticals with unwanted side effects (Griffiths et al. 2016; Ross et al. 2016).
perspectiveNon-clinical experts, such as social scientists, archaeologists, and religious studies scholars, may have important roles in the clinical deployment and evaluation of modern psychedelic therapies due to the ancient nature of these treatments.
claimPeer-reviewed research has established the preliminary effectiveness of psychedelic therapies in treating depression (Carhart-Harris et al. 2021; Davis et al. 2020), substance use disorders (Bogenschutz et al. 2015; Johnson et al. 2014), PTSD (Mitchell et al. 2021), and anxiety for patients facing terminal cancer (Griffiths et al. 2016; Grob et al. 2011; Ross et al. 2016).
perspectiveEthicists, philosophers, and social science scholars may fruitfully explore practical and ethical questions regarding the therapeutic effects of psychedelics, as well as conceptual inquiries such as how psychedelic therapy clarifies or problematizes the mind-brain relationship.
claimThe safety and efficacy of modern psychedelic therapy are optimized by wraparound care, similar to how general anesthesia is administered under active medical supervision within a larger interventional context, according to Johnson et al. (2008).
referenceJanis Phelps published 'Developing Guidelines and Competencies for the Training of Psychedelic Therapists' in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology in 2017.
claimWatts et al. (2017) suggest that patients might emerge from psychedelic therapy feeling a greater sense of purpose, renewed solidarity and interdependence with others, and unity with a planet destabilized by anthropogenic climate change.
claimNutt and Carhart-Harris (2021) and Phelps (2017) argue that psychedelic therapists will require systematic training and licensing consistent with the education and certification standards of other health professionals.
claimContemporary clinical research, including studies by Garcia-Romeu and Richards (2018) and Rucker et al. (2018), corroborates that supportive counseling is a crucial mediating factor in psychedelic therapy, rather than using psychedelics as standalone pharmacotherapies.
claimGeorge and Hanson (2019) suggest that assisted-living facilities are a potential setting for the deployment of psychedelic treatments.
Neuroimaging in psychedelic drug development: past, present, and ... nature.com Sep 27, 2023 10 facts
claimFuture research in psychedelic therapy aims to address the relationship between acute drug effects and longer-term clinical effects, the characterization of 5-HT2A receptor effects, and the impact of these compounds on neuroplasticity.
claimClinical studies in psychedelic therapy aim to establish a 'molecular-functional-clinical bridge' by characterizing the relationship between acute and longer-term clinically-relevant effects, investigating the 5-HT2A receptor's association with functional and clinical effects, and focusing on neuroplasticity.
claimStudies in psychedelic therapy rely on multimodal neuroimaging, specifically PET and MRI, combined with ancillary measures such as genotyping, subjective measures, pharmacokinetics, and EEG/MEG.
claimNeuroimaging technology has played a key role in the modern understanding and development of psychedelic therapies.
perspectiveThere is a prevailing scientific viewpoint that putative increases in neuroplasticity likely underlie the positive clinical effects of psychedelic therapy, a hypothesis largely derived from pre-clinical research.
claimThe modern development of psychedelic therapy in the early 21st century has occurred concurrently with the use of advanced neuroimaging research methods.
claimPsychedelic therapy is an emerging paradigm with potential for treating psychiatric disorders, including depression, addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
referenceThe psychological flexibility model is used to support psychedelic-assisted therapy, as described in the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science in 2020.
claimA 50-year gap in scientific research caused by legal prohibitions has resulted in a deficit in the basic-science evidence base for psychedelic treatments compared to other psychiatric drugs like SSRI anti-depressants and dopaminergic anti-psychotics.
claimPsychedelic therapy is being investigated for its transdiagnostic potential, including treatment for anorexia nervosa.
The Montreal model: an integrative biomedical-psychedelic ... frontiersin.org 7 facts
perspectivePsychedelic substances can magnify an individual's slight preference for a specific context (such as a musical playlist) into radically different experiences, suggesting that there is no single 'best' playlist for psychedelic therapy, but rather a best choice for a specific patient on a specific day.
claimPsychedelic therapy promotes acceptance through a cognitive-behavioral model described as 'learning to let go'.
claimPsychedelic treatments require higher levels of trust and vulnerability than conventional psychotherapy, which may magnify both the impact of reparative interpersonal interactions and the potential for interpersonal harms.
referenceKolp, Friedman, Krupitsky, Jansen, et al. published 'Ketamine psychedelic psychotherapy: focus on its pharmacology, phenomenology, and clinical applications' in the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies in 2014 (doi: 10.24972/ijts.2014.33.2.84), examining the clinical use of ketamine.
referenceWatts and Luoma published 'The use of the psychological flexibility model to support psychedelic assisted therapy' in the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science (2020), exploring the application of the psychological flexibility model in this therapeutic context.
claimA recent review identified 10 distinct models of integration in psychedelic therapy, which differ in their relative emphasis on mind, body, spirit, lifestyle, relationships, and the natural world.
claimThe Montreal model's approach of conducting psychotherapy concomitantly with, but somewhat independently of, ketamine treatments is atypical for psychedelic-assisted therapy but common in standard psychiatric care models.
Psychedelics, Sociality, and Human Evolution frontiersin.org 3 facts
referenceIdo Hartogsohn published 'The meaning-enhancing properties of psychedelics and their mediator role in psychedelic therapy, spirituality, and creativity' in Frontiers in Neuroscience in 2018.
claimM. Kaelen et al. provided evidence for a central role of music in psychedelic therapy in a 2018 study.
referenceThe paper 'A meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials of psychedelic-assisted therapy' was published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs in 2020, providing a meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials.
Ancient Roots of Today's Emerging Renaissance in Psychedelic ... researchgate.net Sep 3, 2021 1 fact
claimThe authors of the paper 'Ancient Roots of Today's Emerging Renaissance in Psychedelic ...' utilize a historical lens to examine the use of psychedelic therapies over time and translate ancient lessons into contemporary clinical and research practice.
Psychedelic Drugs News - ScienceDaily sciencedaily.com 1 fact
claimA new study suggests that drug effects are not the only factor in reducing depression with psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Ancient Roots of Today's Emerging Renaissance in ... pure.johnshopkins.edu 1 fact
claimPsychedelic therapies are regaining credibility in Western medicine for their potential to treat various mental health conditions, particularly in the context of rising mental health concerns and the 'Deaths of Despair' epidemic.
What Western medicine can learn from the ancient history of ... - BBC bbc.com Sep 11, 2024 1 fact
claimProponents of psychedelic-assisted therapy suggest that compounds like MDMA, LSD, psilocybin, and ketamine may help alter the perspectives of individuals suffering from 'diseases of despair'—such as suicide, drug overdose, and alcohol abuse—when used in conjunction with talking therapy.
A Brief Historical Overview of Psychedelic Research biologicalpsychiatrycnni.org 1 fact
claimRecent research indicates that administering one or two psychedelic treatments can produce robust and sustained reductions in clinical symptoms across a variety of psychiatric disorders.
Medicinal plants meet modern biodiversity science - OUCI ouci.dntb.gov.ua 1 fact
claimNumerous studies indicate a direct correlation between the strength of peak and mystical experiences and positive, long-lasting psychological outcomes in psychedelic psychotherapy for conditions including depression, cancer-related distress, and substance use disorders.