J Psychopharmacol
January 5, 2022
Joseph M Peill, Katie E Trinci, Hannes Kettner et al.
135 citations
A new self-report questionnaire, the Psychological Insight Scale, was developed and validated to measure the degree of psychological insight people gain from a psychedelic experience. The scale was tested in a large online sample and showed strong reliability and validity, capturing a distinct aspect of psychedelic-induced change not measured by existing tools. Higher scores on the scale were associated with greater improvements in well-being and reductions in psychological distress, suggesting that psychological insight may be a key mechanism underlying the therapeutic potential of psychedelics.
Psychotherapy and psychosomatics
May 27, 2026
Lea J Mertens, Felix Betzler, Manuela Brand et al.
A single 25 mg dose of psilocybin, or two such doses given six weeks apart, combined with psychotherapy produced a stable and clinically meaningful reduction in depression symptoms for up to twelve months in people with treatment-resistant depression. The average improvement on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression was about 7.9 points at six months and 7.7 points at twelve months, with no significant difference between dosing groups. Restarting standard antidepressant medication during follow-up was strongly linked to higher depression scores. This naturalistic follow-up of a phase 2b trial is the largest and most complete long-term assessment of psilocybin for depression to date.
Der Nervenarzt
March 1, 2025
Moritz Spangemacher, Jonathan Reinwald, Hana Adolphi et al.
Classical and novel antidepressants may share a common mechanism: promoting long-term neuroplasticity and improving negative bias in emotional processing. Extrapharmacological factors—body, environment, and social interaction—appear necessary for these biological changes to produce an antidepressant effect. Rather than dismissing such factors as placebo, the authors argue they should be tested as essential components of treatment and integrated into clinical practice.
Psychological review
November 1, 2025
Max Wolff, Hans Rutrecht, Lea J Mertens et al.
Psychedelic therapy is often viewed as a distinct form of psychotherapy, but this article argues that its effectiveness can be understood through the same general change mechanisms that operate in all effective psychotherapies. Drawing on Klaus Grawe's empirically grounded model of common factors, the authors propose that psychedelic therapy works via five mechanisms: resource activation, therapeutic relationship, problem actuation, clarification, and mastery. The article integrates evidence from psychedelic research to support this transtheoretical framework and discusses its implications for clinical practice, training, and future studies.
Der Nervenarzt
March 1, 2022
Gerhard Gründer, Manuela Brand, Laura Kärtner et al.
Psychedelics like psilocybin are among the most promising new treatments for depression, potentially working within one day. A review of clinical studies from before the 1960s prohibition and after the 2000s revival—mostly using psilocybin—shows small sample sizes (total depressed patients <200) and some methodological weaknesses. Nevertheless, the evidence suggests a pronounced, very rapid antidepressant effect within one day for depression, treatment-resistant depression, and depression in life-threatening cancer, often lasting several months. Ongoing studies with hundreds of patients will clarify psilocybin's potential.