International Journal of Transgender Health
March 19, 2025
Skylar J. Gaughan, Angie R. Wootton, Daphne Krantz et al.
6 citations
Transgender and gender-expansive (TGE) people use psychedelics in naturalistic, non-clinical settings to explore and affirm their gender identity. Interviews with 20 TGE individuals revealed three main themes: the mindset and physical setting of a psychedelic experience shape its quality; such experiences often increase self-acceptance of gender identity through greater self-compassion and a broader concept of gender; and participants reported both challenging effects like gender dysphoria and benefits like gender euphoria. The findings suggest clinicians should help TGE clients prepare a gender-affirming setting before psychedelic use and support shifts in gender understanding afterward.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
September 4, 2025
Alan K. Davis, Meghan DellaCrosse, Nathan D. Sepeda et al.
4 citations
Over a five-year follow-up period, psilocybin-assisted therapy produced significant and sustained reductions in depression for people with major depressive disorder. Among the 18 participants who completed the study, 67% remained in remission for at least five years after treatment. Anxiety and functional impairment also improved. Qualitative interviews revealed lasting positive changes in mindset, emotional health, and relationships, including enhanced empathy, self-acceptance, and improved interpersonal relationships. No severe adverse events were reported. These findings support the long-term efficacy and safety of psilocybin-assisted therapy for reducing depressive symptoms and improving mental health.
Psychedelics
March 7, 2026
Skylar J. Gaughan, Jae Sevelius, Rafael Lancelotta et al.
Transgender and gender-expansive individuals, particularly those who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, use psychedelics to heal from identity-based traumas such as racism and transphobia. Interviews with 20 participants revealed awareness of the Indigenous roots of psychedelic plant medicine and concerns that ongoing medicalization of psychedelics, shaped by colonization and structural racism, reproduces inequities in access and experience. Some participants opposed medicalization, linking it to racist and colonial dynamics. The findings suggest that culturally humble and ethically responsible models of psychedelic-assisted therapy are needed to promote health equity for transgender and gender-expansive people of color.