Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety Disorders, Mood Disorders, or Substance Use Disorders
Canadian Journal of Health Technologies June 24, 2021 Yi‐sheng Chao, Jennifer Horton 5 citations
A review of two systematic reviews, three randomized controlled trials, and two single-arm safety trials found that various combinations of psychedelics and psychotherapy showed clinical effectiveness lasting weeks to months for mental health conditions. Psilocybin was the most tested psychedelic; others included MDMA, LSD, ayahuasca, ibogaine, ketamine, and nitrous oxide. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapies improved substance use disorder symptoms in two trials, and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy was efficacious for major depressive disorder in one trial. No serious adverse effects were reported. However, limitations such as small sample sizes (under 20 in most studies), short follow-ups, and heterogeneity mean findings should be interpreted cautiously.