Psychedelics, With a Focus on Psilocybin: Issues for the Clinician.
Amir Garakani, Jeanne L Alexander, Calvin R Sumner, Janet H Pine, Lawrence S Gross, Charles L Raison, Scott T Aaronson, David A Baron
Journal of psychiatric practice September 1, 2023 DOI: 10.1097/pra.0000000000000729 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractPublic and clinical interest in psychedelics is growing, with many studies underway for depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance use disorders. This paper focuses on psilocybin, explaining its mechanism, psychedelic effects, and dosing. It reviews treatment studies, primarily for treatment-resistant depression and cancer-related anxiety, and discusses future directions and potential limitations in studying and regulating psilocybin and other psychedelics.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Psychedelics Psilocybin therapy Mental health Neuroscience Clinical research |
| Citations | 6 |
| Key finding | Psilocybin shows promise for treatment-resistant depression and cancer-related anxiety, but further study and regulatory considerations are needed. |
Abstract
There has been a burgeoning interest in psychedelics among the public, state legislatures, psychiatrists and other clinical providers, and within the research community. Increasing numbers of studies evaluating psychedelics for depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders have been conducted or are underway. While discussing psychedelics in general, the focus of this paper is on psilocybin and its mechanism, how it exerts a psychedelic effect, dosing, and a review of the treatment studies of psilocybin, which were primarily for treatment-resistant depression and cancer-related anxiety. Future directions and potential limitations of studying and regulating psilocybin and other psychedelics are also discussed.