Journal of affective disorders • November 1, 2026 • Carlton M Kelly, Mathieu Fradet, Catherine M Bostian et al.
A single 25-mg dose of psilocybin with psychological support was associated with sustained improvements in anxiety, quality of life, functioning, and PTSD symptoms in 15 veterans with treatment-resistant depression. Anxiety scores dropped 59% from baseline at three weeks and remained lower through 12 months. Quality of life increased 24% and functional impairment decreased 46% at three weeks, though these effects were no longer statistically significant after accounting for concurrent improvements in depression. PTSD symptom reductions were observed at all timepoints. Acute subjective experiences did not correlate with treatment response. The study is limited by its small sample and open-label design.
Advances in Mental Health • July 10, 2026 • Shameen Naidu, Nicolette V. Roman
Mindfulness-based interventions show promise in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression among higher education students while improving emotional regulation and academic focus. A systematic review of 35 studies from 2012 to 2024 found strengths including institutional adoption and delivery by qualified practitioners, but identified limitations such as geographic bias, homogeneous samples, methodological shortcomings, and lack of long-term follow-ups. Recruitment strategies often excluded marginalized groups. The review underscores the potential of these interventions for student wellbeing and recommends diversifying participant demographics, integrating mindfulness programs within curricula, and employing longitudinal, user-centered designs to enhance scalability and sustainability.
Journal of Psychopharmacology • July 8, 2026 • Raynara Bolcont, Fernanda Palhano-Fontes, Handersson Barros et al.
Inhaled DMT, combined with psychological support, is associated with reduced state anxiety up to one day after administration in both healthy individuals and patients with treatment-resistant depression. Healthy volunteers reported increased life satisfaction up to 14 days. Patients showed increased life satisfaction after 12 months and sustained improvements in quality of life over that period, including physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment, as well as inner peace and hope and optimism. The study is limited by an open-label design, lack of placebo control, and modest sample size.
The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology • July 6, 2026 • Shabah M. Shadli, Neda Nasrollahi, Calvin K. Young et al.
Ketamine at low doses (0.5-1.0 mg/kg I.M.) quickly reduces symptoms in treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (TR-MDD), post-traumatic stress disorder (TR-PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (TR-OCD), but its neural effects differ by diagnosis. EEG recordings of resting frontal activity before and after ketamine or fentanyl showed that TR-PTSD patients had dose- and band-frequency-dependent power changes (especially alpha at 0.5 mg/kg), while TR-MDD patients showed no such changes. TR-OCD responses differed qualitatively from both. Correlations between EEG power changes and symptom scale improvements varied by band and electrode across different disorder-specific scales. Ketamine's effects and their therapeutic links vary by brain site and frequency band depending on the DSM diagnosis, suggesting disorder-specific systems require a ketamine-sensitive factor to generate the disorder.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs • July 3, 2026 • Miguel Joaquim Soares Teles Couceiro, Victor José da Conceição Teixeira Amorim Rodrigues, Nuno Manuel Correia Torres
In a patient with generalized anxiety disorder and migraines, mystical-type experiences during ketamine-assisted psychotherapy appeared to contribute to therapeutic improvements. After four intramuscular sessions (0.5-0.9 mg/kg), greater gains followed sessions with higher scores on the Hood Mysticism Scale. The patient attributed progress to the psychological and spiritual impact of the experiences, highlighting the importance of the therapeutic relationship and integration process. This case suggests that subjective mystical experiences may play a meaningful role in therapeutic change during ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.
British Medical Bulletin • April 21, 2021 • Dexing Zhang, Kam-pui Lee, E Mák et al. • 638 citations
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are effective for improving depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, addiction, psychosis, pain, hypertension, weight control, cancer-related symptoms, and prosocial behaviors. Benefits appear in healthcare, schools, and workplaces, though further research is needed on their efficacy for different problems. Evidence is inconclusive or preliminary for PTSD, ADHD, ASD, eating disorders, loneliness, and physical symptoms of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and respiratory conditions. Many systematic reviews note low quality in included studies, so high-quality trials with adequate sample sizes and longer follow-up are needed. Promising areas for future research include online mindfulness training during the COVID-19 pandemic, deeper understanding of mechanisms, long-term compliance and effects, and personalized mindfulness programs.
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry • October 22, 2018 • Darren Dunning, Kirsty Griffiths, Willem Kuyken et al. • 596 citations
A meta-analysis of 33 randomized controlled trials involving 3,666 children and adolescents found that mindfulness-based interventions produce small but significant improvements in mindfulness, executive functioning, attention, depression, anxiety/stress, and negative behaviors compared to control conditions. However, when only the 17 trials with active control groups (1,762 participants) were analyzed, significant benefits were limited to mindfulness, depression, and anxiety/stress, with effect sizes (Cohen's d) of 0.42, 0.47, and 0.18 respectively. The authors conclude that mindfulness interventions can improve youth mental health but note that larger definitive trials are needed to confirm these effects and understand how they work.
Journal of Psychopharmacology • November 30, 2016 • Annie Umbricht, Mary P Cosimano, Roland R. Griffiths et al. • 2,174 citations
In cancer patients with life-threatening diagnoses and symptoms of depression or anxiety, a high dose of psilocybin (22 or 30 mg/70 kg) produced large decreases in depressed mood and anxiety, along with increases in quality of life, life meaning, and optimism, and decreases in death anxiety, compared with a very low placebo-like dose (1 or 3 mg/70 kg). At 6-month follow-up, about 80% of participants continued to show clinically significant decreases in depressed mood and anxiety. Participants attributed improvements in attitudes about life, mood, relationships, and spirituality to the high-dose experience, with over 80% endorsing moderately or greater increased well-being or life satisfaction. The mystical-type experience during the session mediated the effect of dose on therapeutic outcomes.
Journal of Psychopharmacology • November 30, 2016 • Stephen Ross, Anthony Bossis, Jeffrey Guss et al. • 1,699 citations
A single moderate dose of psilocybin (0.3 mg/kg), combined with psychotherapy, produced immediate and sustained improvements in anxiety and depression among 29 patients with cancer-related psychological distress. At the 6.5-month follow-up, approximately 60–80% of participants continued to show clinically significant reductions in depression or anxiety. Psilocybin also decreased demoralization and hopelessness, improved spiritual wellbeing, quality of life, and attitudes toward death. The therapeutic effects on anxiety and depression were mediated by the psilocybin-induced mystical experience.
Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry • March 1, 2015 • Flávia de Lima Osório, Rafael Faria Sanches, Ligia Ribeiro Horta de Macedo et al. • 486 citations
A single dose of ayahuasca produces fast-acting reductions in anxiety and depression symptoms in people diagnosed with a depressive disorder.
The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease • March 4, 2014 • Peter Gasser, Dominique Holstein, Yvonne Michel et al. • 752 citations
In a small pilot study, 12 patients with anxiety related to life-threatening diseases underwent two sessions of LSD-assisted psychotherapy, receiving either a full 200-microgram dose or a low 20-microgram active placebo, with the placebo group later crossing over to the full dose. At a 2-month follow-up, trait anxiety decreased with a large effect size, and state anxiety also dropped significantly. These anxiety reductions persisted for 12 months. No serious adverse effects occurred beyond one day after treatment. The findings suggest that, under careful medical supervision, LSD can reduce anxiety, supporting the need for larger controlled trials.
JAMA Internal Medicine • January 6, 2014 • Madhav Goyal, Sonal Singh, Erica Sibinga et al. • 2,323 citations
A meta-analysis of 47 randomized clinical trials with 3,515 participants found that mindfulness meditation programs produce small to moderate reductions in anxiety, depression, and pain compared to placebo controls. At 8 weeks, effect sizes were 0.38 for anxiety, 0.30 for depression, and 0.33 for pain; benefits for anxiety and depression persisted at 3–6 months. Evidence for improved stress, distress, and mental health-related quality of life was low, and there was insufficient or no evidence that meditation improves positive mood, attention, substance use, eating habits, sleep, or weight. Meditation programs were not superior to active treatments such as drugs, exercise, or other behavioral therapies.
Journal of Psychopharmacology • September 20, 2010 • Erich Studerus, Michael Kometer, Felix Hasler et al. • 529 citations
Psilocybin, a hallucinogenic compound, dose-dependently induced profound changes in mood, perception, thought, and self-experience, but most subjects described the experience as pleasurable, enriching, and non-threatening. Acute adverse drug reactions—strong dysphoria or anxiety—occurred only at the two highest doses in a small proportion of subjects, and were managed with interpersonal support without medication. Follow-up showed no subsequent drug abuse, persisting perception disorders, prolonged psychosis, or long-term impairment. The findings suggest that moderate doses given to healthy, high-functioning, well-prepared subjects in a carefully monitored research setting carry an acceptable level of risk.
Archives of General Psychiatry • September 7, 2010 • Gurpreet S Chopra, Marycie Hagerty, Charles S. Grob et al. • 1,220 citations
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, twelve adults with advanced-stage cancer and anxiety received a moderate dose (0.2 mg/kg) of psilocybin. Safe physiological and psychological responses were documented, with no clinically significant adverse events. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory trait anxiety subscale showed a significant reduction in anxiety at 1 and 3 months after treatment. The Beck Depression Inventory indicated improved mood that reached significance at 6 months; the Profile of Mood States showed mood improvement that approached but did not reach significance. The results support the need for more research into psilocybin for cancer-related anxiety.
American Journal of Psychiatry • July 1, 1992 • 1,950 citations
A group stress reduction program based on mindfulness meditation effectively reduced symptoms of anxiety and panic in patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia. Twenty participants showed significant reductions in anxiety and depression scores after treatment, and these improvements were maintained during a three-month follow-up. The number of participants experiencing panic symptoms also substantially decreased. Similar reductions in anxiety scores were observed in a comparison group of non-study participants who met the same screening criteria, suggesting the findings may apply more broadly.