Journal of Psychopharmacology
December 14, 2022
Emma Morton, Kimberly Sakai, Amir Ashtari et al.
75 citations
A web-based survey of 541 people with bipolar disorder who had used psilocybin found that one-third reported new or worsening symptoms afterward, especially manic symptoms, insomnia, and anxiety. No difference in adverse event rates emerged between bipolar I and bipolar II. Emergency medical care was rare (3.3%). Despite adverse effects, respondents rated psilocybin use as more helpful than harmful. The findings suggest psilocybin may offer subjective mental health benefits for some people with bipolar disorder, but clinical trials should closely monitor symptoms because they may emerge or intensify.
Journal of Humanistic Psychology
June 12, 2021
Gabrielle Agin-Liebes, Eve Ekman, B. Anderson et al.
47 citations
In a qualitative study of nine gay cisgender men diagnosed with HIV before 1996 and experiencing significant trauma symptoms, psilocybin-assisted group therapy helped participants shift from habitual, evaluative thinking to mindful, experiential awareness. During psilocybin sessions, individuals processed and released previously avoided feelings such as grief and shame, and accessed positive emotions including joy, gratitude, love, care, and compassion. The treatment also supported meaning-making and posttraumatic growth across psychological, relational, and spiritual dimensions, as participants integrated past traumas into their life narratives. These findings suggest that combining group therapy with psilocybin may enhance trauma processing by reinforcing social cohesion, safety, trust, and belonging.
PLoS ONE
December 14, 2022
Meghan DellaCrosse, Mollie Pleet, Emma Morton et al.
28 citations
Adults with bipolar disorder who used psilocybin-containing mushrooms reported both benefits and risks. Benefits included reduced depression severity, improved emotion processing, new perspectives, and better relaxation and sleep. Risks included changes in sleep, increased mania severity, hospitalization, and distressing sensory experiences. Contextual factors such as poly-substance use, psilocybin dose, solo versus social use, and pre-use sleep deprivation influenced outcomes. The findings highlight the need for carefully designed clinical trials to assess safety and preliminary efficacy of psilocybin therapy in this population.
JAMA psychiatry
March 1, 2025
Michelle Matvey, D Parker Kelley, Ellen R Bradley et al.
12 citations
In psychedelic clinical trials, participants often cannot be masked to whether they received the active drug or placebo, because the drug's effects are so noticeable. This can bias outcomes because participants' expectations influence their responses. One proposed solution is to modify the informed consent process to obscure some details of the study design, which has been used in several recent trials. However, this approach raises serious ethical concerns. The authors review the use of such modifications in trials from 2000 to 2024, discuss the regulatory landscape, and suggest ways to reduce risks. They conclude that modified consent may improve trial interpretability but has not been explicitly tested and may not be appropriate in all cases.
Journal of Humanistic Psychology
February 27, 2024
Jacob S. Aday, Emily K. Bloesch, Alan K. Davis et al.
5 citations
People who attended an ayahuasca retreat showed increased appreciation of art and beauty one week and one month later, according to a survey of 54 participants. Contrary to expectations, intense drug effects such as mystical experiences, awe, or ego dissolution did not predict these changes. The open-label design limits certainty, but the findings align with anecdotal reports of lasting shifts in aesthetic attitudes after psychedelic use. Further research is needed to identify the mechanisms behind these changes.
American Journal of Psychiatry
December 1, 2025
Amanda E. Downey, Marlene Tai, Ellen Bradley et al.
2 citations
Psilocybin, a hallucinogen found in certain mushrooms, shows promise in treating severe depression, with studies revealing that 70% of participants experienced significant symptom reduction after just one dose. In a sample of 200 individuals, those receiving psilocybin reported enhanced consciousness and emotional well-being compared to a control group. Additionally, the safety profile is encouraging; there were no incidents of sudden death or severe adverse effects linked to ingestion. This highlights psilocybin's potential role in modern psychiatry as a transformative medicine alongside cannabis and cannabinoid research.