Qualitative Research on Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy for the Treatment of Mental Disorders: A Scoping Review
Psychedelic Medicine March 1, 2026 Jennifer Pincombe, Martin Williams, Sean Carruthers et al.
A systematic review of qualitative studies on psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) for mental disorders found 13 studies covering depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, trauma- and stressor-related disorders, alcohol-use disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anorexia nervosa. The studies explored 12 topics from pre- to postintervention experiences, mostly using semi-structured interviews with interpretative phenomenological analysis or thematic analysis. The review identifies opportunities for future research, including covering a broader range of mental disorders, exploring longer-term outcomes, sustainability of effects, postintervention support, adverse experiences, comparing active and control group experiences, and including therapist and significant other perspectives with larger sample sizes.