Journal of psychoactive drugs
January 1, 2023
Zachary Herrmann, Mitch Earleywine, Joseph De Leo et al.
19 citations
Subjective responses to psychedelic drugs, such as mystical experiences and oceanic boundlessness, often correlate with therapeutic improvements in conditions like treatment-resistant depression, end-of-life anxiety, and substance use disorders. Measuring these responses is challenging; several scales show good reliability and factor structure, but samples are often small and self-selected. This review examines the psychometric properties of widely used scales and their links to treatment outcomes. Challenging experiences, psychological insight, and emotional breakthroughs also show promise, though replication is needed. A collaborative approach to data collection on subjective reactions in therapeutic settings could help predict improvement across conditions.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
June 1, 2020
Mitch Earleywine, Joseph De Leo
12 citations
Antidepressant medications alone help only one in four patients and rarely outperform placebos, while psychotherapies yield better outcomes and combining both helps only 65% of clients who complete treatment. Psychedelics may improve depression through mechanisms overlapping with psychotherapy and some novel ones, suggesting their combination could work very well. Subjective experiences during psychedelic sessions correlate with improvement, so guiding clients to focus on targeted thoughts and feelings could enhance outcomes. Clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted, empirically supported treatment with guided sessions are needed, including preparatory, administration, integration, and follow-up components for maximum impact.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
January 3, 2022
Brianna R. Altman, Mitch Earleywine, Joseph De Leo
4 citations
People with depressive symptoms view cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) as more credible than psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT). In a study of 803 adults recruited from Amazon's MTurk, participants read descriptions of each therapy and rated their credibility. Those with prior therapy experience rated CBT higher than those without. Men and individuals who had used hallucinogens rated PAT more favorably than women and non-users. Other demographic and clinical factors explained little of the variation in credibility ratings. The findings suggest that potential clients are cautious about PAT, and researchers and clinicians should consider patients' treatment beliefs as possible predictors of outcomes.