Cannabis
July 11, 2022
Mitch Earleywine, Maha N Mian, Brianna R Altman et al.
11 citations
People who use cannabis expect that a cannabis-assisted psychotherapy session, modeled on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, would reduce depression. Over 500 participants in each of two studies imagined such a session and reported expected antidepressant effects. Expected reductions in depression were linked to anticipated psychedelic-like subjective experiences, such as mystical-type feelings, and also to expected changes in dysfunctional attitudes—a separate pathway that resembles how cognitive therapy works. These findings support calls for clinical trials of cannabis-assisted psychotherapy and indicate that users anticipate it would work through mechanisms similar to both psychedelics and cognitive therapy.
Social work
April 1, 2025
Maha N Mian, Jordan Horan, Taweh Hunter et al.
1 citation
Social workers rated SSRI-assisted therapy as significantly more acceptable, appropriate, and feasible than MDMA-assisted therapy for treating adolescents with treatment-resistant PTSD, with medium-to-large effect sizes. Perceptions of MDMA risk were higher among those who read about MDMA-assisted therapy, and greater psychedelic stigma correlated with higher perceived risk of MDMA. However, more psychedelic knowledge was linked to less stigma and lower perceived risk. These findings suggest that social workers' concerns about MDMA-assisted therapy for adolescents may hinder clinical trial recruitment and future implementation.
Current topics in behavioral neurosciences
November 22, 2025
Maha N Mian, Allison R Coker, Grace Kretzer et al.
Communities that use psychedelics as religious sacraments have developed their own frameworks for safety and hold distinct views on risk and harm. To better understand their lived realities, researchers can collaborate closely with these communities using community-based participatory research (CBPR) practices, which center communities in co-creating research, improve engagement, build trust, and highlight local priorities. This paper presents preliminary findings from a CBPR study with entheogenic communities, sharing lessons learned from forming a community advisory board and initial pilot data gathering. Lessons include consulting community engagement experts, considerations for compensation and confidentiality, using multimodal recruitment strategies, and recognizing the unique historical context of these communities. These lessons aim to develop best practices for psychedelic research, policy, and public education.