Drug and Alcohol Review
September 5, 2019
Elena Argento, Rielle Capler, Gerald Thomas et al.
98 citations
Ayahuasca-assisted therapy helped Indigenous community members in Canada reduce substance use and cravings, with eight of eleven participants completely stopping at least one substance by six months after retreats. The therapy differed from conventional treatments by helping participants identify negative thought patterns and barriers related to addiction. Increased connectedness with self, others, and nature or spirit was described as a key element associated with reduced substance use and cravings. These qualitative findings expand on prior quantitative results and suggest that ayahuasca-assisted therapy may offer benefits for addressing problematic substance use where conventional treatments have limited efficacy.
BMJ Open
September 1, 2017
Elena Argento, Steffanie A. Strathdee, Kenneth W. Tupper et al.
60 citations
Among marginalised women in Vancouver, those who had ever used a psychedelic drug showed a 60% lower hazard of developing suicidal ideation or attempts over 54 months, after adjusting for other factors. Crystal methamphetamine use tripled the hazard, and childhood abuse more than tripled it. Nearly half of the 766 women had prior suicidality and were excluded; among the 290 without it at baseline, 11% developed suicidality during follow-up, an incidence of 4.42 per 100 person-years. The findings suggest naturalistic psychedelic use may have a protective association, while other illicit drug use and childhood trauma increase risk.
Substance Abuse Treatment Prevention and Policy
May 14, 2022
Victor Mocanu, Lindsay Mackay, Devon Christie et al.
27 citations
International drug policy is changing alongside promising evidence for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) to treat mental health conditions. Canada has expanded therapeutic access, reversing an 8-year ban on medical exemptions through the Special Access Programme in January 2022 and granting the first exemptions for legal possession and personal use of psilocybin mushrooms in 2020, nearly 50 years after criminalization. This piece clarifies factors for safely expanding access to psychedelics. Streamlining safe, evidence-based compassionate use of PAP could offer timely treatment options while encouraging further research and outcome surveillance to refine best practices.
International Journal of Drug Policy
February 10, 2019
Elena Argento, Kenneth W. Tupper, M. Eugenia Socias
17 citations
No Summary
Frontiers in Psychiatry
September 6, 2021
Elena Argento, Devon Christie, Lindsay Mackay et al.
12 citations
The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have lasting effects on mental health, adding to the pre-existing global burden where 1 billion people suffer from mental health disorders, with depression and anxiety costing US$1 trillion per year. Among hospitalized COVID-19 patients in China, about 96% experienced post-traumatic stress symptoms, and studies of ICU patients with previous coronaviruses show 30-40% rates of PTSD, depression, and anxiety persisting months after discharge. Indirect exposure through media or worry also triggers PTSD. Pandemic conditions—uncertainty, grief, isolation, economic instability, and reduced service access—exacerbate mental health problems and substance use, with fatal overdose spikes in North America disproportionately affecting racialized groups. The authors argue for considering psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy as a novel approach with potential antidepressant, anxiolytic, and anti-addictive effects that may foster connectedness.
Frontiers in Psychiatry
November 3, 2022
Devon Christie, Berra Yazar-Klosinski, Ekaterina Nosova et al.
8 citations
Chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently co-occur and worsen each other. In a Phase 2 open-label trial of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD, 84% of 32 participants reported pain and 75% reported pain-related disability. After treatment, those with the highest baseline pain showed significant reductions in pain intensity, disability, and overall severity grade; those with medium baseline pain also showed significant reductions in pain intensity. The findings suggest MDMA-assisted therapy may reduce chronic pain in people with severe PTSD, but the data are preliminary and encourage further research.
January 1, 2021
Elena Argento, Rielle Capler, Gerald Thomas et al.
6 citations
Ayahuasca shows promise in improving mental health, with a study involving 160 participants revealing that 85% reported significant reductions in anxiety and depression after treatment. This traditional indigenous brew is gaining traction in psychiatry as an alternative medicine for addiction and emotional distress. Biochemical analysis indicates ayahuasca influences neurotransmitter receptors, potentially altering behavior positively. Participants also noted enhanced spirituality and personal insight, highlighting its multifaceted benefits. These findings suggest a valuable role for psychedelics in psychotherapy and counseling interventions.
Frontiers in Psychiatry
September 22, 2025
Shannon Dames, Pamela Kryskow, Vivian W. L. Tsang et al.
3 citations
RTT-KaT is a structured, scalable, evidence-informed, and culturally responsive model that bridges clinical safety with both Western and Indigenous knowledge systems. A longitudinal follow-up study is currently underway to evaluate its long-term impact and guide future implementations.
PloS one
January 1, 2024
Elena Argento, Tashia Petker, Jayesh Vig et al.
3 citations
Therapists who provide ketamine-assisted therapy (KAT) believe that their own personal psychedelic experiences help them better understand clients' experiences and strengthen the therapeutic relationship. All eight therapists interviewed, all formally trained in KAT, expressed a desire for formal experiential training, which they viewed as missing from their current education. Additional themes included the importance of relational safety and the therapeutic container, KAT's impact on professional development, and navigating risks, especially with clients who have complex trauma. The findings indicate a need for enhanced training and evidence-based standardization of psychedelic-assisted therapy programs that incorporate experiential learning.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
March 11, 2022
Mark Kang, Lindsay Mackay, Devon Christie et al.
1 citation
Existing treatments for substance use disorders, including medications and psychosocial interventions, have significant shortcomings such as low retention and high relapse rates. Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies are re-emerging as promising adjunctive treatments for addiction and other mental health conditions, but there is a lack of validated metrics to evaluate recovery capital and motivation to change—a crucial factor in positive treatment outcomes. This commentary describes the current state of research and the potential of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to enhance motivation to change in addiction treatment, and emphasizes the need for validated tools to assess whether these therapies can produce lasting improvements in substance use behaviors.
Psychopharmacology
October 11, 2025
Michelle St Pierre, Elena Argento, Jordyn Cates et al.
On days when adults microdose psychedelics, they report higher levels of wellbeing, productivity, creativity, connectedness, contemplation, and focus compared to days they do not microdose. The increase in creativity is especially pronounced among people who have previously used larger doses of psychedelics. These findings come from a large international survey of 1,435 adults who microdose, using daily-level self-reports that reduce reliance on memory. Because the study is observational and exploratory, the results should be interpreted cautiously.
cIRcle
January 1, 2019
Elena Argento
Marginalized women, including street-involved women, sex workers, and women who use drugs, face high risks of violence and suicidality due to social and economic disadvantage. This work examined drug use, violence, and suicidality among sex workers in Metro Vancouver, Canada, using data from a community-based cohort. Interpersonal violence, homelessness, trauma, and childhood abuse were strong determinants of drug use and suicide risk. Increased social cohesion had an independent protective effect on suicidality. Psychedelic use was associated with a 60% reduced hazard of suicidality, providing some of the first empirical evidence of its potential benefits for preventing suicide.