JAMA
August 31, 2023
Charles L Raison, Gerard Sanacora, Joshua Woolley et al.
493 citations
A single 25-mg dose of synthetic psilocybin, administered with psychological support, produced a clinically significant and sustained reduction in depressive symptoms and functional disability over 43 days in adults with major depressive disorder. In a phase 2 trial of 104 participants, those receiving psilocybin showed a mean 12.3-point greater improvement on the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale at day 43 compared with those receiving a niacin placebo. Psilocybin also improved daily functioning and led to more sustained response, though not remission. No serious adverse events occurred, but psilocybin was associated with more overall and severe adverse events.
Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science
January 1, 2020
Jordan Sloshower, Jeffrey R. Guss, R. Krause et al.
168 citations
A group designing a psilocybin-assisted therapy protocol for major depressive disorder adopted Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as the psychotherapeutic framework, citing strong overlap between ACT's proposed mechanisms of change and those of psilocybin therapy. The psilocybin experience may provide direct experiential contact with ACT processes that increase psychological flexibility, which can then be reinforced during ACT-informed follow-up sessions. The paper describes the rationale for selecting ACT, areas of synergism between ACT and psilocybin therapy, the treatment model's structure, and its limitations.
Journal of Psychopharmacology
March 20, 2023
Jordan Sloshower, Hamideh Safi-Aghdam, Surbhi Pathania et al.
153 citations
In a small exploratory study, 19 adults with moderate-to-severe major depression received placebo first, then 4 weeks later a single dose of psilocybin (0.3 mg/kg), both embedded in psychotherapy. Depression and anxiety improved after both placebo and psilocybin, with no statistically significant difference between the two conditions. However, antidepressant effect sizes were larger after psilocybin (d′ = 1.02–2.27) than after placebo (d′ = 0.65–0.99), and 66.7% of participants responded and 46.7% remitted following psilocybin. Improvements lasted about 2 months on average. The intensity of mystical-type experience during psilocybin did not correlate with antidepressant effects. The authors conclude that expectancy and therapy effects complicate interpretation but support further study of psilocybin for depression.
August 13, 2020
Jeffrey Guss, Robert Krause, Jordan Sloshower
86 citations
preprint
The Yale Manual for Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy of Depression offers researchers and therapists a detailed guide on methods, structure, and considerations for using psychedelic-assisted therapy to treat Major Depressive Disorder. It specifically demonstrates how Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can serve as a therapeutic framework for psilocybin-assisted depression treatment.
Scientific reports
April 17, 2024
Jordan Sloshower, Richard J Zeifman, Jeffrey Guss et al.
56 citations
Psilocybin-assisted therapy improves psychological flexibility, mindfulness, and values-congruent living in people with moderate to severe major depressive disorder, and these improvements are strongly linked to reductions in depression severity. In an exploratory placebo-controlled study, participants received placebo then psilocybin (0.3 mg/kg) four weeks later, with dosing sessions embedded in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Psychological flexibility, several facets of mindfulness, and values-congruent living significantly improved after psilocybin and were maintained through week 16. The findings suggest that increasing psychological flexibility may be a key mechanism underlying psilocybin's therapeutic effects.
Journal of Psychopharmacology
June 30, 2023
Jordan Sloshower, Hamideh Safi-Aghdam, Surbhi Pathania et al.
47 citations
A single dose of psilocybin (0.3 mg/kg) doubled electroencephalographic theta power—a marker of neuroplasticity—in the auditory cortex of people with major depressive disorder two weeks later, while placebo produced no such change. Greater increases in theta power correlated with greater reductions in depression symptoms measured by the GRID-HAM-D-17 scale. These results provide evidence that psilocybin can induce sustained changes in human brain plasticity, and the theta-power increase may serve as an EEG biomarker for its antidepressant effects.
January 1, 2018
Jordan Sloshower
15 citations
No Summary
Psychedelic Medicine
January 20, 2025
Marianna Graziosi, Gabrielle Agin-Liebes, Mary P Cosimano et al.
9 citations
Psilocybin and other serotonergic psychedelics are used in research settings with safety measures including controlled environments, staff presence, screening, and psychoeducation. An analysis of study materials from psilocybin trials over the past two decades found that psychoeducation documents varied but commonly emphasized biological and physical safety, psychological safety and well-being, aspects of setting, and the potential for expectancies. The materials prioritized biological and psychological safety across all sites. The authors also identified elements unrelated to safety that may contribute to participant expectancies and suggest these extrapharmacological factors be studied systematically to maximize safety while minimizing extraneous expectancies.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
June 9, 2023
Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Anna O. Ermakova, Jordan Sloshower et al.
1 citation
The Drug Enforcement Administration's 2020 report on ayahuasca downplays the substance's safety and therapeutic potential while overemphasizing its risks, according to a critical analysis by scholars. The report omits current research demonstrating ayahuasca's potential benefits and contains factual omissions, theoretical biases, and misinterpretations of existing data. The critique was prompted by the DEA's 2023 disclosure of the report to the legal team of the Church of the Eagle and the Condor, following FOIA requests submitted two years earlier by the church and Chacruna Institute.
Scientific reports
July 11, 2026
Monnica T Williams, Sonya C Faber, Jordan Sloshower et al.
A small preliminary study of five diverse individuals found that MDMA-assisted therapy significantly reduced trauma symptoms related to discrimination. Scores on the Trauma Symptoms of Discrimination Scale dropped by an average of 38% after treatment, a large effect. All participants, who had experienced multiple forms of discrimination including gender, racial, and sexual orientation bias, reported marked improvement. The results suggest MDMA-assisted therapy may help alleviate discrimination-related trauma in marginalized populations, though the small sample size calls for cautious interpretation and further research with larger, more diverse groups.
Ponto Urbe
December 27, 2024
Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Anna O. Ermakova, Jordan Sloshower et al.
In February 2023, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released a 2020 report titled 'Ayahuasca: Risks to Public Health and Safety' to the legal team of the Church of the Eagle and the Condor, following Freedom of Information Act requests. This article challenges several claims in the DEA report, highlighting factual omissions, theoretical biases, and misinterpretations of existing data. The authors argue that the report minimizes ayahuasca's safety profile and therapeutic potential while overemphasizing risks, and fails to include current research demonstrating its potential benefits.
November 15, 2022
Jeffrey Guss, Robert Krause, Jordan Sloshower
preprint
This document is the French translation of the Yale Manual for Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy of Depression. It provides researchers and therapists with methods, structure, and considerations for using psychedelic-assisted therapy to treat major depressive disorder. Specifically, the manual illustrates how Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can serve as the therapeutic framework for psilocybin-assisted depression treatment.