Adding a single 25 mg dose of psilocybin to an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program led to a significantly larger reduction in depressive symptoms among frontline healthcare workers than MBSR alone, with no serious adverse events. In a small randomized trial of 25 physicians and nurses with depression and burnout related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the combination group showed a 4.6-point greater drop on the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms at two weeks post-intervention. This advantage diminished by six months. Secondary measures of burnout, demoralization, and connectedness also favored the psilocybin group but did not survive statistical correction. Larger trials are needed to confirm durability and generalizability.
Adding a single 25 mg dose of psilocybin to an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program reduced depression and burnout symptoms more than MBSR alone in frontline physicians and nurses who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a randomized trial with 25 participants, those receiving psilocybin-assisted therapy plus MBSR showed larger decreases in depressive symptoms at two weeks and six months, and greater improvements in burnout, demoralization, and connectedness. No serious adverse events occurred; only mild to moderate side effects were reported. The findings suggest that combining psilocybin with mindfulness training may be a promising treatment for depression and burnout in healthcare workers.