Reporting on the psychological intervention component of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is mostly incomplete and inconsistent across studies, limiting replicability and clinical translation. A systematic review of 45 original studies on psilocybin, MDMA, LSD, or ayahuasca for mental disorders found that descriptions of psychotherapy varied widely and completeness of information was generally low, based on an adapted Template for Intervention Description and Replication checklist. Studies involving MDMA showed more homogeneous psychotherapy and more procedural details. Improved reporting on psychological interventions would support replicability, generalisability, and accurate interpretation of research, as well as enhance feasibility and safety of future clinical research and real-world implementation.
Both classical psychedelics (DPT, LSD, psilocybin) and atypical psychedelics (MDMA, ketamine) show promise for reducing anxiety, depression, and existential distress in terminally ill patients, with recent controlled trials indicating positive effects on existential and spiritual well-being, quality of life, and acceptance while causing few adverse and no serious adverse effects. Early studies had serious methodological flaws, but newer trials are of higher quality. Larger high-quality studies are still needed for classical psychedelics and MDMA, and ketamine research should better address existential well-being and psychotherapeutic context.