General hospital psychiatry
July 3, 2025
Kush V Bhatt, James D Asuncion, Al Alam et al.
4 citations
Classical psychedelics show therapeutic promise for mental health conditions, but their acute subjective effects—while possibly enhancing outcomes—also pose clinical challenges. This review examines the phenomenology, benefits, risks, and implementation issues tied to these subjective experiences. Emerging research on nonhallucinogenic analogues may preserve neuroplastic benefits without inducing intense subjective effects. The authors argue that a debate over the necessity of acute subjective effects may be avoidable, and clinical psychiatry should accommodate both approaches. Future research should explore both the role of subjective experience and alternative compounds to expand treatment options.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
August 1, 2025
Kush V Bhatt, Jason N Compton, Em Ellerman et al.
1 citation
Mystical experiences, which may have therapeutic value, occurred in about 17-18% of ketamine treatments among 60 veterans with treatment-resistant depression. In those receiving esketamine, more treatment sessions were linked to higher mystical experience scores; in those receiving racemic ketamine, higher doses were linked to higher scores. The findings suggest that ketamine can occasion mystical experiences in this population.
Community mental health journal
April 1, 2026
Kush V Bhatt, Joseph Friedman, Lindsay Benster et al.
Recreational psychedelic use is increasing, but data on adverse events is limited. A retrospective chart review of emergency department visits at UC San Diego Medical Center from 2010 to 2023 identified 232 cases linked to LSD (35%), MDMA (30.2%), and psilocybin (24%). Patients were mostly young, white, and male. Common symptoms included agitation (25.9%) and anxiety (24.6%); 11.2% required psychiatric hospitalization. Factors associated with higher odds of hospitalization were concurrent cannabis use (odds ratio 10.9), history of bipolar disorder (odds ratio 12.67), and history of a primary psychotic disorder (odds ratio 17.10). Most psychedelic-related emergency visits are managed without hospitalization, but these specific vulnerabilities predict severe outcomes.