Journal of Psychopharmacology
February 9, 2015
Tomislav Majić, Timo T Schmidt, Jürgen Gallinat
267 citations
Interest in using psychedelic substances therapeutically has revived. Early research suggested they could help with various conditions, and recent clinical applications include cluster headaches, obsessive-compulsive disorder, addiction, and fear and anxiety in terminal illness, pointing to possibly different therapeutic mechanisms. Psychotherapeutic approaches emphasize subjective experiences like peak experiences or afterglow phenomena as key to therapeutic action. This review re-evaluates older and newer concepts of how psychedelics may produce benefits, discussing neurophenomenological aspects and different psychotherapeutic uses. Evidence shows that while pharmacological and psychological actions are not clearly separable, they appear to contribute differently depending on the pathology.
Fortschritte der Neurologie · Psychiatrie
July 1, 2017
Tomislav Majić, Henrik Jungaberle, Timo Torsten Schmidt et al.
10 citations
The use of serotonergic hallucinogens (psychedelics) such as LSD and psilocybin, and entactogens such as MDMA, in psychotherapy has recently gained increasing scientific interest. This review summarizes current evidence on substance-assisted psychotherapy with serotonergic psychoactive substances. A selective literature search in PubMed and the Cochrane Library identified studies since 2000 examining these substances in psychotherapy. Indications studied include alcohol dependence (LSD and psilocybin), nicotine dependence (psilocybin), anxiety and depression in life-threatening physical illness (LSD and psilocybin), obsessive-compulsive disorder (psilocybin), treatment-resistant major depression (psilocybin), and post-traumatic stress disorder (MDMA). Dependence disorders, PTSD, and anxiety and depression in life-threatening physical illness are the best-evaluated indications. Evidence suggests efficacy with relatively good tolerability, but further studies are needed to assess these substances as future options for certain treatment-resistant mental disorders.
BMC psychiatry
January 16, 2026
Leonie Ascone, Candelaria Mahlke, Nour Tawil et al.
2 citations
People who had been coercively isolated in psychiatric seclusion rooms (30 participants) rated digitally rendered room designs. Nature-themed wallpapers, especially a calm image of grass-covered dunes by the sea, along with blue and green wall colors, were rated as more restful and less stressful than a white empty control room, a beige-painted room, or a complex wilderness nature image. Qualitative interviews revealed preferences for calm, homelike, nature-themed, and controllable environments, as well as more transparent communication and respectful care. The findings challenge the assumption that sensory deprivation best supports de-escalation in seclusion, suggesting that blue and green color schemes and non-complex nature imagery are more favorable.