Safety and Efficacy of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide-Assisted Psychotherapy for Anxiety Associated With Life-threatening Diseases
The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease March 4, 2014 Peter Gasser, Dominique Holstein, Yvonne Michel et al. 752 citations
In a small pilot study, 12 patients with anxiety related to life-threatening diseases underwent two sessions of LSD-assisted psychotherapy, receiving either a full 200-microgram dose or a low 20-microgram active placebo, with the placebo group later crossing over to the full dose. At a 2-month follow-up, trait anxiety decreased with a large effect size, and state anxiety also dropped significantly. These anxiety reductions persisted for 12 months. No serious adverse effects occurred beyond one day after treatment. The findings suggest that, under careful medical supervision, LSD can reduce anxiety, supporting the need for larger controlled trials.