Psychological support in psychedelic-assisted therapy clinical trials: A systematic review.
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) May 1, 2026 Bonnie Brusky, Katia M'Bailara, François Alla et al.
In most clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted treatments, the psychological support provided meets accepted definitions of psychotherapy. A systematic review of 29 trials (449 patients) using a four-item common factors framework found that 69% of all trials satisfied all four criteria. Among trials that explicitly labeled their support as psychotherapy, 84% met all four factors; among those that did not use the label, 40% still met all four. The findings suggest that psychological interventions in these trials are not merely for risk minimization but function as active therapeutic components. This has implications for clinician training, treatment duration, and the ethical need to measure and address the complexity of these interventions to improve outcomes and protect patients.