Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy in Depressive Disorders: Efficacy, Safety, and Persistence of Clinical Effects — A Narrative Review
Journal of Education, Health and Sport May 7, 2026 Kinga Zachar, M. Sito, Filip Jurkowski et al.
Psilocybin-assisted therapy can produce rapid reductions in depressive symptoms, often within days, in carefully selected patients treated in controlled settings. Short-term benefits have been reported in both major depressive disorder and treatment-resistant depression, although findings in treatment-resistant depression are less consistent. In a head-to-head trial, psilocybin was not superior to escitalopram on the primary endpoint, while several secondary outcomes favored psilocybin. Follow-up studies suggest benefits may persist for weeks to months, but longer-term evidence remains limited and heterogeneous. Under supervision, psilocybin was generally well tolerated, with mostly transient adverse effects including anxiety, nausea, headache, dizziness, and brief cardiovascular activation.