Journal of Psychedelic Studies
June 1, 2020
M. Winkelman
2 citations
Two volumes of conference proceedings, separated by fifty years, chart the trajectory of psychedelic research from its 1960s florescence to a 21st-century renaissance. The first volume, based on a 1967 conference in San Francisco sponsored by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health and Public Health Service, gathered researchers from psychiatry, botany, pharmacology, chemistry, and anthropology. The second volume, from 2017, compiles 21 papers reflecting progress in ethnopharmacological psychedelic studies despite decades of repression during the War on Drugs. The work highlights discoveries of therapeutic potential in diverse psychoactive substances and notes unresolved issues, such as the origins of human psychotropic plant use and biblical references to psychoactive plants.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
September 8, 2025
Malin Vedøy Uthaug, Giancarlo Allocca, Martha Havenith et al.
1 citation
The paper introduces the concept of 'bodyset'—the state of the body, including both body and brain—as a vital element in preparing for psychedelic experiences, expanding the traditional 'set and setting' framework. Through a literature review, it argues that the body likely matters for wellbeing, peak performance, and peak experiences. Comprehensive multidisciplinary research, especially on biomarkers, is needed to clarify the role of bodyset in psychedelic experiences and therapy outcomes. The authors suggest that considering physical state alongside psychological and environmental factors may enhance understanding of psychedelic effects and inform other treatments like breathwork.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
September 4, 2025
Kevin D. Lam, Caroline Griffin, S. Kantipudi et al.
1 citation
Eighteen low- and middle-income countries on five continents show promise for implementing psychedelic-assisted therapies, with South Africa, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil, and Jamaica ranking in the top tertiles across seven of eight readiness domains. Readiness depends on high mental health burden, adequate infrastructure and insurance coverage, less stringent legal prohibitions, and cultural familiarity with psychedelics. Twenty-five countries did not achieve top rankings in any domain. The assessment used thirty-four criteria across eight domains, including disease epidemiology, mental health infrastructure, workforce, and legal status, to evaluate 136 countries.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
July 28, 2025
Keith Williams, Andrée-anne Bédard, Laura Pustarfi
1 citation
Inner healing intelligence (IHI) is a foundational concept in psychedelic-assisted therapy, describing an innate tendency toward healing. This paper expands IHI by drawing on vitalism and Indigenous philosophy from the Americas, conceptualizing it as an individual's capacity to engage with a vital life force specific to place and the more-than-human relationships that constitute the extended self. The authors invite the psychedelic therapy community to take IHI seriously and explore its implications, rather than offering a prescriptive framework. They foreground ontological and ethical consequences, suggesting this perspective can enrich therapeutic practice and support collective aspirations of the psychedelic renaissance, while proposing recommendations for a more emplaced, embodied, and relational enactment of IHI.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
May 17, 2025
Won-Seok Choi, Jeongwan Hong, Seung‐ho Jang et al.
1 citation
Korean psychiatric professionals show interest in using psychedelics for hard-to-treat conditions like depression and PTSD, but knowledge gaps exist, especially among residents regarding mechanisms of action. A survey of 193 attendees at three academic conferences found 44% were residents. Positive attitudes were lower among women, and most respondents expressed cautious optimism about future clinical use, pending further research and regulation. The findings highlight the need for better education on psychedelics within Korea's psychiatric community to align with global trends and improve treatment options for severe mental illness.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
April 22, 2025
Sophie van der Helder, K. Siefried, L. Acheson et al.
1 citation
Most people with substance use concerns who had used psychedelics in the past year thought that psychosocial support after their experiences would be useful. Of 108 participants, 94 (87.0%) considered integration support helpful. Among those interested, most preferred individual support led by a psychologist (67.0%) or a peer worker with lived experience of psychedelic use (58.5%), focusing on applying insights from the psychedelic experience to daily life (63.0%). The findings suggest potential benefits for offering such support and could be explored further with qualitative research.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
January 21, 2025
Louis Plourde, Sue-Ling Chang, Houman Farzin et al.
1 citation
The debate about whether psychotherapists should personally experience non-ordinary states of consciousness during psilocybin-assisted therapy training is important because it influences treatment safety, effectiveness, and accessibility. Ethical and practical concerns about making such experience a training standard need urgent attention where psilocybin therapy is being integrated into healthcare. The authors argue that the most balanced and ethical approach is to legally allow psilocybin use for professional training but not require it.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
December 5, 2024
Thomas Slunecko
1 citation
The article argues that current debates in psychedelic research echo older controversies from the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly the transformation of animal magnetism into a scientifically tamed phenomenon during the 'long century of mediumship'. By applying discourse analysis to key publications from the Johns Hopkins research group, the author shows how contemporary forces are systematically stripping psychedelics of their emancipatory, resistive, utopian, and spiritual connotations, pushing them toward a more controlled scientific framework.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
August 16, 2024
Bonnie Glass‐coffin
1 citation
An anthropological study examines the expansion of the ayahuasca-based Santo Daime New Religious Movement from South America to Europe. The author participated in over 50 European ceremonies and interviewed 87 daimistas across multiple nations between 2010 and 2011. European members join because Santo Daime ceremonies help resolve feelings of estrangement and isolation common in late-modern cultures marked by secularized individualism, materialism, and consumerism. The movement re-sacralizes human experience and provides meaning through direct experience of an enchanted, interconnected universe, contrasting with monophasic secular and scientific views of reality that restrict knowledge to waking consciousness. These cultural differences contribute to ongoing criminalization of Santo Daime rituals in Europe.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
July 18, 2024
Alex P. Hood, Chris E. Corlett, Cameron T. Alldredge et al.
1 citation
A critical review of six randomized controlled trials of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD finds that five show evidence of safety and efficacy. However, the review identifies serious methodological problems: lack of a suitable comparison condition, poor blinding, rigid trial designs, high treatment costs, and no head-to-head comparisons with established PTSD therapies. The sponsoring organization behind all trials may introduce bias. While the results are encouraging, there is not yet enough evidence to recommend widespread adoption of MDMA-assisted therapy over current validated treatments.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
July 12, 2024
Kristoffer Andreas Aamodt Andersen, Bjørn Holmøy, Lowan H. Stewart
1 citation
A Norwegian version of the Revised Mystical Experiences Questionnaire (MEQ30) has been developed through rigorous translation and cultural adaptation methods, including two independent forward translations, one back-translation, pilot testing on six psychedelic users, and cognitive debriefing with six experts. The MEQ30 measures mystical-type experiences induced by classic psychedelic drugs like psilocybin, which may underlie therapeutic effects for mental disorders. The Norwegian MEQ30 is ready for use in future trials in Norway, though its psychometric properties have not yet been assessed.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
May 27, 2024
Joanna Pashdag
1 citation
Psychedelics have shown promise in open-label studies and early clinical trials for rapidly and possibly lastingly relieving conditions such as major depressive disorder, end-of-life anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, smoking, alcohol use, and eating disorders. A key unresolved question is whether the hallucinatory experiences produced by classical psychedelics are necessary for their therapeutic effects, or whether a non-hallucinogenic trip could be equally effective. This commentary considers the value of the phenomenological psychedelic experience and poses the broader question of what any phenomenological experience is for.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
February 5, 2024
Ann M. Inouye, Aaron Wolfgang, Lianne T. Philhower
1 citation
In 2021, phase 3 clinical trials of MDMA-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant PTSD found that 71.2% of full-dose participants no longer met PTSD criteria. Although MDMA-assisted therapy is not FDA-approved for borderline personality disorder, its beneficial effects might be applicable. An exploratory, qualitative, interview-based study examined clinicians' perspectives by interviewing two dialectical behavioral therapy clinicians and two MDMA-assisted therapy clinicians. The study assessed underlying therapeutic mechanisms, pharmacological factors, and treatment context to improve clinical responses. Participants' codes revealed a chronological narrative with three treatment phases.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
December 29, 2023
Neşe Devenot, Brian A. Pace, Jason Slot et al.
1 citation
The field of psychedelic scholarship is expanding rapidly across clinical research, neuroscience, pharmacology, and the humanities. This special issue introduces the Psychedemia 2022 conference, hosted by the Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education at The Ohio State University, which brought together diverse academic disciplines to discuss integrating psychedelics into society. The conference built on the first Psychedemia in 2012 at the University of Pennsylvania, which helped establish Psychedelic Studies as an interdisciplinary field. As psychedelic research gains mainstream acceptance and a projected multi-billion-dollar medical market emerges, academics have a crucial role in articulating stakeholder concerns and shaping policy, theory, and methodology across social, legal, economic, and environmental dimensions.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
December 14, 2023
Ann M. Inouye, Aaron S. Wolfgang, Lianne T. Philhower
1 citation
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is often misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and stigmatized, with 25–58% of individuals also having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In Phase 3 clinical trials, up to 71.2% of full-dose MDMA participants for treatment-resistant PTSD no longer met PTSD criteria. This qualitative study interviewed two clinicians treating BPD and two MDMA-assisted therapy clinicians, exploring overlaps in etiology and conceptualization. Through eight interviews, perspectives revealed similarities and limitations of both dialectical behavioral therapy and MDMA-assisted therapy.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
September 19, 2023
Sam Elias, Stephanie Spivak, Alexa Alverez et al.
1 citation
People who look in a mirror while under the influence of psilocybin rarely see their own face as a different entity, such as an animal or another person. They are equally likely to see themselves as they really are or in a distorted way. Overall, self-perception during the experience is significantly more positive than negative. The way the own-face is perceived varies widely from person to person.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
September 11, 2023
Ioana Pop, Erwin Gielens, Hannah Kottmann
1 citation
An analysis of posts on the Reddit community r/microdosing from 2013 to 2020 identified two distinct narratives among users: a spirituality topic and a scientific topic labeled 'neuro-cognition.' These topics rarely appeared together in the same user's contributions, indicating that spiritual and scientific narratives are largely segregated within the community. The findings demonstrate the value of text analysis for revealing the cultural frameworks that surround the practice of microdosing psychedelics.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
June 9, 2023
Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Anna O. Ermakova, Jordan Sloshower et al.
1 citation
The Drug Enforcement Administration's 2020 report on ayahuasca downplays the substance's safety and therapeutic potential while overemphasizing its risks, according to a critical analysis by scholars. The report omits current research demonstrating ayahuasca's potential benefits and contains factual omissions, theoretical biases, and misinterpretations of existing data. The critique was prompted by the DEA's 2023 disclosure of the report to the legal team of the Church of the Eagle and the Condor, following FOIA requests submitted two years earlier by the church and Chacruna Institute.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
June 23, 2022
Shevaugn Johnson, Chris Letheby
1 citation
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy should be investigated as a treatment for body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). BDD involves appearance-based preoccupations and compulsions. Although existing treatments are safe and effective, non-response and relapse rates remain high. Preliminary evidence indicates safety, feasibility, and potential efficacy of psychedelic treatments for disorders sharing psychopathological mechanisms with BDD. Based on this evidence, qualitative reports, and theoretical proposals, the authors argue for a phase 2a study to assess safety and feasibility of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy in BDD, and offer suggestions for future research.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
March 11, 2022
Mark Kang, Lindsay Mackay, Devon Christie et al.
1 citation
Existing treatments for substance use disorders, including medications and psychosocial interventions, have significant shortcomings such as low retention and high relapse rates. Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies are re-emerging as promising adjunctive treatments for addiction and other mental health conditions, but there is a lack of validated metrics to evaluate recovery capital and motivation to change—a crucial factor in positive treatment outcomes. This commentary describes the current state of research and the potential of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to enhance motivation to change in addiction treatment, and emphasizes the need for validated tools to assess whether these therapies can produce lasting improvements in substance use behaviors.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
September 15, 2021
Benjamin R. Lewis, Kevin Byrne
1 citation
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a poor target for early psychedelic research aiming at FDA approval, according to this critique of a recent Phase II trial comparing psilocybin-assisted therapy with escitalopram. The psychiatric category of MDD is heterogeneous, vaguely defined, and overdiagnosed, making it difficult to detect a reliable signal with any intervention, especially in non-severe cases. Current rating scales like QIDS and HAM-D fail to capture functional status, quality of life, and well-being—outcomes more relevant to psychedelic interventions. Additionally, psychedelic experiences often foster acceptance or equanimity toward suffering, which may be orthogonal to symptom reduction as measured by these scales. The authors argue for alternative research directions.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
June 1, 2019
Robert Beckstead, Bryce Blankenagel, Cody Noconi et al.
1 citation
Historical documents suggest that Joseph Smith used entheogen-infused sacraments to fulfill his promise that every Mormon convert would experience visions of God and spiritual ecstasies. Early Mormon scriptures and Smith's teachings contain descriptions consistent with entheogenic material. Compiled accounts of Smith's earliest visions and early convert visions reveal internal symptomology and outward bodily manifestations consistent with an anticholinergic entheogen. Due to embarrassing symptomology, Smith sought psychoactives with fewer outward manifestations. The visionary period fueled by entheogens played a significant role in Mormonism's rise. Smith's death ended visionary Mormonism, as his successor failed to use entheogens in worship.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
October 5, 2018
Orsolya Fehér
1 citation
Public narratives about psychedelics in the four Visegrad countries (Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) are shaped by media and cultural stigma, lagging behind the 'psychedelic renaissance' seen in wealthier Western nations. Frequent television viewers show lower informedness and more negative attitudes toward psychedelics. The paper argues that harsh stigma in the former Eastern Bloc hinders psychedelic science, posing institutional, financial, and reputational challenges. The authors aim to promote a more balanced public discourse that addresses real risks.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
July 13, 2026
Nils Hörnqvist
A review of psilocybin-assisted therapy trials for major depressive disorder and treatment-resistant depression found that reporting practices are inconsistent in several key areas. Overrepresentation of participants with prior psychedelic experiences (22.4% of participants) was noted. Trials often failed to report blinding success for therapists (10%) and participants (16.7%), therapist fidelity (6.7%), and expectancy (6.7%). Preparatory and integration sessions were reported as hours rather than number of sessions. Some standardization was observed, such as increased use of the MADRS depression scale and consistent dosing (25 mg for intervention, 1 and 0 mg for control groups). The review calls for future research to better assess blinding, therapist fidelity, expectancy, and to include more psychedelic-naïve participants.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
July 3, 2026
Henry J. Whitfield, Jan Schepers, Natasha L. Mason et al.
After a psilocybin truffle retreat, two different psychotherapy interventions—one focused on self-perspective taking and cognitive defusion (ACT-SPT) and another on reexperiencing the psychedelic memory network (ACT-PMNR)—produced different trajectories of change. ACT-PMNR continued to improve participants' anxiety, well-being, and life functioning during the post-psilocybin period, whereas ACT-SPT trajectories drifted back toward baseline. Long-term follow-up of ACT-PMNR showed significant improvements across all measured outcomes, with post-therapy changes exceeding those from the retreat alone. Targeted post-psilocybin psychotherapy may build on initial retreat results, but randomized studies are needed to confirm these findings.