Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) shows promise for treating major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, but the specific role of psychotherapy within PAP remains unclear. This narrative review describes the development of PAP in Western psychiatry, outlines the standard therapeutic framework of preparation, dosing, and integration, and synthesizes findings from recent randomized controlled trials with psilocybin and MDMA. Although these trials report significant clinical benefit, they vary widely in therapeutic orientation, manualization, and therapist involvement.
Repeated administration of ketamine (an NMDA receptor antagonist) and GL-II-73 (a positive modulator of a5GABA A receptors) over seven days in adult male rats produced no changes in behavioral despair (forced swim test) or anxiety-like behavior (novelty suppressed feeding test). In spontaneous locomotor activity tests, all treatments reduced the percentage of time spent in the central area at 10 and 30 minutes. Only the higher 10 mg/kg dose of ketamine also reduced central distance traveled at both time points, suggesting a slight increase in emotional reactivity. The lower dose of ketamine and GL-II-73 produced minor changes of similar quality, hardly indicating an anxiety-inducing effect.