Increasing evidence suggests that psychedelic experiences, undergone in controlled conditions, can have various durable psychological benefits. One such benefit is reductions in fear of death, which have been attested in both psychiatric patients and healthy people. This paper addresses the question: how, exactly, do psychedelic experiences reduce fear of death?

We conducted semi-structured interviews with 26 people who reported experiencing existential distress following psychedelic experiences. We explored the phenomenology of participants’ difficulties and the ways they navigated them, including what they found helpful and unhelpful in their process.

We report the initial validation of the General Change Mechanisms Questionnaire (GCMQ), a self-report instrument designed to measure five empirically established general change mechanisms (GCMs) of psychotherapy—(1) resource activation, (2) therapeutic relationship, (3) problem actuation, (4) clarification, and (5) mastery—in the context of psychedelic experiences.

Participants at the workshop discussed the ethical aspects of psychedelics, including research methods, clinical practices, history, law and society, spirituality, community, culture, and politics that arise in relation to psychedelics. 

Here's a YouTube treasure trove of nearly thirty free full length presentations from this month's Horizons conference in New York.

This feature explores the reasons for these developments, the opportunities and challenges they provide to psychiatry communities and how along with health systems these communities might respond to these developments.

Ketamine infusion strongly induced heightened feelings of awe, and these experiences consistently mediated depression outcomes over a 1- to 30-day period, unlike general dissociative side effects.

Improvements in death anxiety were positively correlated with changes in belief in panpsychism (which posits that consciousness is a fundamental feature of all things), but no other measured metaphysical beliefs.

Results show that while brain entropy increases with LSD under all of the experimental conditions, it exhibits the largest changes when subjects have their eyes closed.

This annotated bibliography comprises 49 texts concerning psilocybin mushroom practices developed by Indigenous peoples.

The sample consisted of 29 studies, including n = 17 health professional, n = 6 patients, and n = 6 public. Broadly, knowledge of PAP was low among all three stakeholder groups. There was mixed to positive belief in the therapeutic potential of psychedelics.

The present research study investigated the phenomenon of recreational use of psychedelics at music festivals, analysing whether the resulting experiences could possibly be recognized as valuable in terms of preventive mental health strategies.

For individuals with PD, psychedelic use was associated with improvements in psychological functioning. There were no clinically significant elevations in SI and several cases of elevations in anxiety and depression severity. The studies are limited by a small sample size, self-reported data, and lack of differentiation between PDs. Further research should explore the safety and potential therapeutic effects of psychedelics among individuals with PD.

Blossom, an excellent resource, with its tagline "Access our comprehensive database & reports to stay informed about the latest developments as psychedelics move from trials to treatments" has published a helpful recap of April's psychedelic research

This paper offers a first look at potential therapeutic mechanisms for AUD by reviewing the current literature on 5-MeO-DMT. Primarily, 5-MeO-DMT is able to induce mystical experiences and ego-dissolution together with increases in psychological flexibility and mindfulness.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is moving toward reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug ... moving it from Schedule I to Schedule III.

We review research on the risks and benefits of psychedelics and discuss how the following depression treatments have shown decreasing effect sizes over time: (1) cognitive behavioral therapy, (2) mindfulness interventions, (3) selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and (4) ketamine. We speculate that a similar trend may occur for psychedelic treatments.

Evidence suggests that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy (MDMA-AP) has therapeutic potential for treatment of psychiatric illness. We conducted the first comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of the side effects of MDMA-AP across indications.

This NOFO (Notice of Funding Opportunity) invites applications to support a clinical trials network involving multiple institutions to collect safety and early efficacy data of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) in defined groups of older adults living with specific chronic pain conditions.  This NOFO uses the UG3 / UH3 Exploratory/Developmental Phased Award Cooperative Agreement activity code. Applications must include a research plan describing both UG3 and UH3 phases.

Inner healer scores were higher after the high versus placebo dose of psilocybin (t = 3.88, p < 0.001). Within the high-dose sub-sample only, inner healer scores predicted improved depressive symptomatology at 2 weeks post-dosing.  Conclusions: The principle of activating inner healing mechanisms via psychedelics is scientifically nascent; however, this study takes a positivist and pragmatic step forward, asking whether it warrants further examination.