Self-reported psychedelic retreat survey findings on participant benefits for depression & anxiety

This report is from a non-medical psychedelic retreat centre documenting participant responses to a series of surveys on continuing benefits for depression and anxiety symptoms. The outcomes are encouraging, but it's important to emphasise the approximately 75% drop-out rate by the time of the one-year follow-up survey, so it's unclear what the results would be if all participants had contributed their results to the findings. The retreat centre writes: “These longitudinal surveys assess the long-term outcomes of guests who attend psilocybin-assisted retreats offered by MycoMeditations in Jamaica. The previous announcement of clinically significant improvements in PTSD symptomology highlights the success of the psilocybin retreat model in assisting those suffering with PTSD, with results comparable to those seen in MDMA-assisted therapy clinical trials.  MycoMeditations’ longitudinal surveys are not and do not attempt to constitute either an academic study or a registered clinical trial in their procedure, structure, or review process. However, insights drawn from this data convey a need for additional research into the mental health therapeutic benefits of psilocybin and points toward efficacy of treatment models outside of standard clinical and laboratory contexts. All data shared by MycoMeditations was analyzed and verified by a third-party academic partner.  This grouping includes results for depression, generalized anxiety, and social anxiety.  Much like the previously released PTSD data, MycoMeditations’ psilocybin-assisted retreat model led to clinically significant outcomes across depression, generalized anxiety, and social anxiety, respectively, according to client surveys. These results also suggested long-term efficacy, with significant positive results remaining one year after the retreat experience.”  Note that this data is highly approximate.  About 75% of participants had ceased responding to follow-up survey questionnaires by one-year, so any conclusions about overall success rates are largely guess work.  The survey does however suggest that retreat participants, suffering with a variety of anxiety and depression symptoms, can achieve long-term benefits using this open group format.

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