In a bid to increase accessibility, a new study by the Australian National University (ANU) School of Medicine and Psychology will look into the viability of the application of psychedelics in a group setting. The study will focus on the psychological, cognitive and physical effects, including adverse events, of taking psilocybin and MDMA in a group setting.

Findings of the study showed safety (no treatment-related serious adverse events or suicidality) with psilocybin and suggested efficacy, with a significant reduction in depression severity scores from baseline to posttreatment. Further investigation is warranted.

Adopting group therapy protocols where feasible would significantly reduce the cost of psychedelic-assisted therapies.

This pilot study demonstrated the safety, feasibility, and possible efficacy of psilocybin-assisted group therapy for cancer patients dealing with depressive symptoms. Based on demonstrated efficacy and significant reductions in therapist time, future investigations with the group therapy model are warranted.

Naturalistic psychedelic users are as likely to report an overall positive outcome and no more likely to report adverse events in group settings than in solo settings. This supports further research into PAP in group settings.

Suggestions are provided for protocol design, screening processes, space considerations, therapist team structure, group process, music, timeline, as well as potential issues and challenges.

“Those meetings are beautiful,” he says. “They’ve given me a real appreciation of how empowering it is for a cancer patient to help other cancer patients.”

We hope for this article to support clinical research on PAGP by presenting a therapeutic framework and outlining its mechanisms and challenges.