psychedelics
Psychedelic Experiences After Bereavement Improve Symptoms of Grief: The Influence of Emotional Breakthroughs and Challenging Experiences (Low, et al, 2025)
"Findings provide preliminary evidence that support the development of a psychedelic-assisted therapy protocol to target symptoms of grief. Psychedelic-assisted therapy might offer an alternative to current grief treatment options. "
ketamine
Unfolding States of Mind: A Dissociative-Psychedelic Model of Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy in Palliative Care (Gonçalves Campolina & Tuena de Oliveira, 2025)
Dissociative-psychedelic model offers a compassionate, pragmatic, theoretically grounded approach to relieving psychological & existential suffering in palliative care
ketamine
Spotlight: Efficacy and safety of ketamine maintenance therapy in treatment-resistant depression: A systematic review of treatment protocols and clinical outcomes (Al-Garni, et al, 2025)
"Concurrent psychotherapy improved treatment maintenance. Adverse events were generally mild to moderate... Ketamine maintenance therapy shows promise as a treatment option for TRD, with regular dosing schedules and early intervention associated with optimal outcomes."
ketamine
Psychedelics and mental health: reimagining care through science, insight, and compassion (Mikellides, et al, 2025)
"These substances are not stand-alone medications; rather, they function as adjuncts to intensive psychotherapeutic processes. Training therapists and establishing ethical, evidence-based protocols is essential."
mdma
Spotlight: Harriet de Wit: What can we learn about behavior and brain processes by studying psychoactive drugs in humans?
"her laboratory demonstrated that MDMA enhances feelings of social connectedness during interpersonal interactions, findings that have profound implications for PTSD treatment and psychotherapy."
research
Spotlight: Investigating the safety and tolerability of single-dose psilocybin for post-traumatic stress disorder: A nonrandomized open-label clinical trial (McGowan, et al, 2025)
"In this trial, COMP360 psilocybin administered in a single session with psychological support was found to be generally well-tolerated and without serious risk to safety... treatment associated with rapid, sustained reduction in PTSD symptoms, improved functioning and quality of life to 12 weeks"
psychedelic research
Spotlight: Deconstructing the trip treatment: are hallucinogenic effects critical to the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics? (Garcia-Romeu, 2025)
The relative contribution of drug vs. psychological support remains to be determined, though preliminary data indicate the therapeutic relationship can impact treatment outcomes [12], and factors such as environment, personality, and mindset can influence subjective drug effects.
