#psilocybin — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #psilocybin, aggregated by home.social.
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https://theconversation.com/a-single-dose-of-psilocybin-eased-depression-symptoms-for-months-our-study-found-282499; https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2849099?guestAccessKey=1b34668e-afe8-4888-aa3d-dd05b3b83eff&utm_source=for_the_media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=051526. Read article in full, & NB: "a central #challenge for the field [is] how to disentangle the drug’s #biological #effects from the powerful role of #expectation & #experience. Answering that question will be crucial for understanding where #psilocybin fits into future #mental #healthcare."
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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/18/magic-mushrooms-treatment-cocaine-addiction-study. A somewhat inaccurate #headline, @guardian! "Results from a new #clinical #trial show that a single #dose of #psilocybin could be an effective #treatment for #cocaine #addiction." Psilocybin is the active hallucinogenic substance found in #mushrooms such as Psilocybe cubensis, & is metabolised into #psilocin in the human body, but the chemical, & ingesting that, isn't the same thing as eating a "magic mushroom"!
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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/18/magic-mushrooms-treatment-cocaine-addiction-study. A somewhat inaccurate #headline, @guardian! "Results from a new #clinical #trial show that a single #dose of #psilocybin could be an effective #treatment for #cocaine #addiction." Psilocybin is the active hallucinogenic substance found in #mushrooms such as Psilocybe cubensis, & is metabolised into #psilocin in the human body, but the chemical, & ingesting that, isn't the same thing as eating a "magic mushroom"!
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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/18/magic-mushrooms-treatment-cocaine-addiction-study. A somewhat inaccurate #headline, @guardian! "Results from a new #clinical #trial show that a single #dose of #psilocybin could be an effective #treatment for #cocaine #addiction." Psilocybin is the active hallucinogenic substance found in #mushrooms such as Psilocybe cubensis, & is metabolised into #psilocin in the human body, but the chemical, & ingesting that, isn't the same thing as eating a "magic mushroom"!
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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/18/magic-mushrooms-treatment-cocaine-addiction-study. A somewhat inaccurate #headline, @guardian! "Results from a new #clinical #trial show that a single #dose of #psilocybin could be an effective #treatment for #cocaine #addiction." Psilocybin is the active hallucinogenic substance found in #mushrooms such as Psilocybe cubensis, & is metabolised into #psilocin in the human body, but the chemical, & ingesting that, isn't the same thing as eating a "magic mushroom"!
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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/18/magic-mushrooms-treatment-cocaine-addiction-study. A somewhat inaccurate #headline, @guardian! "Results from a new #clinical #trial show that a single #dose of #psilocybin could be an effective #treatment for #cocaine #addiction." Psilocybin is the active hallucinogenic substance found in #mushrooms such as Psilocybe cubensis, & is metabolised into #psilocin in the human body, but the chemical, & ingesting that, isn't the same thing as eating a "magic mushroom"!
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DATE: May 17, 2026 at 02:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: New study reveals distinct differences in how different drugs relate to criminal behavior
A study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology suggests that different substances have vastly different associations with criminal behavior and police arrests. The research indicates that while some psychedelics like psilocybin tend to be associated with lower rates of arrest, other substances like PCP and GHB show strong links to violent and non-violent crimes. These findings provide evidence that the influence of drugs on society is not uniform and depends heavily on the specific substance being used.
Jesse J. Norris, an associate professor of criminal justice at the State University of New York at Fredonia, conducted this research to examine the role of substances that scientists do not often study in relation to crime. He noticed that much research focuses on common drugs like alcohol or cannabis but rarely looks at chemicals like phencyclidine, which is also known as PCP. He wanted to explore how these less common substances relate to both police arrests and crimes that people report themselves.
Norris explained that two specific motivations led him to explore this topic. “First, PCP is stereotypically associated with extreme violence, and there are certainly some anecdotes to support that, in which people under the influence of PCP committed cannibalism or beheaded someone, for example,” Norris said. He realized there was very little systematic research on PCP and no broad agreement about its association with violence.
Since the National Survey on Drug Use and Health collects data on criminal activity and PCP use, he decided to test for associations between the two. This survey is a nationally representative study, which means it is a survey of tens of thousands of Americans designed to reflect the demographics of the whole country. Norris intended to see if the violent stories associated with PCP were reflected in a large group of people.
The second reason for the study involved recent evidence suggesting that psilocybin use is associated with a lower chance of being arrested for various offenses. While these findings are interesting, Norris thought the logical next step was to conduct a broader analysis. This analysis would incorporate all psychedelic drugs and all available measures of criminal activity.
“Therefore, in this study, which is based on the responses of over 500,000 US residents from 10 years of NSDUH data, I examined associations between each psychedelic drug and various outcomes, including arrest for several different offenses, and self-reported criminal activity like attacking other people and repeated thefts,” Norris explained.
He noted that this kind of research is important because psychedelics are becoming more popular among researchers and the public. He believes we need to have a good evidence base for understanding the potential impacts of psychedelics on people’s behavior.
The researcher used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health collected between 2014 and 2023. This resulted in a total sample size of 544,740 people. The survey asks participants about their drug use at different times, such as within the last month, the last year, or at any point in their lives. It also asks if they have been arrested for various crimes, including assault, theft, or driving under the influence.
Additionally, the survey includes questions where people admit to committing crimes, such as selling drugs or attacking someone, even if they were never caught. To analyze this information, Norris used a method called multivariable logistic regression. This is a statistical tool used to predict the likelihood of an event, like an arrest, based on many different factors.
In this study, the results are often presented as adjusted odds ratios. An odds ratio is a way to compare whether the probability of a certain event is higher or lower for one group than another. If the odds ratio is above one, it suggests an increased likelihood. If it is below one, it suggests a decreased likelihood. The word “adjusted” means the researchers accounted for factors like age, gender, income, and education level to ensure those variables did not distort the results.
The findings provides evidence that PCP was strongly associated with violence. “This study found that people who have used PCP in the last month have over 10 times the odds of having been arrested for a serious violence offense in the last year,” Norris said. Serious violent offenses include major crimes like murder, rape, or aggravated assault.
“Recent PCP users are also much more likely to be arrested for a sex offense or admit attacking several people in the last year,” Norris told PsyPost. While the researchers do not know whether PCP is causing these behaviors, these findings suggest a close association between PCP use and violent offending. Although PCP use is fairly rare, and most violent crime has nothing to do with PCP, the author suggests it is worth exploring whether interventions with PCP users might prevent some violence.
Another rarely used substance, GHB, also showed a strong link to criminal activity. GHB is a central nervous system depressant that is sometimes used as a club drug. The study suggests that GHB users were much more likely to be arrested for crimes like arson, robbery, burglary, and fraud.
One result regarding GHB was particularly unexpected for the researcher. “I didn’t expect the associations between certain drugs and certain crimes to be so strong,” Norris admitted. “For example, women who have used GHB in the last year have more than 100 times the odds of being arrested for a sex offense, compared to non-GHB users.” However, he noted that some of these effect sizes may be misleadingly large due to the small numbers of users in the study.
When looking at psychedelics, the findings were more varied than in previous research. Psilocybin was associated with a lower likelihood of several different types of arrests. People who had used psilocybin at some point in their lives had reduced odds of being arrested for assault, robbery, theft, and fraud.
“Many people today are optimistic about the ability of psychedelic drugs like psilocybin to have positive effects on people’s emotions and behaviors,” Norris observed. “But my study’s mixed results on psychedelics suggest that this optimism may be premature, at least when it comes to psychedelics’ impact on criminal behavior.” While psilocybin showed protective associations, other psychedelics with very similar effects on the brain had very different results.
For example, a group of drugs called tryptamines, which includes DMT and a synthetic drug nicknamed “Foxy” (5-MeO-DiPT), were associated with an increased risk of arrest. Users of these drugs were much more likely to be arrested for arson or burglary. Other drugs, like LSD and a plant called Salvia divinorum, showed mixed results, where they were linked to higher odds of some crimes but lower odds of others.
“Like previous studies, my study found that psilocybin was often associated with a lower odds of arrest,” Norris explained. “However, other psychedelics with very similar effects on the brain had very different results, either increasing the odds of arrest across the board or increasing the odds of some offenses while reducing the odds of others.” He suggested that factors like the type of people who use these drugs and the social context in which they are used might be driving these results, rather than the effects of the substances themselves.
Social context refers to the environment, the people, and the culture surrounding drug use. This is often called the “setting.” Norris pointed out that even though the study accounts for variables like education and income, residual socioeconomic confounding might be present. Socioeconomic confounding refers to differences in economic status and social position that the study did not measure.
“For example, it is possible that psilocybin causes psychological changes that reduce criminal behavior,” Norris stated. “But it is also possible that psilocybin does not have such an effect, and psilocybin users simply tend to be the type of people who were unlikely to get arrested to begin with.” This means the drug might not be the cause of the lower arrest rate; instead, the people who choose to use it might already be less likely to commit crimes.
The study also looked at how these patterns changed for younger people under the age of 18. For these youth, the protective effects of psychedelics were almost entirely absent. Instead of being associated with fewer arrests, psychedelic use among minors was often linked to a higher risk of being arrested or committing violence.
“In addition, the fact that psilocybin is associated with a reduced odds of arrest for adults but not for juveniles, and for whites but not for African-Americans, suggests that it may not be psilocybin itself that is influencing people’s behavior,” Norris said. This finding regarding race is consistent with prior research suggesting that minorities are less likely to benefit from psychedelics. This is often attributed to structural racism and different social pressures rather than biological differences.
One of the most notable results involved cannabis. “While cannabis was not the focus of the study, I was surprised by how consistently cannabis use was associated with a higher odds of arrest and self-reported criminal behavior,” Norris noted. Cannabis use measures had some of the highest odds ratios for many types of crime, which provides evidence against the idea that cannabis use is unrelated to criminal activity.
There are some important caveats readers should keep in mind to avoid misinterpretation. “It’s important to point out that statistically-significant associations between a certain drug and a certain crime, and even large associations like a tenfold increase in odds, do not necessarily imply that the drug is causing the criminal behavior,” Norris cautioned. “More research is needed whether that is the case.”
The study relies on surveys, which have limits because people may not always remember or report their behavior accurately. It is also difficult to know if the drug use happened before or after the crime. Norris noted that the next logical step for this research is to conduct similar analyses with more fine-grained variables about psychedelic use. This would include looking at how recently or frequently the participants have used each psychedelic.
“I’m working on one such project now involving a single psychedelic drug,” Norris shared regarding his future plans. This future work may help scientists understand if the timing and frequency of drug use change how they relate to crime. For now, the current study highlights that the relationship between substances and the law is highly complex and depends on many social and chemical factors.
The study, “Substance use predictors of arrest and self-reported criminal behavior in the United States: The role of psychedelics and rarely used drugs,” was authored by Jesse J. Norris.
-------------------------------------------------
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Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: https://www.nationalpsychologist.com
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-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #psychedelics #crime #PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY #psilocybin #PCP #GHB #arrestrisk #NSDUH #druguse #psychedelicsandcrime
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DATE: May 17, 2026 at 02:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: New study reveals distinct differences in how different drugs relate to criminal behavior
A study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology suggests that different substances have vastly different associations with criminal behavior and police arrests. The research indicates that while some psychedelics like psilocybin tend to be associated with lower rates of arrest, other substances like PCP and GHB show strong links to violent and non-violent crimes. These findings provide evidence that the influence of drugs on society is not uniform and depends heavily on the specific substance being used.
Jesse J. Norris, an associate professor of criminal justice at the State University of New York at Fredonia, conducted this research to examine the role of substances that scientists do not often study in relation to crime. He noticed that much research focuses on common drugs like alcohol or cannabis but rarely looks at chemicals like phencyclidine, which is also known as PCP. He wanted to explore how these less common substances relate to both police arrests and crimes that people report themselves.
Norris explained that two specific motivations led him to explore this topic. “First, PCP is stereotypically associated with extreme violence, and there are certainly some anecdotes to support that, in which people under the influence of PCP committed cannibalism or beheaded someone, for example,” Norris said. He realized there was very little systematic research on PCP and no broad agreement about its association with violence.
Since the National Survey on Drug Use and Health collects data on criminal activity and PCP use, he decided to test for associations between the two. This survey is a nationally representative study, which means it is a survey of tens of thousands of Americans designed to reflect the demographics of the whole country. Norris intended to see if the violent stories associated with PCP were reflected in a large group of people.
The second reason for the study involved recent evidence suggesting that psilocybin use is associated with a lower chance of being arrested for various offenses. While these findings are interesting, Norris thought the logical next step was to conduct a broader analysis. This analysis would incorporate all psychedelic drugs and all available measures of criminal activity.
“Therefore, in this study, which is based on the responses of over 500,000 US residents from 10 years of NSDUH data, I examined associations between each psychedelic drug and various outcomes, including arrest for several different offenses, and self-reported criminal activity like attacking other people and repeated thefts,” Norris explained.
He noted that this kind of research is important because psychedelics are becoming more popular among researchers and the public. He believes we need to have a good evidence base for understanding the potential impacts of psychedelics on people’s behavior.
The researcher used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health collected between 2014 and 2023. This resulted in a total sample size of 544,740 people. The survey asks participants about their drug use at different times, such as within the last month, the last year, or at any point in their lives. It also asks if they have been arrested for various crimes, including assault, theft, or driving under the influence.
Additionally, the survey includes questions where people admit to committing crimes, such as selling drugs or attacking someone, even if they were never caught. To analyze this information, Norris used a method called multivariable logistic regression. This is a statistical tool used to predict the likelihood of an event, like an arrest, based on many different factors.
In this study, the results are often presented as adjusted odds ratios. An odds ratio is a way to compare whether the probability of a certain event is higher or lower for one group than another. If the odds ratio is above one, it suggests an increased likelihood. If it is below one, it suggests a decreased likelihood. The word “adjusted” means the researchers accounted for factors like age, gender, income, and education level to ensure those variables did not distort the results.
The findings provides evidence that PCP was strongly associated with violence. “This study found that people who have used PCP in the last month have over 10 times the odds of having been arrested for a serious violence offense in the last year,” Norris said. Serious violent offenses include major crimes like murder, rape, or aggravated assault.
“Recent PCP users are also much more likely to be arrested for a sex offense or admit attacking several people in the last year,” Norris told PsyPost. While the researchers do not know whether PCP is causing these behaviors, these findings suggest a close association between PCP use and violent offending. Although PCP use is fairly rare, and most violent crime has nothing to do with PCP, the author suggests it is worth exploring whether interventions with PCP users might prevent some violence.
Another rarely used substance, GHB, also showed a strong link to criminal activity. GHB is a central nervous system depressant that is sometimes used as a club drug. The study suggests that GHB users were much more likely to be arrested for crimes like arson, robbery, burglary, and fraud.
One result regarding GHB was particularly unexpected for the researcher. “I didn’t expect the associations between certain drugs and certain crimes to be so strong,” Norris admitted. “For example, women who have used GHB in the last year have more than 100 times the odds of being arrested for a sex offense, compared to non-GHB users.” However, he noted that some of these effect sizes may be misleadingly large due to the small numbers of users in the study.
When looking at psychedelics, the findings were more varied than in previous research. Psilocybin was associated with a lower likelihood of several different types of arrests. People who had used psilocybin at some point in their lives had reduced odds of being arrested for assault, robbery, theft, and fraud.
“Many people today are optimistic about the ability of psychedelic drugs like psilocybin to have positive effects on people’s emotions and behaviors,” Norris observed. “But my study’s mixed results on psychedelics suggest that this optimism may be premature, at least when it comes to psychedelics’ impact on criminal behavior.” While psilocybin showed protective associations, other psychedelics with very similar effects on the brain had very different results.
For example, a group of drugs called tryptamines, which includes DMT and a synthetic drug nicknamed “Foxy” (5-MeO-DiPT), were associated with an increased risk of arrest. Users of these drugs were much more likely to be arrested for arson or burglary. Other drugs, like LSD and a plant called Salvia divinorum, showed mixed results, where they were linked to higher odds of some crimes but lower odds of others.
“Like previous studies, my study found that psilocybin was often associated with a lower odds of arrest,” Norris explained. “However, other psychedelics with very similar effects on the brain had very different results, either increasing the odds of arrest across the board or increasing the odds of some offenses while reducing the odds of others.” He suggested that factors like the type of people who use these drugs and the social context in which they are used might be driving these results, rather than the effects of the substances themselves.
Social context refers to the environment, the people, and the culture surrounding drug use. This is often called the “setting.” Norris pointed out that even though the study accounts for variables like education and income, residual socioeconomic confounding might be present. Socioeconomic confounding refers to differences in economic status and social position that the study did not measure.
“For example, it is possible that psilocybin causes psychological changes that reduce criminal behavior,” Norris stated. “But it is also possible that psilocybin does not have such an effect, and psilocybin users simply tend to be the type of people who were unlikely to get arrested to begin with.” This means the drug might not be the cause of the lower arrest rate; instead, the people who choose to use it might already be less likely to commit crimes.
The study also looked at how these patterns changed for younger people under the age of 18. For these youth, the protective effects of psychedelics were almost entirely absent. Instead of being associated with fewer arrests, psychedelic use among minors was often linked to a higher risk of being arrested or committing violence.
“In addition, the fact that psilocybin is associated with a reduced odds of arrest for adults but not for juveniles, and for whites but not for African-Americans, suggests that it may not be psilocybin itself that is influencing people’s behavior,” Norris said. This finding regarding race is consistent with prior research suggesting that minorities are less likely to benefit from psychedelics. This is often attributed to structural racism and different social pressures rather than biological differences.
One of the most notable results involved cannabis. “While cannabis was not the focus of the study, I was surprised by how consistently cannabis use was associated with a higher odds of arrest and self-reported criminal behavior,” Norris noted. Cannabis use measures had some of the highest odds ratios for many types of crime, which provides evidence against the idea that cannabis use is unrelated to criminal activity.
There are some important caveats readers should keep in mind to avoid misinterpretation. “It’s important to point out that statistically-significant associations between a certain drug and a certain crime, and even large associations like a tenfold increase in odds, do not necessarily imply that the drug is causing the criminal behavior,” Norris cautioned. “More research is needed whether that is the case.”
The study relies on surveys, which have limits because people may not always remember or report their behavior accurately. It is also difficult to know if the drug use happened before or after the crime. Norris noted that the next logical step for this research is to conduct similar analyses with more fine-grained variables about psychedelic use. This would include looking at how recently or frequently the participants have used each psychedelic.
“I’m working on one such project now involving a single psychedelic drug,” Norris shared regarding his future plans. This future work may help scientists understand if the timing and frequency of drug use change how they relate to crime. For now, the current study highlights that the relationship between substances and the law is highly complex and depends on many social and chemical factors.
The study, “Substance use predictors of arrest and self-reported criminal behavior in the United States: The role of psychedelics and rarely used drugs,” was authored by Jesse J. Norris.
-------------------------------------------------
DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot
Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: https://www.nationalpsychologist.com
EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: http://subscribe-article-digests.clinicians-exchange.org
READ ONLINE: http://read-the-rss-mega-archive.clinicians-exchange.org
It's primitive... but it works... mostly...
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #psychedelics #crime #PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY #psilocybin #PCP #GHB #arrestrisk #NSDUH #druguse #psychedelicsandcrime
-
DATE: May 17, 2026 at 02:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: New study reveals distinct differences in how different drugs relate to criminal behavior
A study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology suggests that different substances have vastly different associations with criminal behavior and police arrests. The research indicates that while some psychedelics like psilocybin tend to be associated with lower rates of arrest, other substances like PCP and GHB show strong links to violent and non-violent crimes. These findings provide evidence that the influence of drugs on society is not uniform and depends heavily on the specific substance being used.
Jesse J. Norris, an associate professor of criminal justice at the State University of New York at Fredonia, conducted this research to examine the role of substances that scientists do not often study in relation to crime. He noticed that much research focuses on common drugs like alcohol or cannabis but rarely looks at chemicals like phencyclidine, which is also known as PCP. He wanted to explore how these less common substances relate to both police arrests and crimes that people report themselves.
Norris explained that two specific motivations led him to explore this topic. “First, PCP is stereotypically associated with extreme violence, and there are certainly some anecdotes to support that, in which people under the influence of PCP committed cannibalism or beheaded someone, for example,” Norris said. He realized there was very little systematic research on PCP and no broad agreement about its association with violence.
Since the National Survey on Drug Use and Health collects data on criminal activity and PCP use, he decided to test for associations between the two. This survey is a nationally representative study, which means it is a survey of tens of thousands of Americans designed to reflect the demographics of the whole country. Norris intended to see if the violent stories associated with PCP were reflected in a large group of people.
The second reason for the study involved recent evidence suggesting that psilocybin use is associated with a lower chance of being arrested for various offenses. While these findings are interesting, Norris thought the logical next step was to conduct a broader analysis. This analysis would incorporate all psychedelic drugs and all available measures of criminal activity.
“Therefore, in this study, which is based on the responses of over 500,000 US residents from 10 years of NSDUH data, I examined associations between each psychedelic drug and various outcomes, including arrest for several different offenses, and self-reported criminal activity like attacking other people and repeated thefts,” Norris explained.
He noted that this kind of research is important because psychedelics are becoming more popular among researchers and the public. He believes we need to have a good evidence base for understanding the potential impacts of psychedelics on people’s behavior.
The researcher used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health collected between 2014 and 2023. This resulted in a total sample size of 544,740 people. The survey asks participants about their drug use at different times, such as within the last month, the last year, or at any point in their lives. It also asks if they have been arrested for various crimes, including assault, theft, or driving under the influence.
Additionally, the survey includes questions where people admit to committing crimes, such as selling drugs or attacking someone, even if they were never caught. To analyze this information, Norris used a method called multivariable logistic regression. This is a statistical tool used to predict the likelihood of an event, like an arrest, based on many different factors.
In this study, the results are often presented as adjusted odds ratios. An odds ratio is a way to compare whether the probability of a certain event is higher or lower for one group than another. If the odds ratio is above one, it suggests an increased likelihood. If it is below one, it suggests a decreased likelihood. The word “adjusted” means the researchers accounted for factors like age, gender, income, and education level to ensure those variables did not distort the results.
The findings provides evidence that PCP was strongly associated with violence. “This study found that people who have used PCP in the last month have over 10 times the odds of having been arrested for a serious violence offense in the last year,” Norris said. Serious violent offenses include major crimes like murder, rape, or aggravated assault.
“Recent PCP users are also much more likely to be arrested for a sex offense or admit attacking several people in the last year,” Norris told PsyPost. While the researchers do not know whether PCP is causing these behaviors, these findings suggest a close association between PCP use and violent offending. Although PCP use is fairly rare, and most violent crime has nothing to do with PCP, the author suggests it is worth exploring whether interventions with PCP users might prevent some violence.
Another rarely used substance, GHB, also showed a strong link to criminal activity. GHB is a central nervous system depressant that is sometimes used as a club drug. The study suggests that GHB users were much more likely to be arrested for crimes like arson, robbery, burglary, and fraud.
One result regarding GHB was particularly unexpected for the researcher. “I didn’t expect the associations between certain drugs and certain crimes to be so strong,” Norris admitted. “For example, women who have used GHB in the last year have more than 100 times the odds of being arrested for a sex offense, compared to non-GHB users.” However, he noted that some of these effect sizes may be misleadingly large due to the small numbers of users in the study.
When looking at psychedelics, the findings were more varied than in previous research. Psilocybin was associated with a lower likelihood of several different types of arrests. People who had used psilocybin at some point in their lives had reduced odds of being arrested for assault, robbery, theft, and fraud.
“Many people today are optimistic about the ability of psychedelic drugs like psilocybin to have positive effects on people’s emotions and behaviors,” Norris observed. “But my study’s mixed results on psychedelics suggest that this optimism may be premature, at least when it comes to psychedelics’ impact on criminal behavior.” While psilocybin showed protective associations, other psychedelics with very similar effects on the brain had very different results.
For example, a group of drugs called tryptamines, which includes DMT and a synthetic drug nicknamed “Foxy” (5-MeO-DiPT), were associated with an increased risk of arrest. Users of these drugs were much more likely to be arrested for arson or burglary. Other drugs, like LSD and a plant called Salvia divinorum, showed mixed results, where they were linked to higher odds of some crimes but lower odds of others.
“Like previous studies, my study found that psilocybin was often associated with a lower odds of arrest,” Norris explained. “However, other psychedelics with very similar effects on the brain had very different results, either increasing the odds of arrest across the board or increasing the odds of some offenses while reducing the odds of others.” He suggested that factors like the type of people who use these drugs and the social context in which they are used might be driving these results, rather than the effects of the substances themselves.
Social context refers to the environment, the people, and the culture surrounding drug use. This is often called the “setting.” Norris pointed out that even though the study accounts for variables like education and income, residual socioeconomic confounding might be present. Socioeconomic confounding refers to differences in economic status and social position that the study did not measure.
“For example, it is possible that psilocybin causes psychological changes that reduce criminal behavior,” Norris stated. “But it is also possible that psilocybin does not have such an effect, and psilocybin users simply tend to be the type of people who were unlikely to get arrested to begin with.” This means the drug might not be the cause of the lower arrest rate; instead, the people who choose to use it might already be less likely to commit crimes.
The study also looked at how these patterns changed for younger people under the age of 18. For these youth, the protective effects of psychedelics were almost entirely absent. Instead of being associated with fewer arrests, psychedelic use among minors was often linked to a higher risk of being arrested or committing violence.
“In addition, the fact that psilocybin is associated with a reduced odds of arrest for adults but not for juveniles, and for whites but not for African-Americans, suggests that it may not be psilocybin itself that is influencing people’s behavior,” Norris said. This finding regarding race is consistent with prior research suggesting that minorities are less likely to benefit from psychedelics. This is often attributed to structural racism and different social pressures rather than biological differences.
One of the most notable results involved cannabis. “While cannabis was not the focus of the study, I was surprised by how consistently cannabis use was associated with a higher odds of arrest and self-reported criminal behavior,” Norris noted. Cannabis use measures had some of the highest odds ratios for many types of crime, which provides evidence against the idea that cannabis use is unrelated to criminal activity.
There are some important caveats readers should keep in mind to avoid misinterpretation. “It’s important to point out that statistically-significant associations between a certain drug and a certain crime, and even large associations like a tenfold increase in odds, do not necessarily imply that the drug is causing the criminal behavior,” Norris cautioned. “More research is needed whether that is the case.”
The study relies on surveys, which have limits because people may not always remember or report their behavior accurately. It is also difficult to know if the drug use happened before or after the crime. Norris noted that the next logical step for this research is to conduct similar analyses with more fine-grained variables about psychedelic use. This would include looking at how recently or frequently the participants have used each psychedelic.
“I’m working on one such project now involving a single psychedelic drug,” Norris shared regarding his future plans. This future work may help scientists understand if the timing and frequency of drug use change how they relate to crime. For now, the current study highlights that the relationship between substances and the law is highly complex and depends on many social and chemical factors.
The study, “Substance use predictors of arrest and self-reported criminal behavior in the United States: The role of psychedelics and rarely used drugs,” was authored by Jesse J. Norris.
-------------------------------------------------
DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.
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Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot
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It's primitive... but it works... mostly...
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #psychedelics #crime #PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY #psilocybin #PCP #GHB #arrestrisk #NSDUH #druguse #psychedelicsandcrime
-
#Psilocybin #MentalHealth #DepressionTreatment #PsychedelicTherapy #PsychiatricCare #MushroomMedicine #WellnessJourney #NewHope #wellnessgoals #wellnessadvocate #wellnesscoaching #wellnessfitness #wellnesscenter #wellnesscommunity #TherapeuticPsychedelics #Mindfulness https://mastodon.social/@biohackingpathway/116588891740098770
-
#Psilocybin #MentalHealth #DepressionTreatment #PsychedelicTherapy #PsychiatricCare #MushroomMedicine #WellnessJourney #NewHope #wellnessgoals #wellnessadvocate #wellnesscoaching #wellnessfitness #wellnesscenter #wellnesscommunity #TherapeuticPsychedelics #Mindfulness https://mastodon.social/@biohackingpathway/116588891740098770
-
https://www.europesays.com/at/160392/ Östrogen beeinflusst die Reaktion von Gehirn und Psychedelika: Neue Tierstudie #AI #Angst #ARTIFICIALINTELLIGENCE #AT #Austria #Depression #Gehirn #Geist #Gesundheit #Health #Hormone #KI #KünstlicheIntelligenz #Neurologie #Neuropharmakologie #Neuroscience #Neurowissenschaften #OEstrogen #Österreich #Plastizität #Psilocybin #Rezeptoren #Serotonin #SexUnterschiede #Tiere #Verhalten #zyklus
-
Exploring Psilocybin as a Potential Treatment for OCD
📰 Original title: What Happens When You Try to Treat OCD With Psilocybin
🤖 IA: It's clickbait ⚠️
👥 Users: It's clickbait ⚠️View full AI summary: https://killbait.com/en/exploring-psilocybin-as-a-potential-treatment-for-ocd/?redirpost=2dc2e733-ad1b-4b96-94ce-3d3a3f43c4c7&utm_source=mastodon_world&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=killbait
-
How #Psychedelics Affect the #Brain
Researchers sought to demonstrate therapeutic benefits of mind-altering drugs like #LSD and #psilocybin “#magicmushrooms,” many struggled to explain how these compounds work.
New studies included more than 500 scans of 267 research participants on five substances: LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, DMT and ayahuasca. Research suggests psychedelics temporarily reduce separation between how we think and how we perceive.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/health/psychedelic-medicine-brain.html
https://archive.ph/2sCpu -
How #Psychedelics Affect the #Brain
Researchers sought to demonstrate therapeutic benefits of mind-altering drugs like #LSD and #psilocybin “#magicmushrooms,” many struggled to explain how these compounds work.
New studies included more than 500 scans of 267 research participants on five substances: LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, DMT and ayahuasca. Research suggests psychedelics temporarily reduce separation between how we think and how we perceive.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/health/psychedelic-medicine-brain.html
https://archive.ph/2sCpu -
How #Psychedelics Affect the #Brain
Researchers sought to demonstrate therapeutic benefits of mind-altering drugs like #LSD and #psilocybin “#magicmushrooms,” many struggled to explain how these compounds work.
New studies included more than 500 scans of 267 research participants on five substances: LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, DMT and ayahuasca. Research suggests psychedelics temporarily reduce separation between how we think and how we perceive.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/health/psychedelic-medicine-brain.html
https://archive.ph/2sCpu -
How #Psychedelics Affect the #Brain
Researchers sought to demonstrate therapeutic benefits of mind-altering drugs like #LSD and #psilocybin “#magicmushrooms,” many struggled to explain how these compounds work.
New studies included more than 500 scans of 267 research participants on five substances: LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, DMT and ayahuasca. Research suggests psychedelics temporarily reduce separation between how we think and how we perceive.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/health/psychedelic-medicine-brain.html
https://archive.ph/2sCpu -
How #Psychedelics Affect the #Brain
Researchers sought to demonstrate therapeutic benefits of mind-altering drugs like #LSD and #psilocybin “#magicmushrooms,” many struggled to explain how these compounds work.
New studies included more than 500 scans of 267 research participants on five substances: LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, DMT and ayahuasca. Research suggests psychedelics temporarily reduce separation between how we think and how we perceive.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/health/psychedelic-medicine-brain.html
https://archive.ph/2sCpu -
DATE: May 9, 2026 at 08:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Real world outcomes support the benefits of psychedelic therapy for severe depression
A recent study has found that specialized psychotherapy paired with doses of either LSD or psilocybin is associated with strong reductions in severe depression and anxiety. These mental health improvements emerged relatively quickly and took place within a standard hospital care program. The findings were published in the journal Psychiatry Research.
In recent years, researchers have renewed their investigation into the medical potential of classic hallucinogens. Conditions like severe depression and generalized anxiety do not always respond to standard psychiatric medications. For many individuals, initial treatments such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors fail to provide lasting relief from persistent sad moods or chronic worry.
Individuals who do not respond to multiple standard treatments are often diagnosed with treatment-resistant conditions. This status leaves them with limited options in conventional medical practice. Psychedelic-assisted therapy has emerged as a promising alternative for these populations in strictly monitored experimental trials.
These therapies combine traditional talk therapy with the ingestion of a mind-altering substance under professional supervision. The goal is to induce a temporary change in consciousness that allows patients to process difficult emotions. A trained therapist helps the patient integrate these conceptual insights into their daily life after the drug effects wear off.
Most of the current evidence for these treatments comes from randomized controlled trials. While these trials offer rigorous baseline data, they often exclude patients with varied medical histories to isolate a specific chemical variable. This strict filtering means the results do not always translate perfectly to general hospital populations.
To understand how these treatments perform outside of rigid experiments, researchers look to compassionate use programs. These legal frameworks allow doctors to administer unapproved, experimental medications to patients who have exhausted all other available therapies. Switzerland operates one such framework, giving doctors restricted authorization to use specialized substances for severe mental health cases.
Tatiana Aboulafia-Brakha, a researcher at the Geneva University Hospitals, led an effort to analyze data from one of these Swiss clinical programs. Aboulafia-Brakha and her team wanted to evaluate the outcomes of patients receiving these therapies in a routine hospital setting. They sought to document changes in mental health symptoms and to record how well patients tolerated the experience.
The team collected retrospective data from a cohort of adults diagnosed with treatment-resistant depressive or anxiety disorders. This cohort underwent their first standardized treatment cycle between May 2024 and October 2025. Each individual received either 100 micrograms of LSD or 25 milligrams of psilocybin during their session.
Psilocybin is the primary psychoactive compound found in certain species of hallucinogenic mushrooms. LSD is a synthetic chemical known for producing potent shifts in perception and thought patterns. Patients were allowed to choose their preferred substance based on personal comfort, anticipated session length, and cost.
The program required extensive preparation before the actual administration of the drug. Patients attended screening sessions to review their medical histories and ensure no underlying heart or neurological conditions existed. They also engaged in preparatory meetings to set therapeutic intentions and learn coping strategies like breathing exercises for managing acute moments of fear.
On the day of the treatment, patients arrived at an outpatient clinic and settled into a quiet room under the constant supervision of psychiatric nurses. The nurses monitored vital signs and intervened only if the patient requested support or required help navigating a challenging psychological reaction. The patients then remained in the clinic until the acute subjective effects had completely resolved.
Patients returned the following day for an integration session with a psychotherapist. During this conversation, patients discussed the imagery, body sensations, and emotional revelations they experienced while receiving the drug. The therapist then helped them translate those abstract insights into actionable behavioral routines.
To quantify the results, the researchers administered standard psychological questionnaires at three distinct points in time. Patients filled out surveys during their initial screening, one month before the treatment, and one to three months after the session. These tools measured the severity of general sadness, pessimism, and habitual stress responses.
The team observed a pronounced decrease in both depression and anxiety scores over the treatment timeline. More than a third of the sample reported that their depressive symptoms had been reduced by at least half. A smaller portion recorded modest but noticeable symptom relief. These benefits appeared robust across the broader cohort, supporting previous findings from highly controlled laboratory environments.
The choice of substance did not seem to alter the long-term therapeutic outcome. Patients who took LSD and those who took psilocybin experienced largely identical improvements in their daily mental health.
Aboulafia-Brakha and her team also investigated how patients managed their emotions before and after the treatments. A subset of the patients completed an emotion regulation survey measuring strategies like rumination and catastrophizing. Rumination involves repetitively dwelling on negative feelings, while catastrophizing is a tendency to expect the worst possible outcome in any situation.
Following the therapy, patients reported large reductions in their tendencies to ruminate, catastrophize, and blame themselves for negative life events. They also demonstrated an increased capacity for positive reappraisal, which means they could more easily find a constructive perspective in difficult situations. These conceptual shifts align with psychological theories that consider rigid thinking to be a primary maintenance factor for severe depression.
While the long-term clinical benefits were similar across both substances, the acute physical experiences differed notably. The data indicated that LSD produced a longer, sustained plateau of intense subjective effects. Psilocybin caused a similar peak of intensity, but the overall duration of the psychoactive experience was noticeably shorter.
Despite these differing timelines, the overall intensity of the mystical experiences reported by the patients was roughly equivalent. Questionnaires measuring profound feelings of unity, distinct alterations in time perception, and deep spiritual insight yielded similar scores. These outcomes support the concept that the subjective journey might matter more than the specific pharmacological timeline.
Safety evaluations showed that both substances were well tolerated within the hospital environment. Many patients reported no adverse reactions at all, while the majority of recorded side effects were mild and temporary. The most common physical complaints included transient blurred vision, dizziness, and mild nausea during the active phase of the medication.
The team recorded no serious medical complications or severe psychiatric emergencies during the study period. No patient discontinued the treatment due to an adverse reaction. These details provide reassuring baseline evidence for medical professionals worried about introducing potent hallucinogens into general outpatient clinics.
This study has a few limitations due to its retrospective design and observational nature. The researchers did not include a placebo group, which means they cannot entirely rule out the influence of patient expectations. Patients who pursue rigorous medical treatments often expect to feel better, and this hope can artificially inflate self-reported symptom relief.
The cohort was highly motivated, considering the long waiting times and financial costs associated with the compassionate use program. This unique determination among the participants might mean the results would be different in a less motivated patient population. The reliance on self-reported questionnaires also leaves room for memory biases to influence the data.
Future studies will need to implement randomized designs involving active placebos to better isolate the specific physiological effects of the therapy. Combining patient self-reports with objective evaluations from independent clinicians could ensure a more reliable assessment of long-term improvement. Until then, these findings offer an encouraging glimpse into the practical realities of psychedelic therapies in standard psychiatric settings.
The study, “Real-world effectiveness and safety of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: Outcomes from a large-scale compassionate use cohort in Switzerland,” was authored by T. Aboulafia-Brakha, A. Buchard, C. Mabilais, S. Alaux, C. Amberger, L. Furtado, F. Seragnoli, J-F Briefer, G. Thorens, M. Sabé, L. Szczesniak, R. Iuga, D. Zullino, and L. Penzenstadler.
-------------------------------------------------
DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot
Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: https://www.nationalpsychologist.com
EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: http://subscribe-article-digests.clinicians-exchange.org
READ ONLINE: http://read-the-rss-mega-archive.clinicians-exchange.org
It's primitive... but it works... mostly...
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #PsychedelicAssistedPsychotherapy #DepressionTreatment #LSD #Psilocybin #MentalHealthTherapy #CompassionateUse #RealWorldEvidence #AnxietyRelief #PsychiatricCare #HolisticHealing
-
DATE: May 9, 2026 at 08:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Real world outcomes support the benefits of psychedelic therapy for severe depression
A recent study has found that specialized psychotherapy paired with doses of either LSD or psilocybin is associated with strong reductions in severe depression and anxiety. These mental health improvements emerged relatively quickly and took place within a standard hospital care program. The findings were published in the journal Psychiatry Research.
In recent years, researchers have renewed their investigation into the medical potential of classic hallucinogens. Conditions like severe depression and generalized anxiety do not always respond to standard psychiatric medications. For many individuals, initial treatments such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors fail to provide lasting relief from persistent sad moods or chronic worry.
Individuals who do not respond to multiple standard treatments are often diagnosed with treatment-resistant conditions. This status leaves them with limited options in conventional medical practice. Psychedelic-assisted therapy has emerged as a promising alternative for these populations in strictly monitored experimental trials.
These therapies combine traditional talk therapy with the ingestion of a mind-altering substance under professional supervision. The goal is to induce a temporary change in consciousness that allows patients to process difficult emotions. A trained therapist helps the patient integrate these conceptual insights into their daily life after the drug effects wear off.
Most of the current evidence for these treatments comes from randomized controlled trials. While these trials offer rigorous baseline data, they often exclude patients with varied medical histories to isolate a specific chemical variable. This strict filtering means the results do not always translate perfectly to general hospital populations.
To understand how these treatments perform outside of rigid experiments, researchers look to compassionate use programs. These legal frameworks allow doctors to administer unapproved, experimental medications to patients who have exhausted all other available therapies. Switzerland operates one such framework, giving doctors restricted authorization to use specialized substances for severe mental health cases.
Tatiana Aboulafia-Brakha, a researcher at the Geneva University Hospitals, led an effort to analyze data from one of these Swiss clinical programs. Aboulafia-Brakha and her team wanted to evaluate the outcomes of patients receiving these therapies in a routine hospital setting. They sought to document changes in mental health symptoms and to record how well patients tolerated the experience.
The team collected retrospective data from a cohort of adults diagnosed with treatment-resistant depressive or anxiety disorders. This cohort underwent their first standardized treatment cycle between May 2024 and October 2025. Each individual received either 100 micrograms of LSD or 25 milligrams of psilocybin during their session.
Psilocybin is the primary psychoactive compound found in certain species of hallucinogenic mushrooms. LSD is a synthetic chemical known for producing potent shifts in perception and thought patterns. Patients were allowed to choose their preferred substance based on personal comfort, anticipated session length, and cost.
The program required extensive preparation before the actual administration of the drug. Patients attended screening sessions to review their medical histories and ensure no underlying heart or neurological conditions existed. They also engaged in preparatory meetings to set therapeutic intentions and learn coping strategies like breathing exercises for managing acute moments of fear.
On the day of the treatment, patients arrived at an outpatient clinic and settled into a quiet room under the constant supervision of psychiatric nurses. The nurses monitored vital signs and intervened only if the patient requested support or required help navigating a challenging psychological reaction. The patients then remained in the clinic until the acute subjective effects had completely resolved.
Patients returned the following day for an integration session with a psychotherapist. During this conversation, patients discussed the imagery, body sensations, and emotional revelations they experienced while receiving the drug. The therapist then helped them translate those abstract insights into actionable behavioral routines.
To quantify the results, the researchers administered standard psychological questionnaires at three distinct points in time. Patients filled out surveys during their initial screening, one month before the treatment, and one to three months after the session. These tools measured the severity of general sadness, pessimism, and habitual stress responses.
The team observed a pronounced decrease in both depression and anxiety scores over the treatment timeline. More than a third of the sample reported that their depressive symptoms had been reduced by at least half. A smaller portion recorded modest but noticeable symptom relief. These benefits appeared robust across the broader cohort, supporting previous findings from highly controlled laboratory environments.
The choice of substance did not seem to alter the long-term therapeutic outcome. Patients who took LSD and those who took psilocybin experienced largely identical improvements in their daily mental health.
Aboulafia-Brakha and her team also investigated how patients managed their emotions before and after the treatments. A subset of the patients completed an emotion regulation survey measuring strategies like rumination and catastrophizing. Rumination involves repetitively dwelling on negative feelings, while catastrophizing is a tendency to expect the worst possible outcome in any situation.
Following the therapy, patients reported large reductions in their tendencies to ruminate, catastrophize, and blame themselves for negative life events. They also demonstrated an increased capacity for positive reappraisal, which means they could more easily find a constructive perspective in difficult situations. These conceptual shifts align with psychological theories that consider rigid thinking to be a primary maintenance factor for severe depression.
While the long-term clinical benefits were similar across both substances, the acute physical experiences differed notably. The data indicated that LSD produced a longer, sustained plateau of intense subjective effects. Psilocybin caused a similar peak of intensity, but the overall duration of the psychoactive experience was noticeably shorter.
Despite these differing timelines, the overall intensity of the mystical experiences reported by the patients was roughly equivalent. Questionnaires measuring profound feelings of unity, distinct alterations in time perception, and deep spiritual insight yielded similar scores. These outcomes support the concept that the subjective journey might matter more than the specific pharmacological timeline.
Safety evaluations showed that both substances were well tolerated within the hospital environment. Many patients reported no adverse reactions at all, while the majority of recorded side effects were mild and temporary. The most common physical complaints included transient blurred vision, dizziness, and mild nausea during the active phase of the medication.
The team recorded no serious medical complications or severe psychiatric emergencies during the study period. No patient discontinued the treatment due to an adverse reaction. These details provide reassuring baseline evidence for medical professionals worried about introducing potent hallucinogens into general outpatient clinics.
This study has a few limitations due to its retrospective design and observational nature. The researchers did not include a placebo group, which means they cannot entirely rule out the influence of patient expectations. Patients who pursue rigorous medical treatments often expect to feel better, and this hope can artificially inflate self-reported symptom relief.
The cohort was highly motivated, considering the long waiting times and financial costs associated with the compassionate use program. This unique determination among the participants might mean the results would be different in a less motivated patient population. The reliance on self-reported questionnaires also leaves room for memory biases to influence the data.
Future studies will need to implement randomized designs involving active placebos to better isolate the specific physiological effects of the therapy. Combining patient self-reports with objective evaluations from independent clinicians could ensure a more reliable assessment of long-term improvement. Until then, these findings offer an encouraging glimpse into the practical realities of psychedelic therapies in standard psychiatric settings.
The study, “Real-world effectiveness and safety of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: Outcomes from a large-scale compassionate use cohort in Switzerland,” was authored by T. Aboulafia-Brakha, A. Buchard, C. Mabilais, S. Alaux, C. Amberger, L. Furtado, F. Seragnoli, J-F Briefer, G. Thorens, M. Sabé, L. Szczesniak, R. Iuga, D. Zullino, and L. Penzenstadler.
-------------------------------------------------
DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot
Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: https://www.nationalpsychologist.com
EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: http://subscribe-article-digests.clinicians-exchange.org
READ ONLINE: http://read-the-rss-mega-archive.clinicians-exchange.org
It's primitive... but it works... mostly...
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #PsychedelicAssistedPsychotherapy #DepressionTreatment #LSD #Psilocybin #MentalHealthTherapy #CompassionateUse #RealWorldEvidence #AnxietyRelief #PsychiatricCare #HolisticHealing
-
DATE: May 9, 2026 at 08:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Real world outcomes support the benefits of psychedelic therapy for severe depression
A recent study has found that specialized psychotherapy paired with doses of either LSD or psilocybin is associated with strong reductions in severe depression and anxiety. These mental health improvements emerged relatively quickly and took place within a standard hospital care program. The findings were published in the journal Psychiatry Research.
In recent years, researchers have renewed their investigation into the medical potential of classic hallucinogens. Conditions like severe depression and generalized anxiety do not always respond to standard psychiatric medications. For many individuals, initial treatments such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors fail to provide lasting relief from persistent sad moods or chronic worry.
Individuals who do not respond to multiple standard treatments are often diagnosed with treatment-resistant conditions. This status leaves them with limited options in conventional medical practice. Psychedelic-assisted therapy has emerged as a promising alternative for these populations in strictly monitored experimental trials.
These therapies combine traditional talk therapy with the ingestion of a mind-altering substance under professional supervision. The goal is to induce a temporary change in consciousness that allows patients to process difficult emotions. A trained therapist helps the patient integrate these conceptual insights into their daily life after the drug effects wear off.
Most of the current evidence for these treatments comes from randomized controlled trials. While these trials offer rigorous baseline data, they often exclude patients with varied medical histories to isolate a specific chemical variable. This strict filtering means the results do not always translate perfectly to general hospital populations.
To understand how these treatments perform outside of rigid experiments, researchers look to compassionate use programs. These legal frameworks allow doctors to administer unapproved, experimental medications to patients who have exhausted all other available therapies. Switzerland operates one such framework, giving doctors restricted authorization to use specialized substances for severe mental health cases.
Tatiana Aboulafia-Brakha, a researcher at the Geneva University Hospitals, led an effort to analyze data from one of these Swiss clinical programs. Aboulafia-Brakha and her team wanted to evaluate the outcomes of patients receiving these therapies in a routine hospital setting. They sought to document changes in mental health symptoms and to record how well patients tolerated the experience.
The team collected retrospective data from a cohort of adults diagnosed with treatment-resistant depressive or anxiety disorders. This cohort underwent their first standardized treatment cycle between May 2024 and October 2025. Each individual received either 100 micrograms of LSD or 25 milligrams of psilocybin during their session.
Psilocybin is the primary psychoactive compound found in certain species of hallucinogenic mushrooms. LSD is a synthetic chemical known for producing potent shifts in perception and thought patterns. Patients were allowed to choose their preferred substance based on personal comfort, anticipated session length, and cost.
The program required extensive preparation before the actual administration of the drug. Patients attended screening sessions to review their medical histories and ensure no underlying heart or neurological conditions existed. They also engaged in preparatory meetings to set therapeutic intentions and learn coping strategies like breathing exercises for managing acute moments of fear.
On the day of the treatment, patients arrived at an outpatient clinic and settled into a quiet room under the constant supervision of psychiatric nurses. The nurses monitored vital signs and intervened only if the patient requested support or required help navigating a challenging psychological reaction. The patients then remained in the clinic until the acute subjective effects had completely resolved.
Patients returned the following day for an integration session with a psychotherapist. During this conversation, patients discussed the imagery, body sensations, and emotional revelations they experienced while receiving the drug. The therapist then helped them translate those abstract insights into actionable behavioral routines.
To quantify the results, the researchers administered standard psychological questionnaires at three distinct points in time. Patients filled out surveys during their initial screening, one month before the treatment, and one to three months after the session. These tools measured the severity of general sadness, pessimism, and habitual stress responses.
The team observed a pronounced decrease in both depression and anxiety scores over the treatment timeline. More than a third of the sample reported that their depressive symptoms had been reduced by at least half. A smaller portion recorded modest but noticeable symptom relief. These benefits appeared robust across the broader cohort, supporting previous findings from highly controlled laboratory environments.
The choice of substance did not seem to alter the long-term therapeutic outcome. Patients who took LSD and those who took psilocybin experienced largely identical improvements in their daily mental health.
Aboulafia-Brakha and her team also investigated how patients managed their emotions before and after the treatments. A subset of the patients completed an emotion regulation survey measuring strategies like rumination and catastrophizing. Rumination involves repetitively dwelling on negative feelings, while catastrophizing is a tendency to expect the worst possible outcome in any situation.
Following the therapy, patients reported large reductions in their tendencies to ruminate, catastrophize, and blame themselves for negative life events. They also demonstrated an increased capacity for positive reappraisal, which means they could more easily find a constructive perspective in difficult situations. These conceptual shifts align with psychological theories that consider rigid thinking to be a primary maintenance factor for severe depression.
While the long-term clinical benefits were similar across both substances, the acute physical experiences differed notably. The data indicated that LSD produced a longer, sustained plateau of intense subjective effects. Psilocybin caused a similar peak of intensity, but the overall duration of the psychoactive experience was noticeably shorter.
Despite these differing timelines, the overall intensity of the mystical experiences reported by the patients was roughly equivalent. Questionnaires measuring profound feelings of unity, distinct alterations in time perception, and deep spiritual insight yielded similar scores. These outcomes support the concept that the subjective journey might matter more than the specific pharmacological timeline.
Safety evaluations showed that both substances were well tolerated within the hospital environment. Many patients reported no adverse reactions at all, while the majority of recorded side effects were mild and temporary. The most common physical complaints included transient blurred vision, dizziness, and mild nausea during the active phase of the medication.
The team recorded no serious medical complications or severe psychiatric emergencies during the study period. No patient discontinued the treatment due to an adverse reaction. These details provide reassuring baseline evidence for medical professionals worried about introducing potent hallucinogens into general outpatient clinics.
This study has a few limitations due to its retrospective design and observational nature. The researchers did not include a placebo group, which means they cannot entirely rule out the influence of patient expectations. Patients who pursue rigorous medical treatments often expect to feel better, and this hope can artificially inflate self-reported symptom relief.
The cohort was highly motivated, considering the long waiting times and financial costs associated with the compassionate use program. This unique determination among the participants might mean the results would be different in a less motivated patient population. The reliance on self-reported questionnaires also leaves room for memory biases to influence the data.
Future studies will need to implement randomized designs involving active placebos to better isolate the specific physiological effects of the therapy. Combining patient self-reports with objective evaluations from independent clinicians could ensure a more reliable assessment of long-term improvement. Until then, these findings offer an encouraging glimpse into the practical realities of psychedelic therapies in standard psychiatric settings.
The study, “Real-world effectiveness and safety of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: Outcomes from a large-scale compassionate use cohort in Switzerland,” was authored by T. Aboulafia-Brakha, A. Buchard, C. Mabilais, S. Alaux, C. Amberger, L. Furtado, F. Seragnoli, J-F Briefer, G. Thorens, M. Sabé, L. Szczesniak, R. Iuga, D. Zullino, and L. Penzenstadler.
-------------------------------------------------
DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot
Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: https://www.nationalpsychologist.com
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #PsychedelicAssistedPsychotherapy #DepressionTreatment #LSD #Psilocybin #MentalHealthTherapy #CompassionateUse #RealWorldEvidence #AnxietyRelief #PsychiatricCare #HolisticHealing
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Study Shows Psilocybin Reduces Aggression in Mangrove Rivulus Fish
📰 Original title: Scientists Gave ‘Aggressive’ Fish Psychedelic Drugs. A Breakthrough Came Next
🤖 IA: It's clickbait ⚠️
👥 Usuarios: It's clickbait ⚠️ -
🐟🧪 Biologists from #Acadia University and the University of #BritishColumbia studied how #psilocybin affects the behavior of the aggressive mangrove rivulus #fish.
#Data indicated that the compound reduces territorial displays while allowing normal social interactions to continue. The findings suggest that the psychoactive ingredient in magic #mushrooms can dampen social conflict in #vertebrates.
👉 https://www.popsci.com/science/magic-mushrooms-fish/
#science #biology #nature #neuroscience #research #wildlife #ocean #ecology #animals
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🐟🧪 Biologists from #Acadia University and the University of #BritishColumbia studied how #psilocybin affects the behavior of the aggressive mangrove rivulus #fish.
#Data indicated that the compound reduces territorial displays while allowing normal social interactions to continue. The findings suggest that the psychoactive ingredient in magic #mushrooms can dampen social conflict in #vertebrates.
👉 https://www.popsci.com/science/magic-mushrooms-fish/
#science #biology #nature #neuroscience #research #wildlife #ocean #ecology #animals
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🐟🧪 Biologists from #Acadia University and the University of #BritishColumbia studied how #psilocybin affects the behavior of the aggressive mangrove rivulus #fish.
#Data indicated that the compound reduces territorial displays while allowing normal social interactions to continue. The findings suggest that the psychoactive ingredient in magic #mushrooms can dampen social conflict in #vertebrates.
👉 https://www.popsci.com/science/magic-mushrooms-fish/
#science #biology #nature #neuroscience #research #wildlife #ocean #ecology #animals
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🐟🧪 Biologists from #Acadia University and the University of #BritishColumbia studied how #psilocybin affects the behavior of the aggressive mangrove rivulus #fish.
#Data indicated that the compound reduces territorial displays while allowing normal social interactions to continue. The findings suggest that the psychoactive ingredient in magic #mushrooms can dampen social conflict in #vertebrates.
👉 https://www.popsci.com/science/magic-mushrooms-fish/
#science #biology #nature #neuroscience #research #wildlife #ocean #ecology #animals
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🐟🧪 Biologists from #Acadia University and the University of #BritishColumbia studied how #psilocybin affects the behavior of the aggressive mangrove rivulus #fish.
#Data indicated that the compound reduces territorial displays while allowing normal social interactions to continue. The findings suggest that the psychoactive ingredient in magic #mushrooms can dampen social conflict in #vertebrates.
👉 https://www.popsci.com/science/magic-mushrooms-fish/
#science #biology #nature #neuroscience #research #wildlife #ocean #ecology #animals
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Scientists Gave ‘Aggressive’ Fish Psychedelic Drugs. A Breakthrough Came Next
https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.404media.co/fish-psilocybin-magic-mushrooms-study-psychedelics/
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Scientists Gave ‘Aggressive’ Fish Psychedelic Drugs. A Breakthrough Came Next
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.404media.co/fish-psilocybin-magic-mushrooms-study-psychedelics/
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Scientists Gave ‘Aggressive’ Fish Psychedelic Drugs. A Breakthrough Came Next
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.404media.co/fish-psilocybin-magic-mushrooms-study-psychedelics/
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Scientists Gave ‘Aggressive’ Fish Psychedelic Drugs. A Breakthrough Came Next
https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.404media.co/fish-psilocybin-magic-mushrooms-study-psychedelics/
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Scientists Gave ‘Aggressive’ Fish Psychedelic Drugs. A Breakthrough Came Next
https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.404media.co/fish-psilocybin-magic-mushrooms-study-psychedelics/
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Psychedelics Trigger Tangible Brain Shifts, Scans Suggest
New scans show psilocybin, from magic mushrooms, causes lasting brain structure changes in volunteers a month after taking it.
#psilocybin #brainchanges #magicmushrooms #neuroscience #healthresearch
https://newsletter.tf/psilocybin-brain-changes-scans-one-month-later/
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Psychedelics Trigger Tangible Brain Shifts, Scans Suggest
New scans show psilocybin, from magic mushrooms, causes lasting brain structure changes in volunteers a month after taking it.
#psilocybin #brainchanges #magicmushrooms #neuroscience #healthresearch
https://newsletter.tf/psilocybin-brain-changes-scans-one-month-later/
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Psychedelics Trigger Tangible Brain Shifts, Scans Suggest
New scans show psilocybin, from magic mushrooms, causes lasting brain structure changes in volunteers a month after taking it.
#psilocybin #brainchanges #magicmushrooms #neuroscience #healthresearch
https://newsletter.tf/psilocybin-brain-changes-scans-one-month-later/
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Psychedelics Trigger Tangible Brain Shifts, Scans Suggest
New scans show psilocybin, from magic mushrooms, causes lasting brain structure changes in volunteers a month after taking it.
#psilocybin #brainchanges #magicmushrooms #neuroscience #healthresearch
https://newsletter.tf/psilocybin-brain-changes-scans-one-month-later/
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Psychedelics Trigger Tangible Brain Shifts, Scans Suggest
New scans show psilocybin, from magic mushrooms, causes lasting brain structure changes in volunteers a month after taking it.
#psilocybin #brainchanges #magicmushrooms #neuroscience #healthresearch
https://newsletter.tf/psilocybin-brain-changes-scans-one-month-later/
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Brain scans show that a single dose of psilocybin caused lasting changes in brain structure, detectable up to a month later.
#psilocybin #brainchanges #magicmushrooms #neuroscience #healthresearch
https://newsletter.tf/psilocybin-brain-changes-scans-one-month-later/ -
Brain scans show that a single dose of psilocybin caused lasting changes in brain structure, detectable up to a month later.
#psilocybin #brainchanges #magicmushrooms #neuroscience #healthresearch
https://newsletter.tf/psilocybin-brain-changes-scans-one-month-later/ -
Brain scans show that a single dose of psilocybin caused lasting changes in brain structure, detectable up to a month later.
#psilocybin #brainchanges #magicmushrooms #neuroscience #healthresearch
https://newsletter.tf/psilocybin-brain-changes-scans-one-month-later/ -
Brain scans show that a single dose of psilocybin caused lasting changes in brain structure, detectable up to a month later.
#psilocybin #brainchanges #magicmushrooms #neuroscience #healthresearch
https://newsletter.tf/psilocybin-brain-changes-scans-one-month-later/ -
Brain scans show that a single dose of psilocybin caused lasting changes in brain structure, detectable up to a month later.
#psilocybin #brainchanges #magicmushrooms #neuroscience #healthresearch
https://newsletter.tf/psilocybin-brain-changes-scans-one-month-later/ -
Léčba lidí s depresí pomocí psilocybinu? Zatím bohužel záležitost jen pro vyvolené. https://zpravy.aktualne.cz/domaci/zdravotnictvi-22850dba-908b-4192-badc-0e7f1c003a00/zazracne-houbicky-leci-depresi-ale-jen-vyvolenym-experti-planuji-radikalni-zmenu/ #lysohlavky #psilocybin #drogy #lecba #deprese
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Léčba lidí s depresí pomocí psilocybinu? Zatím bohužel záležitost jen pro vyvolené. https://zpravy.aktualne.cz/domaci/zdravotnictvi-22850dba-908b-4192-badc-0e7f1c003a00/zazracne-houbicky-leci-depresi-ale-jen-vyvolenym-experti-planuji-radikalni-zmenu/ #lysohlavky #psilocybin #drogy #lecba #deprese
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Léčba lidí s depresí pomocí psilocybinu? Zatím bohužel záležitost jen pro vyvolené. https://zpravy.aktualne.cz/domaci/zdravotnictvi-22850dba-908b-4192-badc-0e7f1c003a00/zazracne-houbicky-leci-depresi-ale-jen-vyvolenym-experti-planuji-radikalni-zmenu/ #lysohlavky #psilocybin #drogy #lecba #deprese
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Léčba lidí s depresí pomocí psilocybinu? Zatím bohužel záležitost jen pro vyvolené. https://zpravy.aktualne.cz/domaci/zdravotnictvi-22850dba-908b-4192-badc-0e7f1c003a00/zazracne-houbicky-leci-depresi-ale-jen-vyvolenym-experti-planuji-radikalni-zmenu/ #lysohlavky #psilocybin #drogy #lecba #deprese
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»Bei Corona hat man aus der Not heraus in Rekordzeit Impfungen auf Basis neuer Technologien entwickelt. Bei #Psilocybin haben wir eine Substanz, die seit Jahrtausenden bekannt ist und längst umfassend erforscht sein könnte. Stattdessen wird sie aufgrund von Vorurteilen aus der Hippie-Ära unter Verschluss gehalten. Es ist unerträglich, dass Menschen dieses Potenzial mit Verweis auf „Gefahren“ vorenthalten wird, die in keinem Verhältnis zur Realität stehen.«
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d39UBIXby20&lc=UgwJs__thFNyJiU8Y0p4AaABAg
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»Bei Corona hat man aus der Not heraus in Rekordzeit Impfungen auf Basis neuer Technologien entwickelt. Bei #Psilocybin haben wir eine Substanz, die seit Jahrtausenden bekannt ist und längst umfassend erforscht sein könnte. Stattdessen wird sie aufgrund von Vorurteilen aus der Hippie-Ära unter Verschluss gehalten. Es ist unerträglich, dass Menschen dieses Potenzial mit Verweis auf „Gefahren“ vorenthalten wird, die in keinem Verhältnis zur Realität stehen.«
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d39UBIXby20&lc=UgwJs__thFNyJiU8Y0p4AaABAg
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»Bei Corona hat man aus der Not heraus in Rekordzeit Impfungen auf Basis neuer Technologien entwickelt. Bei #Psilocybin haben wir eine Substanz, die seit Jahrtausenden bekannt ist und längst umfassend erforscht sein könnte. Stattdessen wird sie aufgrund von Vorurteilen aus der Hippie-Ära unter Verschluss gehalten. Es ist unerträglich, dass Menschen dieses Potenzial mit Verweis auf „Gefahren“ vorenthalten wird, die in keinem Verhältnis zur Realität stehen.«
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d39UBIXby20&lc=UgwJs__thFNyJiU8Y0p4AaABAg
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»Bei Corona hat man aus der Not heraus in Rekordzeit Impfungen auf Basis neuer Technologien entwickelt. Bei #Psilocybin haben wir eine Substanz, die seit Jahrtausenden bekannt ist und längst umfassend erforscht sein könnte. Stattdessen wird sie aufgrund von Vorurteilen aus der Hippie-Ära unter Verschluss gehalten. Es ist unerträglich, dass Menschen dieses Potenzial mit Verweis auf „Gefahren“ vorenthalten wird, die in keinem Verhältnis zur Realität stehen.«
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d39UBIXby20&lc=UgwJs__thFNyJiU8Y0p4AaABAg