Recent studies highlight psilocybin-assisted therapy’s potential to improve mental health in cancer patients and individuals with alcohol-use disorder, with long-lasting benefits.
Two groundbreaking studies are shedding new light on the potential of psilocybin-assisted therapy to improve mental-health outcomes for individuals with cancer and alcohol addiction.
The first study, published online Oct. 7 in the journal Nature Mental Health, suggests that one or two doses of psilocybin might improve the mental health of cancer patients when accompanied by psychotherapy.
The second study, featured in a special edition of The American Journal of Psychiatry, found that treatment with psilocybin resulted in lasting, positive personality changes in patients with alcohol-use disorder.
Benefits for Cancer Patients Exceeded ‘What We Have Previously Understood’
In the first study, a team of experts at NYU Langone Health determined that psilocybin accompanied by psychotherapy significantly reduced anxiety, depression, obsessive thoughts, anger toward others and physical symptoms associated with psychological distress, with improvements lasting up to six months.
The study also concluded that the psilocybin did not appear to cause any lasting paranoia, psychosis or deep feelings of fear (phobia).
“Our findings suggest that the mental-health benefits of psilocybin therapy for cancer patients may reach far beyond what we have previously understood,” said the study’s lead author, Petros Petridis, M.D., a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
The analysis adds to the mounting body of evidence that psilocybin can be safely administered under close medical supervision, according to the study’s senior author, Stephen Ross, M.D.
Ross, a clinical professor in the Departments of Psychiatry, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, serves as an associate director of its Center for Psychedelic Medicine.
For the study, the researchers analyzed data from two previous clinical trials that used psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to address anxiety and depression in 79 men and women with cancer.
In the trials, about half of the participants initially received a large dose of psilocybin, while the rest were given either vitamin B3 or a tiny dose of the psychedelic drug as a placebo. Neither the researchers nor the patients were told which medication they were given.
After six or seven weeks, depending on the trial, the groups switched treatments. Psychotherapy preceded and followed each dosing session, and the participants completed a questionnaire about mental-health symptoms at the beginning of the study and six months after the second dosing.
Psilocybin Treatment for Alcohol-Use Disorder Reduced Impulsivity
In the second new study, another team – led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine – found that psilocybin therapy also may improve mental health for individuals with alcohol-use disorder.
Compared to patients receiving a placebo, those treated with psilocybin were found to be significantly less impulsive, depressed and vulnerable than they were prior to the therapy.
At the same time, these patients grew more “open,” or more accepting of their thoughts and emotions. These changes were observed seven months after the participants received their second dose of psilocybin.
The analysis examined personality changes in men and women participating in a previous clinical trial that used psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to treat alcohol dependence.
During the trial, participants randomly received two doses of either psilocybin or an antihistamine placebo, receiving psychotherapy before and after each dosing session. The authors tested 83 of the patients using a standard personality assessment before psychotherapy began and again eight months after the first dose of study medication.
“Since impulsiveness has long been linked to both excessive drinking and relapse after treatment, the personality changes brought about by psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy may help those recovering from alcohol dependence remain resilient to internal and external stressors known to trigger relapse,” said the study’s lead author, Broc Pagni, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
Notably, the findings also showed that men were more likely to experience a boost of positive emotions while women were more likely to see an increase in openness. However, further research is needed to understand the reasons behind these differences or what they might mean for any given patient, according to the study’s senior author, Michael Bogenschutz, M.D.
Bogenschutz, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the director of its Center for Psychedelic Medicine, adds that the study authors plan to explore whether the personality changes observed in the current investigation also occur in psilocybin trials for opioid-use disorder.
Bogenschutz cautions that in both studies, most participants were able to correctly guess whether they had received psilocybin or a placebo.