One or two doses of psilocybin, a compound found in psychedelic mushrooms, may improve the mental health of cancer patients when accompanied by psychotherapy, a new report suggests. A second new study found that treatment with psilocybin resulted in lasting, positive personality changes in patients with alcohol use disorder.
The first report’s findings were published online Oct. 7 in the journal Nature Mental Health, and the second published online Jan. 1 in a special edition of The American Journal of Psychiatry focused on psilocybin research.
In the first study, a team of experts at NYU Langone Health found 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.
„Our findings suggest that the mental health benefits of psilocybin therapy for cancer patients may reach far beyond what we have previously understood,“ said study lead author Petros Petridis, MD, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
The study also concluded that the mood-altering psilocybin did not appear to cause any lasting paranoia, psychosis, or deep feelings of fear (phobia). As a result, their analysis adds to the mounting body of evidence that psilocybin can be safely administered under close medical supervision, says study senior author Stephen Ross, MD. Ross is a clinical professor in the Departments of Psychiatry, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and serves as an associate director of its Center for Psychedelic Medicine.
