Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Comparison of psychedelic therapies versus placebo in the treatment of psychiatric illnesses: a systematic review of randomized trials including placebo controls

Barstowe, Aleksandra Barbara LU (2023) PSPR14 20231
Department of Psychology
Abstract
Psychedelics have long been recognized for their powerful effects on the human psyche and psychedelic-assisted therapy is becoming increasingly acknowledged as an effective therapeutic intervention. Placebos are used in clinical research to validate the efficacy of a therapy or treatment. Researchers are interested in showing that a certain treatment is superior compared to the placebo. An evaluation of the methodological rigor in recent studies looking at the potential of psychedelics for the treatment of psychiatric illnesses is an important step forward to re-open a scientific study of these substances and their medical use for psychiatric patients. The aim of this systematic literature review was to investigate if psychedelic... (More)
Psychedelics have long been recognized for their powerful effects on the human psyche and psychedelic-assisted therapy is becoming increasingly acknowledged as an effective therapeutic intervention. Placebos are used in clinical research to validate the efficacy of a therapy or treatment. Researchers are interested in showing that a certain treatment is superior compared to the placebo. An evaluation of the methodological rigor in recent studies looking at the potential of psychedelics for the treatment of psychiatric illnesses is an important step forward to re-open a scientific study of these substances and their medical use for psychiatric patients. The aim of this systematic literature review was to investigate if psychedelic substances have an influence on symptom reduction for patients suffering from mental illness as compared to placebos and if placebo controls are valid in psychedelic trials, i.e., if the blinding is maintained. The review has presented that an overwhelming majority of the evaluated studies showed large and positive effects of psychedelics on participant’s symptom changes. Collectively the studies reviewed displayed a large degree of heterogeneity. In all nine studies the blinding was either insufficient or poor. In conclusion, reviewed studies show large and positive treatment outcomes for patients suffering from psychiatric illnesses such as alcohol use disorder, anxiety with or without a life-threatening disease, anxiety and depression during life-threatening cancer, treatment-resistant depression and major depressive disorder. The lack of successful blinding procedures indicates that the methodological shortcomings displayed in the psychedelic studies of the first wave of psychedelic research persist in these most recent studies on the subject. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Psykedelika har länge erkänts för sina kraftfulla effekter på det mänskliga psyket
och psykedelisk-assisterad terapi blir alltmer erkänd som en effektiv terapeutisk
intervention. Placebo används i klinisk forskning för att validera effekten av en
terapi eller behandling. Forskare är intresserade av att visa att en viss behandling
är överlägsen jämfört med placebo. En utvärdering av den metodologiska
rigoriteten i nya studier som tittar på potentialen hos psykedelika för behandling
av psykiatriska sjukdomar är ett viktigt steg framåt för att återuppta studien av
dessa substanser och deras medicinska användning för psykiatriska patienter.
Syftet med denna systematiska litteraturöversikt var att undersöka om
psykedeliska substanser... (More)
Psykedelika har länge erkänts för sina kraftfulla effekter på det mänskliga psyket
och psykedelisk-assisterad terapi blir alltmer erkänd som en effektiv terapeutisk
intervention. Placebo används i klinisk forskning för att validera effekten av en
terapi eller behandling. Forskare är intresserade av att visa att en viss behandling
är överlägsen jämfört med placebo. En utvärdering av den metodologiska
rigoriteten i nya studier som tittar på potentialen hos psykedelika för behandling
av psykiatriska sjukdomar är ett viktigt steg framåt för att återuppta studien av
dessa substanser och deras medicinska användning för psykiatriska patienter.
Syftet med denna systematiska litteraturöversikt var att undersöka om
psykedeliska substanser har en inverkan på symptomförändring hos patienter
som lider av psykisk ohälsa jämfört med placebo och om placebokontroller är
giltiga i psykedeliska prövningar, d.v.s. om blindningen upprätthålls.
Granskningen har visat att en överväldigande majoritet av de utvärderade
studierna visade stora och positiva effekter av psykedelika på deltagarnas
symtomförändringar. Tillsammans visade de granskade studierna en stor grad
av heterogenitet. I alla nio studierna var blindningen antingen otillräcklig eller
dålig. Sammanfattningsvis visar granskade studier stora och positiva
behandlingsresultat för patienter som lider av psykiatriska sjukdomar som
alkoholmissbruk, ångest med eller utan en livshotande sjukdom, ångest och
depression under livshotande cancer, behandlingsresistent depression och
egentlig depression. Avsaknaden av framgångsrika blindnings-procedurer
indikerar att de metodologiska bristerna som uppvisades i de psykedeliska
studierna av den första vågen av psykedelisk forskning kvarstår i dessa senaste
studier i ämnet. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Barstowe, Aleksandra Barbara LU
supervisor
organization
course
PSPR14 20231
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
psychedelic-assisted therapy, placebo, psychiatric illness, psykedelisk-assisterad terapi, psykiatrisk sjukdom
language
English
id
9118248
date added to LUP
2023-06-02 08:00:10
date last changed
2024-01-01 03:42:29
@misc{9118248,
  abstract     = {{Psychedelics have long been recognized for their powerful effects on the human psyche and psychedelic-assisted therapy is becoming increasingly acknowledged as an effective therapeutic intervention. Placebos are used in clinical research to validate the efficacy of a therapy or treatment. Researchers are interested in showing that a certain treatment is superior compared to the placebo. An evaluation of the methodological rigor in recent studies looking at the potential of psychedelics for the treatment of psychiatric illnesses is an important step forward to re-open a scientific study of these substances and their medical use for psychiatric patients. The aim of this systematic literature review was to investigate if psychedelic substances have an influence on symptom reduction for patients suffering from mental illness as compared to placebos and if placebo controls are valid in psychedelic trials, i.e., if the blinding is maintained. The review has presented that an overwhelming majority of the evaluated studies showed large and positive effects of psychedelics on participant’s symptom changes. Collectively the studies reviewed displayed a large degree of heterogeneity. In all nine studies the blinding was either insufficient or poor. In conclusion, reviewed studies show large and positive treatment outcomes for patients suffering from psychiatric illnesses such as alcohol use disorder, anxiety with or without a life-threatening disease, anxiety and depression during life-threatening cancer, treatment-resistant depression and major depressive disorder. The lack of successful blinding procedures indicates that the methodological shortcomings displayed in the psychedelic studies of the first wave of psychedelic research persist in these most recent studies on the subject.}},
  author       = {{Barstowe, Aleksandra Barbara}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Comparison of psychedelic therapies versus placebo in the treatment of psychiatric illnesses: a systematic review of randomized trials including placebo controls}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}