Psilocybin-assisted Group Therapy for Demoralization in Long-term AIDS Survivors

The purpose of this study is to determine whether psilocybin-assisted group psychotherapy is a safe and feasible treatment for demoralization in long-term AIDS survivors (LTAS).

Topic Depression
Compound Psilocybin
Country United States of America
Visit trial
Status Completed
Results Published Yes
Start date 05 January 2018
End date 31 December 2019
Chance of happening 100%
Phase Phase I
Design Open
Type Interventional
Generation First
Participants 30
Sex All
Age 50- 99
Therapy Yes

Trial Details

This study is an open-label mixed-methods pilot study of an individual oral psilocybin drug session combined with ten sessions of an evidence-based, manualized brief group psychotherapy for existential distress in palliative care patients.

NCT Number NCT02950467

Sponsors & Collaborators

Heffter Research Institute
The Heffter Research Institute has been advancing psychedelics (psilocybin) as medicines since 1993.

Riverstyx Foundation
The Riverstyx Foundation sponsors a variety of psychedelic researchers and conferences.

Usona Institute
The Usona Institute was founded by Bill Linton and Malynn Utzinger. Currently, 18 people are associated with it. The institute is a non-profit that sponsors psilocybin research (and is funded by sponsors/philanthropists).

Stupski Foundation
The Stupski Foundation is a philanthropic organization operating in Bay Area and Hawai'i.

University of California San Francisco
At UCSF, there are two research teams dedicated to the study of psychedelics; the Neuroscape Psychedelic Division and the Translational Psychedelic Research Program.

Papers

Group psychedelic therapy: empirical estimates of cost-savings and improved access
This economic analysis (2023) from two psychedelic therapy trials (MDMA-PTSD & psilocybin-MDD) with group and individual therapy aims to assess clinician time, costs, and patient access. Group therapy demonstrated cost savings of 50.9% for MDMA-PTSD and 34.7% for psilocybin-MDD, potentially reducing the need for full-time equivalent clinicians by 6,711 for MDMA-PTSD and 1,159 for psilocybin-MDD in the U.S., leading to projected savings of up to $10.3 billion and $2.0 billion, respectively, over ten years. Adopting group therapy protocols is suggested to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and address the shortage of trained clinicians, thereby improving access to psychedelic-assisted therapies.

Psilocybin-assisted group therapy for demoralized older long-term AIDS survivor men: An open-label safety and feasibility pilot study
This open-label feasibility study (n=17) showed that psilocybin-assisted group therapy (21-25mg/70kg) was safe and effective for the treatment of demoralization in older long-term AIDS survivors.

Data attribution

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