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).

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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