PMID- 32803732
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20211020
LR  - 20240329
IS  - 1179-1934 (Electronic)
IS  - 1172-7047 (Print)
IS  - 1172-7047 (Linking)
VI  - 34
IP  - 9
DP  - 2020 Sep
TI  - Psychedelic Treatments for Psychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review and 
      Thematic Synthesis of Patient Experiences in Qualitative Studies.
PG  - 925-946
LID - 10.1007/s40263-020-00748-y [doi]
AB  - INTRODUCTION: Interest in the use of psychedelic substances for the treatment of 
      mental disorders is increasing. Processes that may affect therapeutic change are 
      not yet fully understood. Qualitative research methods are increasingly used to 
      examine patient accounts; however, currently, no systematic review exists that 
      synthesizes these findings in relation to the use of psychedelics for the 
      treatment of mental disorders. OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of salient 
      themes in patient experiences of psychedelic treatments for mental disorders, 
      presenting both common and diverging elements in patients' accounts, and 
      elucidating how these affect the treatment process. METHODS: We systematically 
      searched the PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Embase databases for English-language 
      qualitative literature without time limitations. Inclusion criteria were 
      qualitative research design; peer-reviewed studies; based on verbalized patient 
      utterances; and a level of abstraction or analysis of the results. Thematic 
      synthesis was used to analyze and synthesize results across studies. A critical 
      appraisal of study quality and methodological rigor was conducted using the 
      Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP). RESULTS: Fifteen research articles, 
      comprising 178 patient experiences, were included. Studies exhibited a broad 
      heterogeneity in terms of substance, mental disorder, treatment context, and 
      qualitative methodology. Substances included psilocybin, lysergic acid 
      diethylamide (LSD), ibogaine, ayahuasca, ketamine and 
      3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Disorders included anxiety, depression, 
      eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders. 
      While the included compounds were heterogeneous in pharmacology and treatment 
      contexts, patients reported largely comparable experiences across disorders, 
      which included phenomenological analogous effects, perspectives on the 
      intervention, therapeutic processes and treatment outcomes. Comparable 
      therapeutic processes included insights, altered self-perception, increased 
      connectedness, transcendental experiences, and an expanded emotional spectrum, 
      which patients reported contributed to clinically and personally relevant 
      responses. CONCLUSIONS: This review demonstrates how qualitative research of 
      psychedelic treatments can contribute to distinguishing specific features of 
      specific substances, and carry otherwise undiscovered implications for the 
      treatment of specific psychiatric disorders.
FAU - Breeksema, Joost J
AU  - Breeksema JJ
AD  - University Center of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, Postbus 
      30.001, 9700 RB, Groningen, The Netherlands. j.j.breeksema@umcg.nl.
AD  - Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The 
      Netherlands. j.j.breeksema@umcg.nl.
FAU - Niemeijer, Alistair R
AU  - Niemeijer AR
AD  - University of Humanistic Studies, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
FAU - Krediet, Erwin
AU  - Krediet E
AD  - Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The 
      Netherlands.
AD  - ARQ National Psychotrauma Center, Diemen, The Netherlands.
FAU - Vermetten, Eric
AU  - Vermetten E
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-0579-4404
AD  - Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The 
      Netherlands.
AD  - Military Mental Health Care, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
AD  - ARQ National Psychotrauma Center, Diemen, The Netherlands.
FAU - Schoevers, Robert A
AU  - Schoevers RA
AD  - University Center of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, Postbus 
      30.001, 9700 RB, Groningen, The Netherlands.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PT  - Systematic Review
PL  - New Zealand
TA  - CNS Drugs
JT  - CNS drugs
JID - 9431220
RN  - 0 (Hallucinogens)
SB  - IM
MH  - Hallucinogens/*administration & dosage/pharmacology
MH  - Humans
MH  - Mental Disorders/*drug therapy/physiopathology/psychology
MH  - Patient Outcome Assessment
MH  - Substance-Related Disorders/drug therapy
PMC - PMC7447679
COIS- Robert A. Schoevers received a research grant from the Netherlands Organization 
      Health Research and Development for a clinical study on oral esketamine, and is 
      the co-investigator of a clinical study on psilocybin funded by Compass Pathways. 
      He has also received an educational grant from Janssen, Pharmaceutical Companies 
      of Johnson and Johnson, and honorarium from Clexio Biosciences. Eric Vermetten is 
      the principal investigator of a clinical trial on MDMA funded by the 
      Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. Joost J. Breeksema, 
      Alistair R. Niemeijer and Erwin Krediet declare no conflicts of interest.
EDAT- 2020/08/18 06:00
MHDA- 2021/10/21 06:00
PMCR- 2020/08/17
CRDT- 2020/08/18 06:00
PHST- 2020/08/18 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2021/10/21 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2020/08/18 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2020/08/17 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 10.1007/s40263-020-00748-y [pii]
AID - 748 [pii]
AID - 10.1007/s40263-020-00748-y [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - CNS Drugs. 2020 Sep;34(9):925-946. doi: 10.1007/s40263-020-00748-y.