Overview
- The pilot trial, which reported results Thursday, found nine of 12 veterans no longer met the criteria for PTSD one month after an 11‑week program of psychotherapy plus two doses of synthetic psilocybin.
- The treatment combined about eight hours of preparatory psychotherapy, two psilocybin sessions spaced two to three weeks apart, and six to eight hours of integration therapy to support lasting change.
- Researchers designed the study to assess safety rather than prove efficacy, and they caution the open‑label, nonrandomized design means larger controlled trials are needed to confirm the results.
- No serious adverse events were reported and the most common side effect was a mild headache, while researchers will continue monitoring participants up to six months and are seeking funding for a randomized trial.
- The findings come as federal policy shifts accelerate psychedelic research, even though psilocybin remains a Schedule I drug in the United States and some countries such as Australia and Switzerland allow limited clinical use.