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Exploratory studies have examined the usefulness of the hallucinogen psilocybin for depressed cancer patients and patients with treatment-resistant depression. Now, researchers have conducted a controlled study of psilocybin in 27 patients with an unmedicated major depressive episode and no comorbidity.
Participants were randomized to an 8-week course of psychotherapy plus psilocybin or a waiting list. The intervention involved 8 hours of preparatory meetings with session facilitators and two daylong sessions 1.6 weeks apart, in which psilocybin was administered and the facilitators encouraged reflection in a relaxed state. Wait-list controls underwent the intervention 8 weeks later. Blinded raters determined depression scores although the t…