Enduring changes in personality/attitudes , depression , spirituality , anxiety , wellbeing , substance misuse , meditative practice s , and mindfulness were documented .
Mystical experiences , connectedness , emotional breakthrough , and increased neural entropy were related to these long-term changes in psychological functioning .
Finally , with proper screening , preparation , supervision , and integration , limited aversive side effects were noted by study participants .
Research into the basic effects and therapeutic applications of  psychedelic drugs  has grown considerably in recent years .
Yet , pressing questions remain regarding the substances ' lasting effects .
Although individual studies have begun monitoring sustained changes , no study to- date has synthesized this information .
Psilocybin-occasioned mystical-type experience in combination with meditation and other spiritual practices produces enduring positive changes in psychological functioning and in trait measures of prosocial attitudes and behaviors
Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences with participant-attributed increases in well-being . However , little research has examined enduring changes in traits . This study administered psilocybin to participants who undertook a program of meditation/spiritual practice s. Healthy participants were r and omized to three groups ( 25 each ) : ( 1 ) very low-dose ( 1 mg/70 kg on sessions 1 and 2 ) with moderate-level ( “ st and ard ” ) support for spiritual- practice ( LD-SS ) ; ( 2 ) high-dose ( 20 and 30 mg/70 kg on sessions 1 and 2 , respectively ) with st and ard support ( HD-SS ) ; and ( 3 ) high-dose ( 20 and 30 mg/70 kg on sessions 1 and 2 , respectively ) with high support for spiritual practice ( HD-HS ) .  Psilocybin was administered double-blind and instructions to participants /staff minimized expectancy confounds . Psilocybin was administered 1 and 2 months after spiritual- practice initiation . Outcomes at 6 months included rates of spiritual practice and persisting effects of psilocybin .  Compared with low-dose , high-dose psilocybin produced greater acute and persisting effects . At 6 months , compared with LD-SS , both high-dose groups showed large significant positive changes on longitudinal measures of interpersonal closeness , gratitude , life meaning/ purpose , forgiveness , death transcendence , daily spiritual experiences , religious faith and coping , and community observer ratings . Determinants of enduring effects were psilocybin-occasioned mystical-type experience and rates of meditation/spiritual practice s. Psilocybin can occasion enduring trait-level increases in prosocial attitudes/behaviors and in healthy psychological functioning . Trial Registration Clinical Trials.gov Identifier
Enduring changes in personality/attitudes , depression , spirituality , anxiety , wellbeing , substance misuse , meditative practice s , and mindfulness were documented .
Mystical experiences , connectedness , emotional breakthrough , and increased neural entropy were related to these long-term changes in psychological functioning .
Finally , with proper screening , preparation , supervision , and integration , limited aversive side effects were noted by study participants .
Research into the basic effects and therapeutic applications of  psychedelic drugs  has grown considerably in recent years .
Yet , pressing questions remain regarding the substances ' lasting effects .
Although individual studies have begun monitoring sustained changes , no study to- date has synthesized this information .