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 with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: six-month follow-up
Rationale Recent clinical trials are reporting marked improvements in mental health outcomes with psychedelic drug-assisted psychotherapy . Objectives Here , we report on safety and efficacy outcomes for up to 6 months in an open-label trial of psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression . Methods Twenty patients ( six females ) with ( mostly ) severe , unipolar , treatment-resistant major depression received two oral doses of psilocybin ( 10 and 25 mg , 7 days apart ) in a supportive setting . Depressive symptoms were assessed from 1 week to 6 months post-treatment , with the self-rated QIDS-SR16 as the primary outcome measure . Results Treatment was generally well tolerated . Relative to baseline , marked reductions in depressive symptoms were observed for the first 5 weeks post-treatment ( Cohen ’s d = 2.2 at week 1 and 2.3 at week 5 , both p < 0.001 ) ; nine and four patients met the criteria for response and remission at week 5 . Results remained positive at 3 and 6 months ( Cohen ’s d = 1.5 and 1.4 , respectively , both p < 0.001 ) . No patients sought conventional antidepressant treatment within 5 weeks of psilocybin . Reductions in depressive symptoms at 5 weeks were predicted by the quality of the acute psychedelic experience . Conclusions Although limited conclusions can be drawn about treatment efficacy from open-label trials , tolerability was good , effect sizes large and symptom improvements appeared rapidly after just two psilocybin treatment sessions and remained significant 6 months post-treatment in a treatment-resistant cohort . Psilocybin represents a promising paradigm for unresponsive depression that warrants further research in double-blind r and omised control trials
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 .