Acute subjective effects in LSD- and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy
In a Swiss compassionate-use programme of 18 patients (mainly with PTSD and major depression), LSD (100–200 µg) and MDMA (100–175 mg) administered in group psychotherapy produced pronounced alterations of consciousness and increases across mystical-experience scales on the 5D-ASC and MEQ. Acute subjective responses were largely comparable to those seen in healthy volunteers and clinical-trial patients, supporting further controlled studies of substance-assisted psychotherapy.
Authors
- Yasmin Schmid
- Matthias Liechti
- Peter Gasser
Published
Abstract
Background
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) were used in psychotherapy in the 1960s–1980s, and are currently being re-investigated as treatments for several psychiatric disorders. In Switzerland, limited medical use of these substances is possible in patients not responding to other treatments (compassionate use).
Methods
This study aimed to describe patient characteristics, treatment indications and acute alterations of mind in patients receiving LSD (100–200 µg) and/or MDMA (100–175 mg) within the Swiss compassionate use programme from 2014–2018. Acute effects were assessed using the 5 Dimensions of Altered States of Consciousness scale and the Mystical Experience Questionnaire, and compared with those in healthy volunteers administered with LSD or MDMA and patients treated alone with LSD in clinical trials.
Results
Eighteen patients (including 12 women and six men, aged 29–77 years) were treated in group settings. Indications mostly included posttraumatic stress disorder and major depression. Generally, a drug-assisted session was conducted every 3.5 months after 3–10 psychotherapy sessions. LSD induced pronounced alterations of consciousness on the 5 Dimensions of Altered States of Consciousness scale, and mystical-type experiences with increases in all scales on the Mystical Experience Questionnaire. Effects were largely comparable between patients in the compassionate use programme and patients or healthy subjects treated alone in a research setting.
Conclusion
LSD and MDMA are currently used medically in Switzerland mainly in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder and depression in group settings, producing similar acute responses as in research subjects. The data may serve as a basis for further controlled studies of substance-assisted psychotherapy.
Research Summary of 'Acute subjective effects in LSD- and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy'
Introduction
Schmid and colleagues situate this study within the renewed clinical interest in serotonergic hallucinogens and entactogens, noting that LSD and MDMA were used as adjuncts to psychotherapy from the 1950s to the 1980s and are again being investigated for disorders such as depression, anxiety associated with life‑threatening illness, OCD, substance use disorders and PTSD. Previous clinical and experimental work has identified acute prosocial and empathogenic effects of both LSD and MDMA, and hallucinogen‑induced mystical‑type experiences have been associated with persistent positive changes; however, most experimental studies assessed subjects individually in controlled laboratory settings, and there are few objective data on acute subjective effects when these drugs are administered clinically in group psychotherapy outside formal trials. This prospectively designed study aimed to describe patient characteristics, treatment indications and acute subjective alterations of consciousness in patients receiving LSD (100–200 µg) and/or MDMA (100–175 mg) within the Swiss compassionate use programme from 2014–2018. In addition, the investigators compared these acute responses, measured with validated psychometric instruments, to pooled data from healthy volunteers and to patients treated alone in clinical trials, to explore whether acute effects differ between clinical group settings and laboratory or single‑patient therapeutic settings.
Expert Research Summaries
Go Pro to access AI-powered section-by-section summaries, editorial takes, and the full research toolkit.
Study Details
- Study Typeindividual
- Journal
- Compounds
- Topics
- Authors
- APA Citation
Schmid, Y., Gasser, P., Oehen, P., & Liechti, M. E. (2021). Acute subjective effects in LSD- and MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 35(4), 362-374. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881120959604
References (46)
Papers cited by this study that are also in Blossom
Amoroso, T., Workman, M. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2016)
Barrett, F. S., Griffiths, R. R. · Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences (2017)
Barrett, F. S., Johnson, M. W., Griffiths, R. R. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2015)
Bonson, K. R. · Neuropsychopharmacology (1996)
Carhart-Harris, R. L., Bolstridge, &. M., Day, C. M. J. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2017)
Carhart-Harris, R. L., Erritzoe, D., Haijen, E. C. H. M. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2017)
Carhart-Harris, R. L., Muthukumaraswamy, S., Roseman, L. et al. · PNAS (2016)
Dolder, P. C., Müller, F., Schmid, Y. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2017)
Dolder, P. C., Schmid, Y., Haschke, M. et al. · International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology (2015)
Dolder, P. C., Schmid, Y., Müller, F. et al. · Neuropsychopharmacology (2016)
Show all 46 referencesShow fewer
Garcia-Romeu, A., Davis, A. K., Fire Erowid et al. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2019)
Gasser, P., Holstein, D., Michel, Y. et al. · Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease (2014)
Kirchner, K. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2014)
Greer, G. R. · Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (1986)
Griffiths, R. R. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2008)
Griffiths, R. R., Johnson, M. W., Richards, W. A. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2011)
Griffiths, R. R., Richards, W. A., Mccann, U. et al. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2006)
Grob, C. S., Danforth, A. L., Chopra, G. S. et al. · JAMA Psychiatry (2011)
Grof, S., Goodman, L. E., Richards, W. A. · Pharmacopsychiatry (1973)
Holze, F., Duthaler, U., Vizeli, P. et al. · British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology (2019)
Holze, F., Vizeli, P., Müller, F. et al. · Neuropsychopharmacology (2019)
Johnson, M. W., Garcia-Romeu, A., Cosimano, M. P. et al. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2014)
Krebs, T. S., Johansen, P. Ø. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2012)
Kuypers, K. P. C., Dolder, P. C., Ramaekers, J. G. et al. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2017)
Liechti, M. E., Gamma, A., Vollenweider, F. X. · Psychopharmacology (2001)
Maclean, K. A., Johnson, M. W., Griffiths, R. R. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2011)
MacLean, K. A., Leoutsakos, J. S., Johnson, M. W. et al. · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (2012)
Millière, R. · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (2017)
Mithoefer, M. C., Feduccia, A. A., Jerome, L. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2019)
Mithoefer, A. T., Mithoefer, M. C., Feduccia, A. A. et al. · Lancet Psychiatry (2018)
Mithoefer, M. C., Wagner, M. T., Mithoefer, A. T. et al. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2010)
Mithoefer, M. C., Wagner, M. T., Mithoefer, A. T. et al. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2012)
Moreno, F. A., Wiegand, C. B., Taitano, E. K. et al. · Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (2006)
Nicholas, C. R., Henriquez, K. M., Gassman, M. C. et al. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2018)
Osório, F. L., Sanches, R. F., Macedo, L. et al. · brazilian Journal of Psychiatry (2015)
Parrott, A. C. · Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (2014)
Passie, T., Halpern, J. H., Stichtenoth, D. O. et al. · CNS Neuroscience and Therapeutics (2008)
Preller, K. H., Herdener, M., Pokorny, T. et al. · Current Biology (2017)
Rickli, A., Moning, O. D., Hoener, M. C. et al. · European Neuropsychopharmacology (2016)
Ross, S., Bossis, A. P., Guss, J. et al. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2016)
Schmid, Y., Liechti, M. E. · Psychopharmacology (2017)
Studerus, E., Gamma, A., Kometer, M. et al. · PLOS ONE (2012)
Studerus, E., Gamma, A., Vollenweider, F. X. · PLOS ONE (2010)
Vizeli, P., Liechti, M. E. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2017)
Vollenweider, F. X., Csomor, P. A., Knappe, B. et al. · Neuropsychopharmacology (2007)
Vollenweider, F. X., Kometer, M. · Nature Reviews Neuroscience (2010)
Cited By (28)
Papers in Blossom that reference this study
Perkins, D., Halman, A., Urokohara, A. et al. · Scientific Reports (2025)
Seybert, C., Schimmers, N., Silva, L. et al. · Lancet (2024)
Calder, A. E., Rausch, B., Liechti, M. E. et al. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2024)
Vizeli, P., Studerus, E., Holze, F. et al. · Translational Psychiatry (2024)
McGovern, H., Grimmer, H. J., Doss, M. K. et al. · Communications Psychology (2024)
Holze, F., Gasser, P., Müller, F. et al. · BJPsych Open (2024)
Aicher, H. D., Schmid, Y., Gasser, P. · Die Psychotherapie (2024)
Straumann, I., Holze, F., Becker, A. M. et al. · Neuroscience Applied (2024)
Prugger, J., Hirschfeld, T., Majic, T. et al. · Neuropsychopharmacology (2023)
Thal, S. B., Wieberneit, M., Sharbanee, J. M. et al. · Journal of Humanistic Psychology (2023)
Show all 28 papersShow fewer
Ponomarenko, P., Seragnoli, F., Calder, A. et al. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2023)
Prugger, J., Derdiyok, E., Dinkelacker, J. et al. · Scientific Data (2022)
Becker, A. M., Klaiber, A., Holze, F. et al. · International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology (2022)
Thal, S. B., Wieberneit, M., Sharbanee, J. M. et al. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2022)
Herrmann, Z., Earleywine, M., De Leo, J. et al. · Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (2022)
Breeksema, J. J., Kuin, B. W., Kamphuis, J. et al. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2022)
Oehen, P., Gasser, P. · Frontiers in Psychiatry (2022)
Gasser, P. · Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences (2022)
Qiu, X., Minda, J. P. · Psyarxiv (2021)
Becker, A. M., Holze, F., Grandinett, T. et al. · Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (2021)
Kuc, J., Kettner, H., Rosas, F. E. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2021)
Holze, F., Caluori, T. V., Vizeli, P. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2021)
Davis, A. K., Xin, Y., Sepeda, N. D. et al. · Chronic Stress (2021)
Holze, F., Avedisian, I., Varghese, N. et al. · Frontiers in Pharmacology (2021)
Rodan, S., Aouad, P., McGregor, I. S. et al. · OBM Neurobiology (2021)
Vizeli, P., Straumann, I., Holze, F. et al. · Scientific Reports (2021)
Nichols, D. E., Walter, H. · Pharmacopsychiatry (2020)
Mason, N. L., Feilding, A., Ramaekers, J. G. · European Neuropsychopharmacology (2020)
Your Personal Research Library
Go Pro to save papers, add notes, rate studies, and organize your research into custom shelves.