Peter Gasser

Peter Gasser is a Swiss psychiatrist and clinical researcher notable for his role in reviving controlled clinical investigation of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psycholytic approaches in Switzerland. Trained in psychiatry, he has combined historical scholarship on psycholytic therapy with contemporary clinical trials, open‑label follow‑ups and methodological work on therapist training. Gasser authored early reviews and historical accounts of psycholytic practice in Switzerland and has published empirical work on the acute effects of LSD in healthy volunteers and on LSD‑assisted psychotherapy in clinical populations.

His clinical research portfolio includes an investigator‑led randomized, double‑blind, placebo‑controlled Phase II study of LSD‑assisted therapy for anxiety in patients with and without life‑threatening illness, an open‑label 12‑month follow‑up study of LSD‑assisted therapy for anxiety, and comparative work on subjective effects in LSD‑ and MDMA‑assisted psychotherapy. He has also contributed to the development and evaluation of therapist‑training programmes for psychedelic interventions and has written on group and low‑dose psycholytic therapy models. Throughout his work Gasser has emphasised rigorous clinical methodology, safety monitoring and the training of therapists to deliver psychedelic‑assisted treatments.