Eating Disorders
Eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, affect approximately 16 million individuals globally. The exploration of psychedelics, such as psilocybin and MDMA, as potential treatments for these conditions is a burgeoning field of research, showing promise in alleviating symptoms and improving quality of life.
Key Insights
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Psychedelics offer a novel approach to treat eating disorders, aiming to address the psychological roots of these conditions.
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Initial studies have shown that psychedelics may facilitate significant reductions in eating disorder symptoms by altering self-perception and emotional engagement.
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Phases I and II clinical trials for psilocybin and MDMA in treating anorexia and bulimia are currently underway at major research institutions like Johns Hopkins University.
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Emerging evidence suggests significant interest among individuals with eating disorders in participating in psychedelic research, with over 60% expressing willingness to explore these treatments.
What is Eating Disorders?
Eating disorders are behavioural conditions characterised by a severe and persistent disturbance in eating behaviours, accompanied by distressing thoughts and emotions. The most prevalent disorders include anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, affecting around 16 million people worldwide.
Individuals with eating disorders often experience increased mortality rates and reduced quality of life. Symptoms vary by disorder; anorexia involves severe restriction of energy intake, leading to significantly low body weight, while bulimia involves recurrent binge-eating and inappropriate compensatory behaviours.
Eating disorders are complex, with biological, psychological, and environmental factors contributing to their development. They often co-occur with disorders such as major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders, complicating treatment.
Current Treatments
Standard treatments for eating disorders include a multidisciplinary approach involving psychotherapy (such as cognitive-behavioural therapy), nutritional education, medical monitoring, and sometimes medications like SSRIs (e.g., fluoxetine for bulimia) and antipsychotics. However, efficacy remains limited, particularly for anorexia.
Psychedelic Effect Matrix
Compound efficacy and evidence levels for Eating Disorders.
| Compound | Magnitude | Evidence | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psilocybin Clinical trials are revealing promising results for psilocybin in treating eating disorders, establishing a moderate level of evidence. | Medium | Moderate | Consistent |
| MDMA Ongoing trials suggest MDMA's potential effectiveness in psychotherapy settings, contributing to a growing body of supportive evidence. | Medium | Moderate | Consistent |
Psilocybin and Eating Disorders
Psilocybin has been shown to facilitate introspection and emotional processing, which may help individuals with eating disorders confront underlying issues related to body image and self-acceptance. By modulating serotonin pathways and impacting the default mode network, psilocybin may assist in breaking negative thought patterns and fostering healthier relationships with food and self.
MDMA and Eating Disorders
MDMA is known for its empathogenic effects, enhancing emotional connectivity and reducing anxiety. This may allow patients to engage in psychotherapy more fully, promoting openness and self-compassion. Research indicates that through these mechanisms, MDMA may help ameliorate the psychological distress associated with eating disorders, allowing for transformative therapeutic experiences.
Clinical Outlook
The future of psychedelic treatment for eating disorders appears promising, with ongoing clinical trials aiming to establish safety and efficacy. As research advances, further understanding of the mechanisms of action and integration of therapeutic models will enhance treatment protocols. The collaboration between stakeholders in this field may lead to a new era of effective interventions tailored for patients suffering from these debilitating conditions.
Industrial Landscape
Key stakeholders include institutions like Johns Hopkins University and Imperial College London, as well as companies like Novamind and Tryp Therapeutics, which are focusing on innovative treatments blending psychedelics with psychotherapy.
Quick Indicators
Organisations
Search →COMPASS Pathways
COMPASS Pathways is a UK-listed biopharmaceutical company developing COMP360 synthetic psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression, with two successful Phase 3 trials making it the leading candidate for the first regulatory approval of a classic psychedelic medicine.
Imperial College London
The Centre for Psychedelic Research, led by Professor David Nutt and Dr. David Erritzoe, focuses heavily on the action of psychedelic drugs in the brain and their clinical utility as aides to psychotherapy. Thanks to their extensive neuroimaging studies, this group has proposed vital mechanisms for how psychedelics work, including the Entropic Brain Theory and REBUS (RElaxed Beliefs Under Psychedelics).
Entropy Neurodynamics
Entropy Neurodynamics Limited (formerly Tryptamine Therapeutics Limited, renamed November 2025; ASX: ENP, OTC: TYPTF) is an Australian clinical-stage company developing psilocin-based therapies for conditions with major unmet need including fibromyalgia, binge eating disorder, and IBS. Its two-pronged strategy uses TRP-8802 (oral psilocybin) to establish clinical proof-of-concept, then advances TRP-8803 (proprietary IV psilocin formulation) for precision dosing. Phase 2a fibromyalgia and BED trials showed strong results; the world's first IV psilocin neuropsychiatric trial (TRP-8803 in BED) dosed its first patient on December 1, 2025 at Swinburne University.
University of California San Diego
The Psychedelics and Health Research Initiative (PHRI) focuses heavily on conducting pilot studies and clinical trials while collecting diverse biometric data—including fMRI, EEG, and cognitive metrics—from study participants. This data-driven approach aims to unravel the biological and neurological underpinnings of how psychedelics facilitate healing.
Johns Hopkins University
The Centre for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research focuses on how psychedelics affect behavior, cognition, brain function, and biological health markers. They have been at the forefront of demonstrating the safety and efficacy of psychedelics for mental disorders, expanding their focus into psilocybin research across multiple mental health conditions, including smoking cessation, major depressive disorder, and cancer-related anxiety.
Homeostasis Therapeutics, LLC
Homeostasis Therapeutics LLC is a Delaware company (est. 2020) that developed a novel protocol combining medically supervised ketogenic diet with ketamine infusions for treatment-resistant anorexia nervosa. In 2021–2022 they conducted a five-person IRB-approved pilot study in which four of five participants showed meaningful clinical improvement, advancing the concept of metabolic-state-dependent psychedelic therapy.
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
NIH center that accelerates the translation of biomedical discoveries into health solutions. NCATS' Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program funds the infrastructure at academic medical centers that supports emerging research including psychedelic-assisted therapy trials.
People
Search →Joost Breeksema
Postdoctoral researcher and Executive Director of the OPEN Foundation
He is a prominent psychedelic researcher and advocate whose work helps shape evidence-based psychedelic policy, ethics, and patient-centered understanding of psychedelic and ketamine/esketamine treatments.
Juliana Rocha
Doutoranda em Ciências Médicas / Saúde Mental at the Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo
She is a recurring coauthor on clinical psychedelic studies, especially ayahuasca trials on social anxiety, emotion recognition, personality, and social cognition, helping expand the human evidence base for psychedelic-assisted psychiatric research.
Mathieu Seynaeve
Senior Medical Director and Head of Psychotherapy at Beckley Psytech
He is a clinical development leader behind multiple human studies of 5-MeO-DMT and psilocybin, including trials in alcohol use disorder, treatment-resistant depression, and headache disorders.
John Kelly
Associate Professor / Consultant General Psychiatrist at Trinity College Dublin
John R. Kelly is a leading academic psychiatrist in Ireland whose work has helped shape modern psychedelic psychiatry, including psilocybin research across depression, service-user attitudes, and transdiagnostic treatment frameworks.
Martin Williams
Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Mental Health, Swinburne University; Adjunct in Computational Neuroscience at the Turner Institute, Monash University; Executive Director of Psychedelic Research in Science & Medicine (PRISM)
He is a prominent Australian psychedelic researcher and advocate whose work spans psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, clinical trials, and the science of music and context in psychedelic therapy.
Erwin Krediet
Psychologist and psychedelic researcher at ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre; PhD researcher at Leiden University Medical Center
He is a Dutch psychedelic researcher contributing to clinical studies and educational work on psychedelics, including MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD and LSD/psilocybin studies.
Michael Mithoefer
Senior Medical Director for Medical Affairs at MAPS PBC
Conducted the first FDA-approved clinical trial of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD.
Mark Wagner
Professor of Neurology at the Medical University of South Carolina
Mark Wagner is a notable figure in the field of psychedelic research, particularly focusing on the therapeutic implications of personality changes following trauma.
Amy Emerson
CEO of MAPS Public Benefit Corporation (MAPS PBC) / former Director of Clinical Research at MAPS
Notable for her contributions to multi-centre clinical research on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD, including dose‑response, neuroimaging, long‑term follow-up and phase‑3 trial design.
Stephen Ross
Professor of Psychiatry
A leading clinical investigator who has advanced the application of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for cancer-related existential distress and substance use disorders through influential clinical trials and qualitative studies.
Guilherme Rossi
Post Doctoral Researcher at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, State University of Campinas
Notable for leading and co‑authoring pilot randomised and feasibility trials of ayahuasca and observational studies that advance clinical and safety knowledge of psychedelic use for anxiety, social cognition and substance use.
Robert Schoevers
Professor of Psychiatry
A leading clinical researcher in rapid-acting antidepressant therapies, notable for conducting and supervising trials of oral esketamine and clinical research into psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression.
Connected Evidence
The latest clinical data and verified academic findings associated with Eating Disorders.