The real studies behind psychedelic-assisted therapy — from the world's leading institutions. We summarize the findings plainly and link straight to the primary source, so you can see the evidence for yourself.
Strong observational data for ibogaine and opioid dependence, one landmark open-label veteran study for PTSD and TBI, randomised trials for psilocybin in depression and MDMA in PTSD, and no completed controlled ibogaine trial yet. We cite study design and sample size every time, because the difference matters.
Psychedelic-assisted therapy can feel new. It isn't. These compounds were a serious field of medicine long before they were made illegal — and the reasons they were banned had far more to do with politics than with science.
In the two decades after LSD reached researchers, psychedelics were studied openly and seriously. More than 1,000 scientific papers were published on LSD alone, and hundreds of studies explored psilocybin and LSD for alcoholism, depression, and the anxiety of terminal illness. Results were promising enough that major hospitals and universities ran their own programs.
Amid the cultural backlash of the late 1960s, the 1970 Controlled Substances Act placed LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, and ibogaine into Schedule I — the category for drugs with "no currently accepted medical use." MDMA followed in 1985. The label was political as much as scientific, and its effect was near-total: it cut off funding, legal supply, and approvals, making these compounds almost impossible to study for more than three decades.
A generation of scientists moved on. Promising leads went cold. And people living with treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, and addiction were left with the same narrow set of options — many of which, as later research would show, simply don't work for a large share of the people who try them.
Since the early 2000s a new wave of rigorous, peer-reviewed research has re-opened the field — this time with modern trial design, brain imaging, and continuous safety monitoring. Today some of the most respected names in medicine are investing in it, and in 2024 psychedelic therapy reached FDA review for the first time in history. Below is that evidence, summarized plainly and linked to its source.
Real, peer-reviewed or authoritative sources across conditions, compounds, and standard care. Filter by what matters to you — every card links to its primary source.
A study of 30 special-operations veterans with traumatic brain injury reported large reductions in PTSD, depression and anxiety, with improved functioning and no serious cardiac events.
The first confirmatory Phase 3 trial of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD — randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled.
The second Phase 3 trial replicated the first in a diverse population with moderate-to-severe PTSD, reducing symptoms and functional impairment.
Read the study →A Phase 2 dose-response trial in veterans, firefighters, and police officers with chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD — the population these therapies were built to reach.
A randomized trial of 24 adults with major depressive disorder found rapid, sustained antidepressant effects after two psilocybin sessions with therapy.
The largest published psilocybin trial to date (233 participants). A single 25mg dose with psychological support produced a significant reduction in depression at three weeks.
A head-to-head trial comparing psilocybin therapy to a standard SSRI (escitalopram) over six weeks, with psilocybin performing favorably on several secondary measures.
Read the study →A landmark NIH trial showing a single intravenous dose of ketamine produced antidepressant effects within hours in treatment-resistant depression — the finding that launched modern ketamine therapy.
The FDA approved esketamine — a form of ketamine — with an oral antidepressant for treatment-resistant depression, given under monitoring in certified clinics.
A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in 29 patients found a single dose of ayahuasca produced significant antidepressant effects versus placebo, measurable within a day and holding through one week.
A landmark trial found a single psilocybin session produced substantial, enduring decreases in depressed mood and anxiety in people with life-threatening cancer.
A long-term follow-up of NYU's cancer-anxiety trial found that a majority of participants still showed clinically meaningful reductions in anxiety and depression years after a single dosing session.
Read the study →In a pilot study pairing psilocybin sessions with cognitive-behavioral therapy, long-term smokers achieved abstinence rates far above those of standard cessation methods.
A randomized, double-blind trial found two psilocybin sessions with therapy significantly reduced heavy-drinking days compared with an active placebo.
Observational and open-label data describe reduced withdrawal and cravings following a single ibogaine treatment — the basis for ongoing formal trials.
Read the study →STAR*D followed 4,041 real-world patients through up to four rounds of antidepressants. Remission on the first drug was about one in three, and after a year of continuation, sustained remission was strikingly rare — the clearest evidence of how often standard care falls short.
A widely-cited meta-analysis of FDA trial data found the benefit of SSRIs over placebo fell below the threshold for clinical significance for most patients, reaching it only in the most severe depression.
Read the analysis →For the first time since the 1960s, the VA announced it would fund studies of MDMA- and psilocybin-assisted therapy for veterans with PTSD and depression — a signal of how seriously the field is now taken.
Read the announcement →In 2024 the FDA declined to approve MDMA-assisted therapy and requested another trial — a setback, not a rejection of the science. Here's what it means.
Read more →How these compounds affect the brain's plasticity, fear circuitry and default-mode network — explained for a general audience.
Explore →Educational summaries, not medical advice. Findings describe published research and do not guarantee any individual outcome; early trials are often small or preliminary and some ibogaine data is observational. Standard-care studies are included to show why new options are being explored, not to discourage anyone from prescribed treatment — never stop a medication without your doctor. Always consult a qualified professional. Every card links to a primary or authoritative source.
An advisor can help you make sense of what the evidence means for you — and point you to safe, verified care.
Not yet for addiction outcomes; controlled trials are funded and registered. The Stanford veteran study was open-label.
12-month observational follow-up for opioid dependence and the 2024 Nature Medicine veteran study for PTSD, depression, anxiety and TBI.
Psilocybin for depression and cancer distress; MDMA for PTSD; ketamine for depression.
With study, journal, year, design and sample size, in-frame, every time.
