A team of researchers has analysed the experience of people with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) who have taken psychedelics, finding 30% experienced relief from their symptoms.
OCD affects around 2% of people across the globe, however, the current treatment of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can be slow to produce results, and many people do not respond.
Anne Buot, a post-doctoral fellow in cognitive neuroscience, explains that clinical research from the 1970s points to psychedelics – particularly LSD and psilocybin – as being a potentially beneficial treatment for the condition.
“But since these substances are banned in many countries, clinical studies are difficult to set up, and we don’t have robust data on their effectiveness yet,” said Buot.
To understand more, a team of researchers retrospectively analysed the experience of people who had previously used psychedelics.
The team wanted to find out whether people had perceived an improvement in their symptoms after taking LSD or psilocybin, if the effect was long-lasting and if it could be predicted by different factors.
A total of 147 people with OCD who had used the substances filled out an online questionnaire, and were asked about mental health symptoms, socio-demographic characteristics and the treatments they received and the context in which they had taken psychedelics as well as dosing, the nature of their experience and the perceived effects on symptoms, said Buot.
According to the feedback from the questionnaire, participants reported the dissipation of obsessive thoughts, less need to engage in rituals, reduced anxiety and avoidance behaviour, and greater acceptance of OCD.
“30% of participants reported that these positive effects lasted for more than three months, which is very encouraging,” psychiatrist Luc Mallet stated.
“Finally, we observed that the dose of LSD or psilocybin was positively correlated with the intensity of the psychedelic experience and its pleasantness.”
The authors warn that the results must be interpreted with caution as the subjective assessment of the therapeutic effects of psychedelics is susceptible to numerous biases, including the beliefs of the study participants.
“The population we studied generally has a very positive and enthusiastic attitude towards these substances, sometimes independently of their therapeutic effect. In addition, many patients are in situations of therapeutic impasse and expect LSD or psilocybin to improve their lives. This can significantly influence their testimony,” added Mallet.
The authors highlight that the transformative symbolism of the psychedelic experience itself reinforces this bias.
“Understanding the extent to which the very nature of the psychedelic experience—strongly influenced by people’s history, culture, and imagination—affects the therapeutic effects will be essential,” Buot concluded. “To do this, we will need complementary approaches, in ethnography and psychology, for example.”
To reap the full benefit of potential new treatments and establish good practices for use, it will be necessary not only to increase the number of rigorous clinical studies but also to understand the biological mechanisms underlying the long-term effects of psychedelics, the authors noted.
The research was carried out by the Paris Brain Institute and published in the journal Scientific Reports.
