The association between diverse psychological protocols and the efficacy of psilocybin-assisted therapy for clinical depressive symptoms: a Bayesian meta-analysis.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to explore the association between different psychological protocols and the efficacy of psilocybin-assisted therapy for depressive symptoms.
Results Summary
The study found that psilocybin-assisted therapy significantly improved depressive symptoms, with a pooled standard mean difference of 10.08, but the improvement was not associated with the type of psychological protocol used.
Population
515 adult patients with clinically diagnosed depression.
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
psilocybin-assisted therapy | decrease | clinical depressive symptoms | - | - | has shown promising efficacy | #1 |
psilocybin-assisted therapy | decrease | depressive symptoms measured by 17-Item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale | adult patients with clinically diagnosed depression | 10.08 (5.03-14.70) | pooled standard mean difference | #2 |
manualized directive psychotherapy | no change | improvement of depressive symptoms | adult patients receiving psilocybin-assisted therapy | - | did not differ significantly | #3 |
non-manualized nondirective psychological support | no change | improvement of depressive symptoms | adult patients receiving psilocybin-assisted therapy | - | did not differ significantly | #4 |
non-manualized supportive psychotherapy | no change | improvement of depressive symptoms | adult patients receiving psilocybin-assisted therapy | - | did not differ significantly | #5 |
psilocybin-assisted therapy | no change | depressive symptoms | adult patients receiving psilocybin-assisted therapy | - | improvement was not associated with | #6 |
OBJECTIVE: Psilocybin-assisted therapy has shown promising efficacy on clinical depressive symptoms. However, diverse psychological support or psychotherapy was performed with psilocybin treatment. This study aimed to explore the association of psychological protocols with the efficacy of psilocybin-assisted therapy for depressive symptoms. METHOD: Five major databases were systemic searched for clinical trials addressing psilocybin-assisted therapy for patients with clinical depressive symptoms. A Bayesian random-effects meta-analysis and meta-regression were performed. The effect size was mean difference (with 95% credible interval) measured by 17-Item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. RESULTS: There were 10 eligible studies including 515 adult patients with clinically diagnosed depression. The psychological protocols could be categorized into four types: (i) manualized directive psychotherapy(k=1); (ii) manualized nondirective psychological support(k=3), (iii) non-manualized nondirective psychological support(k=5); and (iv) non-manualized supportive psychotherapy(k=1). The pooled standard mean difference of psilocybin-assisted therapy was 10.08 (5.03-14.70). CONCLUSION: Compared with manualized nondirective psychological support, the other three psychological approaches did not differ significantly. The improvement of depressive symptoms was not associated with the psychological protocols in adult patients receiving psilocybin-assisted therapy. SYSTEMIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: Open Science Framework: identifier (osf.io/3YUDV).