Psilocybin-assisted therapy

Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Steering Group 2023Committee for Evidence-Based Practice and Committee for Research 2023Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care 2024

The use of psilocybin-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant major depression is emerging. It involves the use of psilocybin (a psychedelic drug) as a tool to assist psychotherapy; use of psilocybin outside of this setting is inappropriate. The treatment course is highly structured; it typically includes:

• preparation sessions
• an active dosing session (or sessions) in which the drug is administered
• integration sessions.

At the time of writing, psilocybin-assisted therapy is not routinely recommended for treatment-resistant major depression because the evidence is limited. Prescription of and access to psilocybin is restricted to authorised psychiatrists and is governed by state- and territory-based regulations. For more information on psilocybin (including information on its prescription and access), see the TGA website and the RANZCP clinical memoranda on the Therapeutic use of MDMA for PTSD and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression and Therapeutic use of psychedelic substances.