Psilocybin for Chronic Suicidal Ideation: Scott T. Aaronson on Safety, an Efficacy Signal, and the Role of Expectations

While psychedelic studies have largely excluded patients deemed to be higher risk, Scott T. Aaronson, a psychiatrist at the Institute for Advanced Diagnostics and Treatment in the Sheppard Pratt Health System, has made them a focus of his group’s psilocybin research. In 2021, Aaronson and colleagues initiated the first study of psilocybin for patients with bipolar II disorder in fifteen patients, and the group has also trialled the drug in twelve participants with severe treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

In 2022, Aaronson et al. again sought to study an underrepresented population, launching an open-label trial in which twenty adults with chronic suicidal ideation received a single 25 mg dose of Compass Pathways’ COMP360 psilocybin alongside psychological support. The study, published today in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, reports rapid and substantial reductions in suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms that were generally sustained through 12 weeks. The authors reported no serious adverse events.

We spoke with Aaronson to learn more...