Psilocybin Therapy for Clinicians With Symptoms of Depression From Frontline Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The psychological morbidity experienced by physicians, advanced practice practitioners (APPs), and nurses from working during the COVID-19 pandemic includes burnout, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Objective: To investigate whether psilocybin therapy could improve symptoms of depression, burnout, and PTSD in US clinicians who developed these symptoms from frontline clinical work during the pandemic.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This double-blind randomized clinical trial enrolled participants from February to December 2022.

Psilocybin microdosers demonstrate greater observed improvements in mood and mental health at one month relative to non-microdosing controls.

Psilocybin microdosing involves repeated self-administration of mushrooms containing psilocybin at doses small enough to not impact regular functioning. Microdose practices are diverse and include combining psilocybin with substances such as lion's mane mushrooms (Hericium erinaceus; HE) and niacin (vitamin-B3). Public uptake of microdosing has outpaced evidence, mandating further prospective research.

Adults who microdose psychedelics report health related motivations and lower levels of anxiety and depression compared to non-microdosers.

The use of psychedelic substances at sub-sensorium 'microdoses', has gained popular academic interest for reported positive effects on wellness and cognition. The present study describes microdosing practices, motivations and mental health among a sample of self-selected microdosers (n = 4050) and non-microdosers (n = 4653) via a mobile application. Psilocybin was the most commonly used microdose substances in our sample (85%) and we identified diverse microdose practices with regard to dosage, frequency, and the practice of stacking which involves combining psilocybin with non-psychedelic substances such as Lion's Mane mushrooms, chocolate, and niacin.