University of Twente Student Theses
Psychological Mechanisms Underlying the Effect of Psilocybin in the Treatment of Depression, Anxiety and Substance Use Disorder: A Mixed Methods Systematic Literature Review
Hof, Katharina (2023) Psychological Mechanisms Underlying the Effect of Psilocybin in the Treatment of Depression, Anxiety and Substance Use Disorder: A Mixed Methods Systematic Literature Review.
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| Abstract: | Psychedelic substances, such as psilocybin, have shown promising effects in treating mental disorders. However, how psilocybin works on a psychological level is still not well understood. The present literature review provides an overview of the current literature on potential psychological mechanisms of psilocybin-assisted therapy and their link to positive psychological approaches. A mixed methods systematic literature review following the PRISMA guidelines was conducted. Peer-reviewed articles were searched in the databases Scopus and PubMed. 13 studies were included in the review. Nine potential mechanisms underlying the treatment with psilocybin were found. These were categorised into three groups. Mystical experience could be identified as a mediator with strong statistical evidence. Rumination, psychological flexibility, thought suppression, and self-compassion were identified as mediators with weak statistical evidence. Lastly, social connectedness and prosocial behaviour, self-efficacy and motivation, psychological insight, and complex emotional experiences were categorised as mediators with no direct statistical evidence. Although statistical evidence of longitudinal high-quality studies is scarce, the review provides a first base for future research on underlying mechanisms of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy. Furthermore, the review showed that possible mechanisms of psilocybin have similarities to frameworks of positive psychology. Researching the combination of positive psychological methods and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy is recommended. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 77 psychology |
| Programme: | Psychology MSc (66604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/97050 |
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