A new study shows that healthcare workers who took psilocybin and mindfulness training eased their depression symptoms. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A new study announced Wednesday shows that psilocybin — the active compound in “magic mushrooms” — and mindfulness training can together ease depression and burnout among healthcare workers.
Frontline healthcare workers struggling with depression after the COVID-19 pandemic saw significant relief from a treatment combining psilocybin group therapy with mindfulness training, according to a new study from Huntsman Mental Health Institute at University of Utah Health.
Doctors and nurses who received this controlled, group psilocybin therapy along with an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction program saw far better improvement than those who only learned mindfulness techniques, the report, published in September, said.
The study, published in PLOS Medicine, included 25 healthcare workers who worked directly with COVID patients and were struggling with depression and burnout. A select group of healthcare workers were randomized to get a single dose of psilocybin in a controlled clinical setting along with eight weeks of mindfulness training. The other half completed the mindfulness training without the psilocybin.
For those who were treated with the combination therapy, the group’s depression scores dropped by more than twice as much as the meditation-only group. They also said they felt less emotionally exhausted and more connected to themselves and others.
“Depression and burnout have long been serious problems for healthcare workers,” Dr. Benjamin Lewis, associate professor of psychiatry at University of Utah and lead author on the study, said in a statement. “When the pandemic only worsened these effects, we felt it was crucial to try something different to understand how we can help this group of individuals who are dedicated to helping others.”
Of the healthcare workers who took psilocybin with mindfulness techniques, 46% were free of depression at two weeks, compared with 8% of those who didn’t take psilocybin.
The study showed significant sustained improvements in symptoms with a single, 25 mg dose of psilocybin, administered at week six of the meditation course.
In June, a study in the journal Cancer said that one dose of psilocybin can help cancer patients who are suffering from depression.
A study in November showed that psilocybin may help patients with anorexia nervosa. In September 2024, a study in the journal Psychedelics showed that psilocybin significantly reduced symptoms in people with body dysmorphic disorder.
