ArticleEating and weight disorders : EWD2021
Positive effects of psychedelics on depression and wellbeing scores in individuals reporting an eating disorder.
Article in Eating and weight disorders : EWD, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 104 citations in OpenAlex.
- Therapeutic uses of psychedelics for eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2023Pooled it
- Review
- Understanding experiences of psychedelic treatments for eating disorders: a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies.BMC medicine · 2026Review
- Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy for Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa: Clinical Considerations and Emerging Models of Care.Current psychiatry reports · 2026Review
- Psychedelic use in individuals living with eating disorders or disordered eating: findings from the international MED-FED survey.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Therapeutic emergence of dissociated traumatic memories during psilocybin treatment for anorexia nervosa.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Psychedelics and schizophrenia: a double-edged sword.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Review
- From relaxed beliefs under psychedelics (REBUS) to revised beliefs after psychedelics (REBAS).Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Ketamine-assisted therapy within a community of practice: a novel approach to disordered eating.Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Pharmacotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of anorexia nervosa - novel targets to break a vicious cycle.Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy · 2024Review
- Beyond the numbers: reimagining healing with psychedelics for eating disorders.Journal of eating disorders · 2024Article
- Co-administration of midazolam and psilocybin: differential effects on subjective quality versus memory of the psychedelic experience.Translational psychiatry · 2024Article
- Review
- When the Trial Ends: The Case for Post-Trial Provisions in Clinical Psychedelic Research.Neuroethics · 2024Article
- Psychological effects of psychedelics in adolescents.Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry · 2024Article
- Cost-effectiveness of psilocybin-assisted therapy for severe depression: exploratory findings from a decision analytic model.Psychological medicine · 2023Article
- Mechanisms of integration in psychedelic-assisted therapy.Journal of military, veteran and family health · 2023Review
- Co-use of MDMA with psilocybin/LSD may buffer against challenging experiences and enhance positive experiences.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Psilocybin therapy for females with anorexia nervosa: a phase 1, open-label feasibility study.Nature medicine · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposePsychedelic therapy is showing promise for a broad range of mental health conditions, indicative of a transdiagnostic action. While the efficacy of symptom-focused treatments for eating disorders (EDs) is limited, improved mental health and psychological wellbeing are thought to contribute to greater treatment outcomes. This study provides the first quantitative exploration of the psychological effects of psychedelics in those reporting an ED diagnosis.
methodsProspective, online data were collected from individuals planning to take a psychedelic drug. Twenty-eight participants reporting a lifetime ED diagnosis completed measures of depressive symptomology (Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomology; QIDS-SR16) and psychological wellbeing (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale; WEMWBS) 1-2 weeks before, and 2 weeks after a psychedelic experience. Twenty-seven of these participants also completed a measure of emotional breakthrough [Emotional Breakthrough Inventory (EBI)] in relation to the acute psychedelic experience.
resultsBayesian t tests demonstrated overwhelming evidence for improvements in depression and wellbeing scores following the psychedelic experience. Marginal evidence was also found for a correlation between emotional breakthrough and the relevant mental health improvements.
conclusionThese findings provide supportive evidence for positive psychological aftereffects of a psychedelic experience that are relevant to the treatment of EDs. It is hoped that this will encourage further research and will bolster initiatives to directly examine the safety and efficacy of psychedelic assisted therapy as a treatment of EDs in future clinical trials. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, cohort study.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.