Psychedelic-assisted approaches may help address limits of current PTSD treatments and support more personalized care.
Evidence
This review synthesizes proposed mechanisms, combined-treatment approaches, and response-prediction strategies for ketamine, MDMA, psilocybin, and related PTSD interventions.
Caveat
The abstract presents a conceptual review and does not report new clinical outcomes or validated tools.
Simplified
Novel interventions for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) leverage the psychoactive properties of psychedelic compounds, such as ketamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine and psilocybin, which may overcome limitations of conventional treatments. Through the modulation of pathways involved in synaptic plasticity, psychedelic interventions are believed to enhance the mechanisms underlying memory processing and extinction. Multi-modal approaches to patient care can use existing treatments in combination with to improve the efficacy of current psychotherapies, producing rapid and lasting improvement to chronic physiological and psychological symptoms. Modern methods for predicting treatment response will allow clinicians to personalise psychedelic interventions to the individual, capitalising on quantitative evidence to provide precision medical care. This review serves to identify limitations of the current treatment paradigm for PTSD, highlight how emerging psychedelic interventions may offer a solution to these considerations and explore the promise of approaches for the future of PTSD treatment.
Full Text
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The authors Charles Dodds, Rachelle Dawson and Alexander Lim are affiliated with the Zed3 Medical Group. Zed3 Medical Group is a health solutions provider for government and non-government agencies with extensive contractual and consultation work with the Australian Defence Force (ADF), Australian Federal Police (AFP) and former ADF servicemembers. One of Zed3 Medical Group’s treatment programme includes ReviveMed, which centres around ketamine infusion therapy for treatment-resistant PTSD. Author Charles Dodds is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland and is on a paid appointment with Zed3 Medical Group as a research assistant. Author Rachelle Dawson is currently a clinical psychologist and research associate with Zed3 Medical Group. Author Alexander Lim is currently the Director of Clinical Governance and Strategy at Zed3 Medical Group. No other member of Zed3 Medical Group had a role in approving the manuscript for publication.
