Exploring the Therapeutic Effects of Psychedelics Administered to Military Veterans in Naturalistic Retreat Settings
This is the first study to investigate psychedelic retreats as a holistic therapy for veterans' mental health alongside community reintegration. Psilocybin and ayahuasca retreats significantly improved veterans' mental well-being, quality of life, PTSD, anxiety, depression, sleep, concussion, and post-deployment reintegration. Participants with more severe symptoms have the potential to benefit most from this intervention, with nuanced insight into improved outcomes based on gender and type of substance. Psychedelic retreats could provide a treatment framework to aid veterans' recovery by addressing psychological well-being, communal factors, and reintegration into civilian life.
Authors
- Leor Roseman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9990-6029)
- Robin Lester Carhart-Harris (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6062-7150)
- Hannes Kettner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9482-0998)
- Simon Ruffell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8250-4426)
- Mark J. Adams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3599-6018)
- Chris Busch
- Theodore Piper
- Megan Calnan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3767-065X)
- Grace Blest‐Hopley
Institutions
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- King's College London (GB)
- University of Exeter (GB)
- Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana (PE)
- Imperial College London (GB)
- Goldsmiths University of London (GB)
- University of Birmingham (GB)
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Brain and Behavior
- Published
- 2025-07-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70660
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Psychedelics and Drug Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.61
Funders
- Imperial College London