Journal article
Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy for the Treatment of PTSD: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Psychoactives, Vol.5(2), pp.1-19
2026
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remains inadequately treated by existing pharmacological and psychological interventions, prompting growing interest in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Although randomised controlled trials have evaluated several psychedelic agents for PTSD, to our knowledge, no prior PTSD-specific synthesis has quantitatively examined multiple agent classes within a single review framework. This systematic review and meta-analysis searched PsycINFO, CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE, and clinical trial registries to identify RCTs of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool, and random-effects meta-analyses were conducted for efficacy outcomes; safety and therapeutic protocols were synthesised narratively. Eleven RCTs involving 358 participants met inclusion criteria, evaluating MDMA, ketamine, and cannabidiol, of which eight contributed to meta-analyses. MDMA-assisted psychotherapy demonstrated a significant moderate-to-large reduction in PTSD symptom severity with negligible heterogeneity, and participants were significantly more likely to achieve clinical response and loss of PTSD diagnosis. The pooled effect for ketamine was small and non-significant, and a single cannabidiol trial showed no clear benefit. All agents were generally well tolerated. MDMA-assisted psychotherapy showed a promising efficacy signal for PTSD symptom reduction, although safety data were heterogenous and remain insufficient for strong comparative conclusions. Evidence for ketamine and cannabidiol remains too limited to support clinical implementation and it is noted that the current evidence base is dominated by MDMA trials. Further adequately powered trials with standardised outcomes and direct comparative studies across agents are needed.
Details
- Title
- Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy for the Treatment of PTSD: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
- Authors
- Fizza Mitter (Author) - Queensland HealthAnton Sheptooha (Corresponding Author) - Ramsay Clinic New Farm (Australia)Janni Leung (Author) - The University of QueenslandSarangan Ketheesan (Author) - The University of QueenslandWole Akosile (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast
- Publication details
- Psychoactives, Vol.5(2), pp.1-19
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.3390/psychoactives5020016
- ISSN
- 2813-1851
- Copyright note
- © 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.
- Data Availability
- This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis of previously published data. All primary data are available in the original publications and clinical trial registry records cited in the reference list. The data extraction spreadsheets used in the analyses are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
- Organisation Unit
- Thompson Institute
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991246280202621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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