In a new opinion paper, published today in JAMA Psychiatry, Jack Dahan and colleagues delve into the dual domains of psychedelic therapy. Namely neurobiological change and subjective experience, warning against the “overmystification” of subjective experience and calling for rigorous investigation of both.
After decades of prohibition, research into compounds such as psilocybin, MDMA, and esketamine have been revived due to their promising effects in, among others, depression, anxiety, and PTSD. The authors discuss whether the often profound experiences during a psychedelic session are necessary for therapeutic benefit. A meta-analysis shows only a moderate association between the intensity of these experiences and clinical improvement.
“For psychedelic medicine to reach its full potential, it must be grounded neither in mysticism nor in biological reductionism, but in rigorous empiricism”.
Dahan and colleagues argue that neurobiological change and subjective experience likely reinforce each other’s effects. Yet neither is sufficient on its own. The researchers call for a scientific approach that rigorously investigates both biological and psychological processes without falling into mysticism or reductionism. Jack Dahan: “For psychedelic medicine to reach its full potential, it must be grounded neither in mysticism nor in biological reductionism, but in rigorous empiricism”. Only then can this type of therapy be responsibly and effectively integrated into mainstream clinical psychiatry.
Dahan, J.D.C., Zantvoord, J.B., Lok, A., Scheepstra, K.W.F. Overmystifying the Psychedelic Experience. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online October 29, 2025. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.3032