Safety and efficacy of lysergic acid diethylamide-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety associated with life-threatening…
(Historical context record — first modern LSD trial after a 40-year freeze.)
Suggestive but preliminary. Not settled. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: N=12 with 8 vs 4 allocation; MAPS-affiliated authorship; included for historical significance.
Two positive phase 3 toplines in 2026 (MDD, GAD) — press-release-stage, not peer reviewed or FDA reviewed. Breakthrough Therapy designation Mar 2024 (GAD).
Historical anchor: in a 12-patient double-blind pilot (200 µg vs 20 µg active placebo), LSD-assisted psychotherapy reduced state anxiety at 2 months (p=0.021) with reductions reported sustained at 12 months — a safety-and-feasibility signal, far too small to establish efficacy.
Worth asking
(Historical context record — first modern LSD trial after a 40-year freeze.)
Source
Safety and efficacy of lysergic acid diethylamide-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases — Gasser P, et al. (2014)
Reputable peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000000113
DOI: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000000113
How this was scored
- Study design
- Randomised controlled trial
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
- Published in
- Reputable peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 12
- Preregistered
- No
- Conflicts disclosed
- not recorded
- Independent of proponent
- No
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "early signal". Suggestive but preliminary. Not settled. It scores 50 out of 100 on our published rubric. One caveat travels with that badge: N=12 with 8 vs 4 allocation; MAPS-affiliated authorship; included for historical significance. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Safety and efficacy of lysergic acid diethylamide-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases — Gasser P, et al. (2014). Published in: Reputable peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000000113. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Randomised controlled trial. Funding: Funding not disclosed. The researchers were not independent of whoever benefits from the result. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is lsd, lysergide FDA approved for this use?
No. Its current status is: Phase 3 trials. Two positive phase 3 toplines in 2026 (MDD, GAD) — press-release-stage, not peer reviewed or FDA reviewed. Breakthrough Therapy designation Mar 2024 (GAD).
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.