Five years ago, a group of patients with clinical depression participated in a therapy trial for psilocybin, the psychedelic substance produced by over 200 species of mushrooms.
The study, published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, involved two participant groups, with one receiving treatment immediately and the other receiving it after a short waiting period. Ultimately, both groups took two doses of psilocybin alongside 13 hours of psychotherapy.
In 2025, the majority of participants did a follow-up study, and the results were overwhelmingly positive: Two-thirds of trial participants were in “complete remission” from depression.
“We found that 67% were in remission at five years, compared to 58% at one year,” the study’s lead author, Professor Alan Davis, told Ohio State News.
Davis, who serves as the director at The Ohio State University’s Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education, also said that the majority of patients also saw reduced anxiety and improved well-being “across the board.”
There was good news even for patients who weren’t entirely “symptom-free.” Select patients struggling with “debilitating” depression reported that their depression felt “more situational and manageable” — even years later.
“Five years later, most people continued to view this treatment as safe, meaningful, important, and something that catalyzed an ongoing betterment of their life,” Davis emphasized. “I think this is a sign that regardless of what the outcomes are, their lives were improved because they participated in something like this.”
A version of this article originally appeared in the 2026 Mental Health Edition of the Goodnewspaper.
Header image via PickPik
