Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
Major depressive disorder is the most common form of depression and, somewhat unexpectedly, the place where psilocybin has its strongest randomised evidence: the landmark trials enrolled people with major depression who were not treatment-resistant. Yet no psychedelic is approved for general major depression, and esketamine, the one approved rapid-acting drug, is licensed only for the resistant form and for depression with acute suicidality. The honest reading is genuine promise set against modest, hard-to-blind effects and a head-to-head with a standard antidepressant that ended in a draw. This page covers general, first-line major depression; the resistant subset and the family overview have their own pages.
How are psychedelics being studied for major depressive disorder? Major depressive disorder is a common condition of persistent low mood, reduced motivation and loss of pleasure that significantly affects daily life. The most developed psychedelic research uses psilocybin in a small number of supervised sessions with psychological support, where trials have reported meaningful reductions in symptoms, sometimes after a single dose, with Phase III studies now running. Ketamine and esketamine offer a faster, separate route and are already used for some cases that have not responded to standard treatment. The approach relies on supported sessions rather than daily dosing, which makes the surrounding therapy important. The evidence is promising but still maturing, with questions about who benefits, how long benefit lasts and how it compares with established antidepressants. Blossom tracks the trials and papers behind this research so you can read the evidence directly.
Data updated
Key Insights
- 1
Major depressive disorder is the most common depressive disorder and a leading cause of disability worldwide. This page covers general, first-line major depression; the treatment-resistant subset and the depression family as a whole are on their own pages.
- 2
The unmet need is real: in the large STAR*D study only about a third of people reached remission on their first antidepressant, and even after up to four sequential treatment steps a substantial minority never did. That gap, not a failure of existing drugs, is what novel treatments are trying to fill.
- 3
Counter-intuitively, general major depression is where psilocybin has its best randomised evidence. The landmark trials enrolled people with major depression who were not treatment-resistant, including a 2023 study in which a single 25 mg dose produced a large drop in depression scores versus placebo in 104 people.
- 4
No classic psychedelic is approved for major depression. Esketamine is approved, but only for treatment-resistant depression and for major depression with acute suicidal ideation, not for uncomplicated first-line MDD. Off-label intravenous ketamine is used similarly.
- 5
The most rigorous recent analyses are sobering. A head-to-head trial against the antidepressant escitalopram was not significant on its primary outcome, and 2025 to 2026 analyses suggest psilocybin’s edge is inflated because patients can tell they got the drug. The realistic picture is promising but unproven for general MDD.
By the numbers
- 313
- Trials tracked
- 397
- Papers tracked
- 28,681
- Trial participants
as of June 2026
as of June 2026
as of June 2026
Questions & Answers
The questions readers most often ask about Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), answered with the data Blossom tracks.
Can a single psilocybin dose treat major depression?
Some trials report meaningful improvement after one or two supervised psilocybin sessions, but durability varies and larger studies are ongoing. Blossom tracks the trials and outcomes.
How does psilocybin compare with standard antidepressants?
Early placebo-controlled and head-to-head trials are encouraging, but the evidence is still maturing and comparisons are limited. Blossom lists the relevant studies.
What is Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)?
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most common depressive disorder: a condition of persistent low mood and loss of interest or pleasure lasting at least two weeks, alongside changes in sleep, appetite, energy, concentration and self-worth, severe enough to interfere with daily life. It is one of the largest health burdens in the world. The World Health Organization estimates that around 280 million people live with depression, and that it is a leading cause of disability worldwide[1], with major depression making up the bulk of that total.
This page is about general, first-line major depression: depression as most people first encounter and treat it, before the label of "treatment-resistant" applies. That scope matters, because it is a different evidence question from the others in the depression family. Here the comparison that counts is against existing antidepressants in people who have not exhausted them, rather than against placebo in people who have run out of options.
For depression that has not responded to standard antidepressants, where the regulatory approvals and the most advanced psychedelic trials sit, see treatment-resistant depression. For the big-picture overview of the whole depression family, the two rapid-acting paradigms, and how the pieces fit together, see the depressive disorders hub page.
Current Treatments
First-line care for major depression is well established and works for many people: psychological therapies (such as cognitive behavioural therapy and interpersonal therapy) and antidepressant medicines, chiefly SSRIs and SNRIs, used alone or together depending on severity. These are effective, widely available and the right starting point, and any honest account of newer treatments has to begin by saying so.
But the standard pathway has a well-documented ceiling. In the large, real-world STAR*D study, only about a third of patients (roughly 37%) reached remission on their first antidepressant, with each subsequent medication step helping fewer people, so that even after up to four sequential steps a meaningful minority never remitted[1]. Add the weeks antidepressants take to work, the side effects, and the high rate of relapse, and you have the gap that rapid-acting and psychedelic treatments are trying to fill. The motivation is not that current treatments fail, but that they leave too many people only partly well.
The newer approaches are interesting because they are shaped differently. Ketamine and esketamine act within hours rather than weeks; the classic psychedelics aim for a durable shift from one or a few supervised sessions paired with therapy. For general major depression, though, none of the classic psychedelics is approved, and the evidence below should be read as investigational, not as an alternative you can ask for today.
This report summarises what Blossom’s database shows about psychedelic and rapid-acting treatments for general major depressive disorder, the most common form of depression, and what it does not show. The short version is a useful surprise: general MDD, not the treatment-resistant subset, is where psilocybin has its strongest randomised evidence, because the landmark trials enrolled people who were not treatment-resistant. Yet no psychedelic is approved for major depression, the one approved rapid-acting drug is licensed only for adjacent indications, and the clearest comparison against a standard antidepressant was a draw.
A note before the evidence
This page is a research summary, not medical advice, and nothing here is a treatment recommendation. For general major depression, the established, effective options are psychological therapy and standard antidepressants, and they should be the first port of call. Of the treatments discussed below, none of the classic psychedelics is approved for major depression, and esketamine and off-label ketamine sit later in the pathway. Depression is serious and very treatable; decisions about treatment belong with a qualified clinician, and if you are struggling, please reach out to a health professional or a crisis service now.
A word on scope and numbers. Blossom tracks several hundred papers and trials under this topic, and those counts appear on the page. But the tag is broad: it gathers mechanism and brain-imaging studies, work that overlaps with treatment-resistant and bipolar depression, animal research, and trials where depression is only a secondary measure. So the genuinely first-line-MDD clinical core is a fraction of the headline number. Read the counts as breadth of coverage, not as the size of the clinical evidence base for general major depression.
What general major depression is, and why a gap exists
Major depressive disorder is defined by at least two weeks of persistent low mood or loss of interest, with associated changes in sleep, appetite, energy, concentration and self-worth, severe enough to impair daily functioning. It is common and disabling: the World Health Organization estimates around 280 million people live with depression worldwide[1], most of them with major depression. The first-line treatments, psychotherapy and SSRIs or SNRIs, genuinely help a large number of those people.
The problem is the size of the remainder. The landmark real-world study of sequential treatment, STAR*D, found that only about 37% of patients remitted on their first antidepressant, with each further step helping fewer, so that a substantial minority remained unwell even after up to four steps[2]. Antidepressants also take weeks to act and relapse is common. None of this means existing treatments fail; it means they leave a large group only partly well, and that group, not a wholesale replacement of antidepressants, is the realistic target for anything new.
The counter-intuitive part: general MDD is psilocybin’s best turf
It is natural to assume the strongest psychedelic evidence is in the most severe, most resistant patients. For psilocybin, the opposite is closer to the truth. Its most rigorous positive results come from trials in general major depression. A 2023 multi-site, double-blind trial randomised 104 adults with major depression to a single 25 mg dose of psilocybin or a niacin placebo, both with psychological support, and found a large and rapid reduction in depression scores in the psilocybin group, sustained over six weeks[3]. An earlier waitlist-controlled study of psilocybin-assisted therapy in major depression reported very large effect sizes[4]. These trials, in non-resistant patients, are the field’s headline depression results.
Why does the best evidence sit here rather than in treatment-resistant depression? Partly because general-MDD patients are easier to recruit and study, and partly because the resistant subset is harder to move at all. The practical consequence is that, for once, the page with the strongest randomised psychedelic evidence is the general one, not the specialist one. That makes the limitations below more important, not less.
The comparison that matters: against an antidepressant, not a placebo
For a first-line condition, beating placebo is necessary but not sufficient; the real question is whether a new treatment beats the antidepressants people would otherwise take. On that question the evidence is humbling. In the one head-to-head trial, psilocybin was not significantly better than the antidepressant escitalopram on the study’s primary outcome[5]. Several secondary measures favoured psilocybin, but they were not corrected for multiple comparisons and cannot carry the claim alone. The fair summary is that psilocybin matched, but did not clearly beat, a standard antidepressant.
For general major depression, where escitalopram is a cheap, available, well-understood option, that draw is the single most important data point on this page. It does not make psilocybin worthless; it means the case for using a complex, supervised, psychedelic intervention ahead of, or instead of, a standard antidepressant in first-line patients is not yet made.
The blinding problem, and why headlines mislead
The deepest issue is methodological. A psychedelic dose is unmistakable, so participants, and often their raters, can tell who received the drug, and that expectancy can imitate efficacy. A 2025 analysis found placebo groups in psilocybin depression trials improve far less than placebo groups in antidepressant or esketamine trials, and concluded psilocybin’s effect is overestimated as a result[6]. A 2026 meta-analysis went further: once psychedelic therapy is compared against equally unblinded (open-label) antidepressant treatment, it was no more effective[7].
A small, concrete illustration sits in the LSD evidence. A 2026 Phase 2a study of LSD microdosing in major depression reported a roughly 60% reduction in symptoms[8], a headline-grabbing number, but it was open-label, uncontrolled, and mostly in people already on antidepressants, exactly the design in which expectancy produces large apparent improvements. A separate 2025 dose-comparison trial of LSD-assisted therapy favoured the high dose but lost significance after adjusting for baseline severity[9]. The lesson generalises: in this field, the size of an uncontrolled improvement tells you very little.
What is and is not available for major depression
A practical clarification that often gets blurred: none of the classic psychedelics is approved for major depression anywhere. Esketamine is approved, but only for treatment-resistant depression and for MDD with acute suicidal ideation or behaviour, not for general first-line major depression[10]. Intravenous ketamine is used off-label in a similar, later-line role. So for someone with uncomplicated major depression today, the evidence-based options remain therapy and standard antidepressants; the treatments on this page are, for now, either investigational or reserved for further along the pathway.
Where to read next
Because major depression is one branch of a larger family, the related stories live on dedicated pages. The treatment-resistant depression page covers the subset where the approvals and the most advanced trials sit, including esketamine and the Phase 3 psilocybin programme. The depressive disorders hub page gives the family-level overview: the two rapid-acting paradigms (glutamatergic versus serotonergic), the shared plasticity mechanism, and how general, resistant and bipolar depression differ. Bipolar depression in particular is handled separately, because the same drugs carry very different and more dangerous risks there.
Reading this honestly
So where does general major depression sit? It is, surprisingly, the home of psychedelic medicine’s strongest randomised antidepressant evidence, and that evidence is real: psilocybin reliably beats placebo in people with major depression. But the honest reading holds two things together. Beating placebo is not the same as beating the antidepressants people already have, and on that harder test the result so far is a draw; meanwhile the most rigorous analyses suggest even the placebo-beating advantage is inflated by patients knowing what they took. For people living with major depression, the truthful message is encouraging but unfinished: a genuine new avenue of research, not a first-line treatment you should expect to be offered, and a reminder that the most exciting headline number is rarely the one that survives a fair comparison.
Psychedelic Effect Matrix
Compound efficacy and evidence levels for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).
| Compound | Magnitude | Evidence | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psilocybin The best-evidenced psychedelic for general MDD: a positive single-dose RCT in major depression (2023, n=104) and an earlier waitlist-controlled trial, both in people who were not treatment-resistant. But a head-to-head against escitalopram missed its primary outcome, and 2025 analyses suggest functional unblinding inflates the apparent effect. Not approved for any depression. | Medium | Moderate | Moderate |
| Esketamine The only approved rapid-acting drug, with a large, high-quality trial programme, but crucially not licensed for general MDD: it is approved only for treatment-resistant depression and for MDD with acute suicidal ideation or behaviour. For uncomplicated first-line MDD it has essentially no on-label role. See the treatment-resistant depression page. | Medium | High | High |
| Ketamine Intravenous racemic ketamine is used off-label for depression: rapid antidepressant and anti-suicidal effects within hours, but the benefit fades within days to weeks and needs repeated dosing. Its evidence is strongest in the resistant subset rather than uncomplicated first-line MDD. | Medium | Moderate | Moderate |
| LSD Early and equivocal. A 2025 dose-comparison trial in major depression favoured high-dose LSD but lost significance after adjusting for baseline severity, and a 2026 microdosing study reported a large drop in symptoms but was open-label with no control group. An early signal, not an established treatment. | Small | Low | Low |
| Ayahuasca The one randomised ayahuasca result in depression was in the treatment-resistant subset, not general MDD, so for first-line major depression the specific evidence is essentially absent. Interesting and under-studied, but not something to lean on here. | Small | Low | Low |
Psilocybin and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
Psilocybin is the compound with the strongest randomised case in general major depression, and the reason is easy to miss: its landmark trials enrolled people with major depression who were not treatment-resistant. A 2023 double-blind trial gave 104 adults with major depression a single 25 mg dose or a niacin placebo with psychological support, and found a large reduction in depression scores in the psilocybin group[1], following an earlier waitlist-controlled study that reported very large effect sizes for psilocybin-assisted therapy in major depression[2].
The decisive qualification, for a first-line condition, is the comparison that matters most. When psilocybin was tested directly against the antidepressant escitalopram, it was not significantly better on the trial’s primary outcome[3], and a 2025 analysis concluded its antidepressant effect is overestimated because its placebo groups improve far less than those in antidepressant trials[4]. So psilocybin clearly beats placebo in major depression, but has not yet clearly beaten an existing antidepressant, which is the bar that counts here. It is not approved for any form of depression.
Esketamine and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
Esketamine (the nasal spray Spravato) is the only approved rapid-acting drug discussed here, but it is important to be precise about what it is approved for. Its licensed uses are treatment-resistant depression (as monotherapy since 2025, or alongside an oral antidepressant) and depressive symptoms in MDD with acute suicidal ideation or behaviour, not general first-line major depression[1].
For someone with uncomplicated major depression who has not exhausted standard options, esketamine therefore has essentially no on-label role: it sits a step further along the pathway. It works within hours and has a deep trial programme, but it must be given in a certified clinic with monitoring, and its effect over placebo is modest. The detail belongs on the treatment-resistant depression page; here it mainly marks where the approved rapid-acting option actually begins.
Ketamine and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
Intravenous racemic ketamine is the off-label workhorse of rapid-acting depression treatment: cheaper than esketamine, used in specialist clinics, and able to lift mood and reduce suicidal thoughts within hours. Its plasticity-driven mechanism is the best-characterised of any compound here.
For general major depression, the same two caveats apply as everywhere else. The benefit usually fades within days to weeks unless dosing is repeated, turning a dramatic acute response into an open-ended maintenance commitment, and its strongest evidence is in the resistant subset rather than in people who have not yet tried standard antidepressants. It is a real option, but a specialist, later-line one.
LSD and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
LSD is earlier and thinner in major depression than psilocybin, and the recent evidence is genuinely mixed. A 2025 randomised trial comparing high-dose with low-dose LSD-assisted therapy favoured the high dose but lost statistical significance once baseline severity was accounted for[1], while a 2026 Phase 2a study of LSD microdosing reported a roughly 60% drop in symptoms but was open-label, uncontrolled, and conducted mostly in people already taking antidepressants[2].
The microdosing headline is a useful caution in miniature: a large uncontrolled improvement is exactly what expectancy produces, which is why open-label results in this field have to be read sceptically. Taken together, the LSD evidence in major depression is an early signal worth following in controlled trials, not a treatment.
Ayahuasca and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
Ayahuasca has one genuine randomised result in depression, but it was in the treatment-resistant subset rather than in general major depression, so for the scope of this page the specific evidence is essentially absent. There is some open-label and observational work, but nothing that speaks directly to first-line MDD.
It remains an interesting and badly under-studied compound, with the same unblinding limitation as the rest of the field and the added practical complexity of a culturally embedded plant brew that is hard to standardise. For general major depression it is a question mark, not a contender.
Clinical Outlook
For general major depression specifically, the near-term trajectory is less advanced than the headlines imply. The approvals and the Phase 3 programmes are concentrated in the treatment-resistant subset; in first-line MDD the pivotal question, whether a psychedelic can beat, not just match, an existing antidepressant, has not been answered, and the one direct head-to-head ended in a draw. The 2025 to 2026 unblinding analyses[1] raise the bar further, requiring proof that any advantage survives a fair, equally-blinded comparison.
The realistic outlook for general MDD is therefore cautiously hopeful rather than imminent. Psilocybin has the best randomised evidence of any psychedelic in this population, and trials of psilocybin, LSD-class agents and novel rapid-acting drugs continue. But until a properly controlled study shows a clear edge over standard antidepressants in non-resistant patients, the honest position is that these are promising investigational options, not first-line treatments in waiting.
Industrial Landscape
The commercial and academic energy in depression is real, but for general major depression it is worth noting where that energy is actually pointed. Most of the regulated development, Johnson & Johnson’s esketamine, COMPASS Pathways’ synthetic psilocybin, and the wave of rapid-acting drugs, targets the treatment-resistant subset, because that is where the unmet need is sharpest and the regulatory path clearest. The non-profit Usona Institute ran the major single-dose psilocybin trial in general major depression, which is part of why that result is harder to wave away as marketing.
For an honest broker, the lesson is to watch the gap between where the evidence is strongest (general MDD, for psilocybin versus placebo) and where the money and approvals are heading (the resistant subset). The two do not perfectly overlap, and the most rigorous, least commercially convenient findings, the escitalopram draw and the unblinding analyses, are the ones that should anchor expectations for first-line depression.
Quick Indicators
Related Topics
Organisations
Search →Janssen Research & Development
Janssen Research & Development is the pharmaceutical research and development arm of Johnson & Johnson (J&J). Operating under J&J's Innovative Medicine division, Janssen has sponsored clinical trials into ketamine-derived compounds, including esketamine (Spravato), the first FDA-approved psychedelic-adjacent treatment for treatment-resistant depression.
Clexio Biosciences
Clexio Biosciences is a private Israeli clinical-stage CNS company founded in 2018 by Teva Pharmaceuticals R&D veterans. Their lead programme CLE-100 is a once-daily oral tablet formulation of esketamine for MDD — distinguished from the FDA-approved Spravato (intranasal, in-clinic) by enabling outpatient, at-home use. Phase 2 CLEO study results showed a promising safety profile and encouraging efficacy specifically in post-COVID MDD subgroups; the Phase 2 SOLEO study (NCT06340958, higher dose, stricter treatment-resistance criteria) enrolled first patients April 2024 and reached 50% enrollment by December 2024. CLE-100 holds multiple US method-of-use patents (2024). In December 2025, Clexio spun out its muscarinic agonist programme (CLE-905) into a new entity, Syremis Therapeutics, which raised $165M Series A co-led by Dexcel Pharma and Third Rock Ventures. Co-founders Kogan, Levy, and Kagan simultaneously lead Syremis; Clexio continues independently with CLE-100 and preclinical CLE-043.
Cybin
Cybin Inc. (founded 2019) is a Canadian clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing psychedelic-based therapeutics—now operating as Helus Pharma—focused on proprietary novel serotonergic agonists and deuterated psilocin analogs for mental health conditions.
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University is a public land-grant research university based in Columbus, Ohio, offering undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs and conducting research across many fields. It was founded as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College and serves as a major educational and economic institution in Ohio.
COMPASS Pathways
COMPASS Pathways is a UK-listed biopharmaceutical company developing COMP360 synthetic psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression, with two successful Phase 3 trials making it the leading candidate for the first regulatory approval of a classic psychedelic medicine.
Instituto do Cérebro, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte
The Instituto do Cérebro (Brain Institute, ICe) is an academic research institute of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) in Natal, Brazil, focused on neuroscience research, education and public outreach. It hosts the postgraduate Program in Neurosciences (PGNeuro) and supports related research groups and events.
University Medical Center Groningen
The University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) is the academic hospital affiliated with the University of Groningen, providing tertiary and specialized patient care while conducting medical research and education. It is one of the largest university hospitals in the Netherlands and serves as the main academic medical center for the northern Netherlands.
Definium Therapeutics
Definium Therapeutics (formerly Mind Medicine / MindMed) is a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company headquartered in New York, founded in 2019 and rebranded in January 2026. Led by CEO Robert Barrow, the company applies scientific rigor to psychedelic-derived molecules to develop accessible, rapidly-acting psychiatric treatments. Its lead asset, DT120 ODT (formerly MM-120) — a pharmaceutically optimised formulation of lysergide D-tartrate (LSD) as an orally disintegrating tablet — has received FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and delivered compelling Phase 2b results: 65% clinical response rate and 48% remission at 12 weeks following a single dose. Three Phase 3 trials are currently underway: Voyage and Panorama (GAD) and Emerge (MDD, fully enrolled). Topline data from all three studies is expected in 2026, potentially positioning Definium for the first-ever FDA approval of an LSD-derived therapy. A second pipeline asset, DT402 (formerly MM402) — an MDMA-related compound — is in Phase 1 development for autism spectrum disorder.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
U.S. federal institute setting addiction-research priorities and portfolios, including psychedelic-related investigations.
Delix Therapeutics
Delix Therapeutics is harnessing the power of neuroplastogens, a novel class of compounds designed to bring about a new paradigm in brain health therapeutics with treatments intended to be safe, fast-acting, and long-lasting. Through its discovery platform, Delix has identified non-hallucinogenic versions of psychedelic compounds with favorable safety and therapeutic profiles. The company was co-founded in 2019 by David E. Olson and Nick Haft, building upon Olson's discovery at the University of California, Davis, of several novel psychoplastogens that have significant therapeutic potential in preclinical models, without hallucinogenic side effects. Delix's treatments are designed to address the root cause of neuropsychiatric conditions by repairing the underlying synaptic damage through targeted neuroplasticity. To date, the company has synthesized over 2000 novel psychoplastogens, many of which are analogs of known psychedelics such as ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT. Their lead compound, zalsupindole (DLX-001), produces the same rapid and sustained structural and functional plasticity as ketamine, psilocybin, and DMT, without inducing hallucinations or dissociation. Recent Phase I data have demonstrated that DLX-001 is associated with robust signs of CNS engagement and a favorable safety and tolerability profile, with no serious adverse events reported to date. The company's compounds are tailored for swift neuronal repair and can be taken at-home, providing significant advantages to patients, their loved ones, and healthcare providers. Delix focuses on developing non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogens as scalable alternatives to first-generation hallucinogenic psychoplastogens like ketamine and psilocybin.
Entheon Biomedical
Canadian psychedelic biotech that sold its DMT Phase 1 clinical trial assets to Cybin in 2022. Following the sale, Entheon has operated as a near-shell company with minimal employees and no active drug development programme.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
U.S. federal institute defining mental-health research agendas and evidence-generation priorities including psychedelic-relevant studies.
People
Search →Robin Murphy
Researcher at the University of Auckland School of Pharmacy
She is a coauthor on multiple human psychedelic studies spanning LSD microdosing, sleep, and psilocybin/escitalopram comparisons, making her part of the team contributing to the modern evidence base for psychedelic medicine.
Hartej Gill
Researcher in mood disorders psychopharmacology at the University of Toronto / University Health Network
Notable for coauthoring multiple reviews and meta-analyses on ketamine, esketamine, suicidality, cognition, and psychedelic drug trials in psychiatric research.
Attila Szabo
Researcher in psychoneuroimmunology and psychedelic science; affiliated with the University of Oslo
He is a notable contributor to psychedelic immunology research, including widely cited work on DMT, 5-MeO-DMT, psilocybin, and immune modulation.
Jeanine Kamphuis
Psychiatrist and researcher at the Department for Mood Disorders, University Hospital Groningen (UMCG)
She studies ketamine, esketamine, and classic psychedelics for treatment-resistant psychiatric disorders, including depression, and is a coauthor on multiple psychedelic/ketamine reviews and clinical studies.
Henrik Jungaberle
Dr. sc. hum., CEO and founder of the MIND Foundation; Head of Development at OVID Clinic Berlin
He is a prominent European psychedelic research and implementation figure contributing to psilocybin clinical trials, harm reduction, and healthcare integration work.
Joost Breeksema
Postdoctoral researcher and Executive Director of the OPEN Foundation
He is a prominent psychedelic researcher and advocate whose work helps shape evidence-based psychedelic policy, ethics, and patient-centered understanding of psychedelic and ketamine/esketamine treatments.
Mathieu Seynaeve
Senior Medical Director and Head of Psychotherapy at Beckley Psytech
He is a clinical development leader behind multiple human studies of 5-MeO-DMT and psilocybin, including trials in alcohol use disorder, treatment-resistant depression, and headache disorders.
Kayla Teopiz
Researcher in psychiatry and ketamine/psychedelic medicine research; likely affiliated with the University of Toronto/Trillium Health Partners research network
Teopiz coauthors multiple systematic reviews and clinical studies on ketamine, esketamine, and psilocybin in depression and suicidality, helping synthesize the evidence base for psychedelic and glutamatergic treatments in psychiatry.
Michiel Van Elk
Associate Professor of Cognitive Psychology at Leiden University
Michiel van Elk is a prominent psychedelic science researcher known for rigorous, skeptical work on psilocybin, microdosing, expectancy effects, and the psychological mechanisms and risks of psychedelic experiences.
Jolien Veraart
Psychiatrist and PhD researcher at the University Medical Center Groningen / University of Groningen
She is a leading clinical researcher on ketamine and oral esketamine for treatment-resistant depression, including safety, efficacy, and real-world implementation.
Philippe Lucas
Director, Research and Safe Access at MAPS
He is a prominent Canadian psychedelic and cannabis researcher whose work has helped establish early evidence on ayahuasca-assisted therapy, psychedelic survey research, and harm-reduction policy.
Joshua Di Vincenzo
MSc researcher / clinical research staff member at the University Health Network and University of Toronto
He coauthors multiple systematic reviews and real-world studies on ketamine for treatment-resistant depression, making him a visible contributor to the evidence base on psychedelic-adjacent psychiatric therapeutics.
Connected Evidence
The latest clinical data and verified academic findings associated with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).