Religious or Spiritual ProblemPhase 1NCT02421263
The Effects of Psilocybin-Facilitated Experience on the Psychology and Effectiveness of Religious Professionals
A Phase 1 study testing Psilocybin in people with Religious or Spiritual Problem, run by NYU Langone Health at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The current protocol is a pilot study of the effects and possible utility of psilocybin-facilitated experiences for professional religious leaders. We hypothesize that religious professionals, given their interests, training, and life experience, will be able to make nuanced discriminations of their psilocybin… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 25 to 76 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Religious or Spiritual Problem
- What is being tested?
- Psilocybin
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 12 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- Apr 2015to 5 Jun 2020
- Phase
- Phase 1
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 25 to 76 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- 25 to 76 years old
- Have given written informed consent
- College graduation or equivalent and graduate/professional training.
- Recognized leadership position in a well-established religious organization; professional activities must include significant time interacting with those seeking religious/spiritual guidance or support.
- During the next two years there is no foreseen likelihood for a major potentially life-altering event for her or himself or a close family member (e.g. retirement or major career change for the volunteer; life-threatening illness of a spouse or child of the volunteer)
- Agree to consume approximately the same amount of caffeine-containing beverage (e.g., coffee, tea) that he/she consumes on a usual morning, before arriving at the research unit on the mornings of psilocybin session days. If the participant does not routinely consume caffeinated beverages, he/she must agree not to do so on session days.
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- Agree to refrain from using any psychoactive drugs, including alcoholic beverages and nicotine, 24 hours before and after each drug administration. The exception is caffeine. Participants will be required to be either a non-smoker or a non-daily smoker.
- Agree not to take any PRN medications on the mornings of drug sessions
- Agree not to take sildenafil (Viagra®), tadalafil, or similar medications within 72 hours of each drug administration.
- Agree that for one week before each drug session, he/she will refrain from taking any nonprescription medication, nutritional supplement, or herbal supplement except when approved by the study investigators. Exceptions will be evaluated by the study investigators and will include acetaminophen, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and common doses of vitamins and minerals.
- Have no or limited lifetime use of hallucinogens. Preference will be given to enrolling volunteers with no prior use. If we decide to enroll a volunteer with prior use, preference will be given for those who report the fewest exposures or the least enduring effects from such use.
Who cannot join
- General medical exclusion criteria for religious professionals:
- Women who are pregnant (as indicated by a positive urine pregnancy test assessed at intake and before each drug session) or nursing; women who are of child-bearing potential and sexually active who are not practicing an effective means of birth control.
- Cardiovascular conditions: coronary artery disease, stroke, angina, uncontrolled hypertension, a clinically significant ECG abnormality (e.g., symptomatic atrial fibrilation), or TIA in the past year
- Epilepsy with history of seizures
- Insulin-dependent diabetes; if taking oral hypoglycemic agent, then no history of hypoglycemia
- Currently taking psychoactive prescription medication on a regular (e.g., daily) basis
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- Currently taking on a regular (e.g., daily) basis any medications having a primary centrally-acting pharmacological effect on serotonin neurons or medications that are MAO inhibitors. For individuals who have intermittent or PRN use of such medications, psilocybin sessions will not be conducted until at least 5 half-lives of the agent have elapsed after the last dose.
- More than 20% outside the upper or lower range of ideal body weight according to Metropolitan Life height and weight table
- Psychiatric Exclusion Criteria for religious professionals:
- Current or past history of meeting DSM-5 criteria for Schizophrenia, Psychotic Disorder (unless substance-induced or due to a medical condition), or Bipolar I or II Disorder
- Current or past history within the last 5 years of meeting DSM-5 criteria for alcohol or substance use disorder (excluding caffeine and nicotine) or severe major depression
- Have a first or second-degree relative with Schizophrenia, Psychotic Disorder (unless substance induced or due to a medical condition), or Bipolar I or II Disorder
- Has a psychiatric condition judged to be incompatible with establishment of rapport or safe exposure to psilocybin
- History of violent or suicidal behavior
- Family history of completed suicide
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
NYU Langone Medical Center/Tisch Hospital
New York, New York, 10016
About this study
Official title: A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effects of Psilocybin-Facilitated Experience on the Psychology and Effectiveness of Professional Leaders in Religion
The current protocol is a pilot study of the effects and possible utility of psilocybin-facilitated experiences for professional religious leaders. We hypothesize that religious professionals, given their interests, training, and life experience, will be able to make nuanced discriminations of their psilocybin experiences, thus contributing to the scientific understanding of mystical-type experience. As we better characterize the phenomenology of psilocybin-induced mystical experiences, we may apply this knowledge to improve potential treatment studies in the future. A primary objective is to investigate changes in psychological functioning, spirituality, health, well-being, prosocial attitudes and behavior in professional religious leaders that may occur after receiving psilocybin under supportive conditions. A secondary objective is to determine whether participants who report having had the strongest mystical-type effects during psilocybin sessions will show the largest positive changes in the Interim Questionnaire.
Read the detailed description
This randomized-controlled pilot study uses a wait-list control design. A wait-list design includes a control group that is assigned to a waiting list to receive an intervention after the active treatment group does. In this study, the active group will receive the psilocybin at weeks 5 and 9 and the wait-list control group will receive psilocybin at weeks 30 and 34. The wait-list control group serves the purpose of providing an untreated comparison for the active treatment group, while at the same time allowing the wait-list participants an opportunity to obtain the intervention at a later date.
This study's procedures include screening, preparatory meetings, psilocybin sessions, and follow-up assessments. A large battery of behavioral and psychological measures will be assessed throughout. The study team will consent and enroll up to 86 subjects to obtain a total of 12 completer participants as well as 2-3 family members or friends per study participant who can assess said completers on the Observer Rating Form (COM-R). This number will account for screen-failures and dropouts as well. The 12 participants will be randomly assigned to either an immediate participation group (N=6) or a 6-month delayed participation group (N=6). Although statistical power calculations show that 12 participants will be sufficient to detect the major effects anticipated in this study, the sponsor of this study (The Council on Spiritual Practices) is concurrently funding Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to conduct a methodologically identical study with 12 additional participants (IND #59009). This will permit the two sites to collaborate post study completion and combine the data from the two studies to provide statistical power to detect even more subtle effects of the psilocybin intervention. Twelve volunteers (6 from each group) will participate at Johns Hopkins and 12 at New York University. Randomization and data analysis will be conducted at New York University.
- Conditions
- Religious or Spiritual Problem
- Being tested
- Psilocybin
- Keywords
- Psilocybin, Pharmacologic Actions, Psychotropic Drugs
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
PsilocybinDrug
Participants will receive 20 mg/70 kg of psilocybin in the first session and will receive either 20 or 30 mg/70 kg in the second session.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Immediate Participation Group | Experimental | Participants will begin psilocybin intervention immediately after study enrollment. Receives: Drug: Psilocybin |
| Delayed Participation Group | Active comparator | Participants will begin the psilocybin intervention 6 months after study enrollment. Receives: Drug: Psilocybin |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Interim Questionnaire
This questionnaire asks about experiences and changes in attitudes, mood and behavior that occurred during the past 5 months. The questionnaire includes questions about salient spiritual experiences, changes in spiritual practices, changes in attitudes, moods, social interactions, and other behaviors related to participants' religious/spiritual vocation.
Measured: 6-Months after enrollment
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted20 Apr 2015 (estimated)
- Study startApr 2015
- Primary completion5 Jun 2020
- Study completion5 Jun 2020
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Religious or Spiritual ProblemStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by NYU Langone HealthThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase 1
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 12 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- NYU Langone Health
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Anthony Bossis, PhD, Study director, New York UniversityStephen Ross, MD, Principal investigator, New York University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02421263
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 14-01169
- Status last verified
- Feb 2022
- First submitted
- 15 Apr 2015
- Last updated
- 14 Feb 2022
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- Yes
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 14 Feb 2022. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effects of Psilocybin-Facilitated Experience on the Psychology and Effectiveness of Professional Leaders in Religion
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02421263
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 14-01169
- Conditions
- Religious or Spiritual Problem
- Keywords
- Psilocybin, Pharmacologic Actions, Psychotropic Drugs
- Phase
- Phase 1
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 12 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- NYU Langone HealthUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- Apr 2015 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 5 Jun 2020 (actual)
- Study completion
- 5 Jun 2020 (actual)
- First posted
- 20 Apr 2015 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The current protocol is a pilot study of the effects and possible utility of psilocybin-facilitated experiences for professional religious leaders. We hypothesize that religious professionals, given their interests, training, and life experience, will be able to make nuanced discriminations of their psilocybin experiences, thus contributing to the scientific understanding of mystical-type experience. As we better characterize the phenomenology of psilocybin-induced mystical experiences, we may apply this knowledge to improve potential treatment studies in the future. A primary objective is to investigate changes in psychological functioning, spirituality, health, well-being, prosocial attitudes and behavior in professional religious leaders that may occur after receiving psilocybin under supportive conditions. A secondary objective is to determine whether participants who report having had the strongest mystical-type effects during psilocybin sessions will show the largest positive changes in the Interim Questionnaire.
Detailed description
This randomized-controlled pilot study uses a wait-list control design. A wait-list design includes a control group that is assigned to a waiting list to receive an intervention after the active treatment group does. In this study, the active group will receive the psilocybin at weeks 5 and 9 and the wait-list control group will receive psilocybin at weeks 30 and 34. The wait-list control group serves the purpose of providing an untreated comparison for the active treatment group, while at the same time allowing the wait-list participants an opportunity to obtain the intervention at a later date.
This study's procedures include screening, preparatory meetings, psilocybin sessions, and follow-up assessments. A large battery of behavioral and psychological measures will be assessed throughout. The study team will consent and enroll up to 86 subjects to obtain a total of 12 completer participants as well as 2-3 family members or friends per study participant who can assess said completers on the Observer Rating Form (COM-R). This number will account for screen-failures and dropouts as well. The 12 participants will be randomly assigned to either an immediate participation group (N=6) or a 6-month delayed participation group (N=6). Although statistical power calculations show that 12 participants will be sufficient to detect the major effects anticipated in this study, the sponsor of this study (The Council on Spiritual Practices) is concurrently funding Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to conduct a methodologically identical study with 12 additional participants (IND #59009). This will permit the two sites to collaborate post study completion and combine the data from the two studies to provide statistical power to detect even more subtle effects of the psilocybin intervention. Twelve volunteers (6 from each group) will participate at Johns Hopkins and 12 at New York University. Randomization and data analysis will be conducted at New York University.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Immediate Participation Group | Experimental | Drug: PsilocybinParticipants will begin psilocybin intervention immediately after study enrollment. |
| Delayed Participation Group | Active comparator | Drug: PsilocybinParticipants will begin the psilocybin intervention 6 months after study enrollment. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 25 to 76 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (11 listed)
Key exclusion criteria (15 listed)
- General medical exclusion criteria for religious professionals:
- Current or past history of meeting DSM-5 criteria for Schizophrenia, Psychotic Disorder (unless substance-induced or due to a medical condition), or Bipolar I or II Disorder
- Current or past history within the last 5 years of meeting DSM-5 criteria for alcohol or substance use disorder (excluding caffeine and nicotine) or severe major depression
- Have a first or second-degree relative with Schizophrenia, Psychotic Disorder (unless substance induced or due to a medical condition), or Bipolar I or II Disorder
- Has a psychiatric condition judged to be incompatible with establishment of rapport or safe exposure to psilocybin
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| PsilocybinParticipants will receive 20 mg/70 kg of psilocybin in the first session and will receive either 20 or 30 mg/70 kg in the second session. | Drug | Delayed Participation Group, Immediate Participation Group |
Primary outcome
Interim Questionnaire
Time frame: 6-Months after enrollment
This questionnaire asks about experiences and changes in attitudes, mood and behavior that occurred during the past 5 months. The questionnaire includes questions about salient spiritual experiences, changes in spiritual practices, changes in attitudes, moods, social interactions, and other behaviors related to participants' religious/spiritual vocation.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 14 Feb 2022.
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Anthony Bossis, PhD study director
New York University
Stephen Ross, MD principal investigator
New York University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A Phase 1 study testing Psilocybin in people with Religious or Spiritual Problem, run by NYU Langone Health at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 11 inclusion and 15 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 14 Feb 2022. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
What does this phase mean?
Phase 1 studies test a treatment in a small group of people for the first time or in a new way, mainly to check safety and find the right dose.
Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Interim Questionnaire (time frame: 6-Months after enrollment). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 14 Feb 2022.