Frontline Clinician Psilocybin Study

A Randomized, Placebo-controlled Trial of Psychedelic-assisted Psychotherapy With Single Dose Psilocybin for Frontline Clinicians Experiencing COVID-related Symptoms of Depression and Burnout

This study aims to investigate the effects of a single dose of psilocybin, delivered in the contextof pre- and post-dose psychotherapy, on symptoms of depression and burnout suffered by healthcare clinicians as a result of frontline work in the COVID pandemic.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Depression; COVID-19; Burnout, Professional; Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; Burnout, Caregiver; Moral Injury
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Psilocybin (Usona Institute); Drug: Active placebo

Detailed Description

Aim 1:

To assess short- and longer-term effects of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) on symptoms of depression experienced by physicians and nurses with frontline work exposure in the COVID pandemic.

Hypothesis 1.1: Compared to active placebo, PAP will result in short term improvement in symptoms of depression 1 day and 1 week after the psilocybin dose session. Hypothesis 1.2: Compared to active placebo, PAP will result in longer term improvement of symptoms of depression 4 weeks after the medication dosing session. The primary outcome will be a comparison between the psilocybin 25 mg vs control groups of a combination of depression symptoms measured at 4 weeks post medication dose session. 1.1.2. Aim 2: To explore short- and longer-term effects of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) on symptoms of burnout experienced by physicians and nurses with frontline work exposure in the COVID pandemic. Hypothesis 2.1: Compared to active placebo, PAP will result in short term improvement in symptoms of burnout 1 day and 1 week after the psilocybin dose session.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 30
• Phase: Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Washington
    • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98195
      • University of Washington

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Participants must be physicians or nurses with at least 1 month of frontline clinical experience during the COVID pandemic who rate at least 2 of 4 items from the COVID Exposure index as 'more than half the days' during their peak 2 week period of exposure: i. Caring for someone critically ill with COVID-19, or who became critically ill while you were involved; ii. Working longer hours than usual in order to provide assistance or care to individuals with COVID-19; iii. Witnessing or responding to a death related to COVID-19, or losing a patient you had been caring for to COVID-19; iv. Caring for patients who have died without family physically present due to COVID-19 precautions
2. Have a Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) clinician-administered depression score >21, indicating moderately severe symptoms.
3. Have had persistent symptoms despite at least one medication and/or therapy trial of standard care treatment for depression.
4. English speaking - able to understand the process of consent and the risk and benefits associated with the study, and able to give written informed consent.
5. Must be willing to sign a medical release for the investigators to communicate directly with their therapist and doctors to confirm a medication and/or medical history. This is decided on a case-by-case basis upon the discretion of the PI.
6. Must be driven home after the medication dosing session by a driver (which could be a friend, family, rideshare or taxi).
7. Must provide at least one adult to have continuous contact with the participant, provide participant transportation, monitor changes in the participant's behavior, and notify research staff of behavior changes.
8. Has been off selective serotonin inhibitors (SSRIs) for at least five half-lives of the drug plus 2 weeks.
9. Must avoid taking any psychiatric medications or starting a new psychiatric medication during the study. Should participant's doctor recommend starting a new psychiatric medication, participant will be required to notify the study team and the subject would withdraw from the study
10. Must provide a contact (relative, spouse, close friend or other caregiver) who is willing and able to be reached by the Clinical Investigators in the event of a participant becoming suicidal.
11. If able to bear children, must have a negative pregnancy test at study entry.
12. Are willing to commit to preparation sessions, medication dosing sessions, integration sessions, to complete evaluation instruments and commit to be contacted for all necessary telephone contacts.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Personal or immediate family history of schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, delusion disorder, paranoid disorder, or schizoaffective disorder.
2. Suicidal ideation with a Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) > 3
3. Current substance abuse disorder (except in the case of mild alcohol use )
4. Neuroleptic and SSRI medications that cannot be tapered and discontinued in conjunction with the participant's prescribing physician.
5. Unstable neurological or medical condition; history of seizure, chronic/severe headaches.
6. Positive urine pregnancy test at the time of screening
7. Any unstable medical condition that my render study procedures unsafe.
8. Any use of psychedelic drugs within the prior 12 months.
9. Use of tramadol, due to the potential for serotonin syndrome with concomitant use of psilocybin.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Psilocybin arm; psychedelic assisted psychotherapy + 25mg psilocybin	Drug: Psilocybin (Usona Institute); PAP + psilocybin 25 mg; Other Names: Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP)
Active Comparator: Placebo; Psychedelic assisted psychotherapy + 250mg niacin	Drug: Active placebo; PAP + niacin 250mg; Other Names: PAP with placebo

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale	Assesses symptoms of depression (clinician-assessed): minimum score 0, max 60; higher score indicates more severe symptoms	4-weeks post psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Stanford Fulfillment Index	Assesses professional burnout in 3 components that are scored separately (professional fulfillment, interpersonal disengagement, work exhaustion)	1,4,8,12,24 -weeks post psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy
Beck Depression Index	Assess self-reported symptoms of depression: minimum score 0, max 63; higher score indicates more severe symptoms of depression	1, 4, 8, 12, 24-weeks post-psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy
Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale	Assesses symptoms of depression (clinician-assessed): minimum score 0, max 60; higher score indicates more severe symptoms	24 weeks post-psilocybin in the randomized phase psilocybin arm
PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL5)	Assesses symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder; minimum score 0, max 80; higher scores indicate more severe symptoms of PTSD	4 weeks post-psilocybin or placebo session
Moral Injury Symptom Scale	Assesses symptoms of moral injury: minimum score 10, max 100; higher score indicates more severe symptoms	4, 24 weeks post-psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Washington
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Anthony Back, MD, University of Washington

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 3, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 30, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): June 30, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 6, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 6, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): December 20, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 10, 2025
• Last Verified: March 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: psilocybin; psychedelic assisted psychotherapy
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Mental Disorders; Behavioral Symptoms; Stress, Psychological; Occupational Diseases; Burnout, Psychological; Occupational Stress; Caregiver Burden; Depression; Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Burnout, Professional; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Psychotropic Drugs; Hallucinogens; Psilocybin
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY00013891

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: IPD that underlie results in a publication
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: We anticipate sharing these data starting with publication of study results and for at least 3 years.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: To be determined.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No