Psychedelic substances are to be trialled as part of a treatment for people suffering from chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Israel’s Health Ministry has announced.
Israel has been faced with soaring demand for mental health services since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023 and the subsequent wars.
A recent study found that as many as one in five Israelis continue to experience severe disruption to their daily lives because of the impact on their mental health.
The trial will be integrated into psychotherapy for patients who have not responded to other treatments, the Times of Israel reported the Health Ministry as saying.
Substances to be trialled will be MDMA – known as ecstasy in its recreational drug form – and psilocybin, which is commonly associated with “magic mushrooms”.
Hundreds of patients will take part in the trial which will run for several years, according to the ministry.
MAPS Israel is an Israeli non-profit organisation which aims to develop psychedelic research and educational programmes.
On its website, it details its work with October 7 survivors and says recent research has led to “breakthrough results” in using the treatment.
There has been growing evidence that psychedelics can have a dramatic effect on PTSD, which according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) is three times more likely to occur in people exposed to violent conflict or war.
A small pilot study in the US recently revealed that military veterans whose PTSD did not respond to conventional treatments went into remission after being treated with psilocybin.
While it remains a controlled drug in most countries, Australia and Switzerland both allow its use in certain controlled mental health settings.
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