Psychedelic drug receives approval to be tested as depression treatment

"Then the [psychotherapy] session afterwards is the letting-things-settle piece of things – it helps you to make sense of those thoughts and puts you back on the right track. We think this could be a treatment for a number of depressive disorders besides major depression, including PTSD, treatment-resistant depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and possibly some types of substance abuse."

The Beckley Foundation, based in Oxfordshire, designs and develops psychedelic drug research to inform global drugs policy.

"I myself don't find DMT to be a very lovable compound, but it is definitely an interesting study to do. It is a harsher compound than other psychedelics like psilocybin or LSD, where the experience is more like a flower opening and receiving what's already inside you," said founder and director of Beckley Foundation, Amanda Feilding. 

"DMT triggers a strong [psychedelic trip], where people experience what they call 'the entities' – they meet beings who seem to be real, like being in a dream. But it can rather take one over."

It is hoped the initial trial, which could start in January, will establish the lowest dose of DMT that elicits a psychedelic experience. There will be 32 healthy participants, who have not previously taken a psychedelic drug. This will be followed by a study involving 36 people diagnosed with clinical depression.