Quality of reporting on psychological interventions in psychedelic treatments: a systematic review

Although studies of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy are accumulating, there is no consensus regarding best practice of the psychotherapeutic component. In this systematic review, we summarised the quality of reporting on psychological interventions in research about psychedelic treatments. The design followed PRISMA guidelines and was preregistered in PROSPERO (CRD42022319221). We searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Embase for original studies on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and included 45 studies assessing psilocybin, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), lysergic acid diethylamide (known as LSD), or ayahuasca, for the treatment of mental disorders. Psychological interventions were done heterogeneously across studies, and completeness of information reported about these interventions was mostly low, according to an adaptation of the Template for Intervention Description and Replication checklist. In studies including MDMA, psychotherapy was more homogeneous and more procedural details were provided. Improved reporting on psychological interventions of psychedelic treatments will support replicability, generalisability, and accurate interpretation of research, while enhancing feasibility and safety of future clinical research and real-world implementation of treatments.