NCT07373535

Understanding Music and Mindfulness Preferences in Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy

Toward Patient-Tailored Care for Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Pilot Patient-Preference Clinical Trial of Music and Mindfulness in Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: Phase 2
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 16 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Kyle Greenway · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 21 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The goal of this pilot clinical trial is to learn whether it is feasible to individually tailor psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) for people with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) based on their personal preferences. The study also aims to explore whether two different psychotherapy styles, music-centered and mindfulness-centered, influence how people respond to psilocybin treatment. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Is it feasible to conduct a patient-preference randomized trial of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy? * Does receiving a preferred psychotherapy style improve treatment experiences or outcomes? * How do music-centered and mindfulness-centered PAP approaches compare in their effects on improving mood and well-being? Researchers will compare music-centered PAP to mindfulness-centered PAP to see if aligning psychotherapy with individual preferences is a practical and potentially beneficial approach for improving treatment efficacy and tolerability. Participants will: * Be adults with treatment-resistant depression * Receive two 25 mg psilocybin (PEX010, Filament Health) sessions, spaced four weeks apart * Experience one session with music-centered psychotherapy and one with mindfulness-centered psychotherapy * Before treatment, rate their preference for the two psychotherapy approaches * Be randomly assigned to receive their preferred or non-preferred approach first, followed by the other * Complete preparation and integration sessions before and after each psilocybin session This feasibility trial will also collect information on participants' cultural and personal factors influencing psychotherapy preferences using a modified Cultural Formulation Interview, and explore physiological measures of therapeutic alliance, an important factor in psychotherapy outcomes.

Detailed description

Depression is one of the top causes of disability worldwide. Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) is an emerging treatment for Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD) that pairs one or two doses of psilocybin, a serotonergic psychedelic, with a brief course of psychotherapy. While multiple studies of PAP have found safe, rapid, and lasting antidepressant effects, much remains unknown about how to optimize this promising intervention's psychotherapy component. This pilot study aims to explore a novel strategy for improving the efficacy and tolerability of PAP: individually-tailoring its psychotherapy based on patient preferences for two important nonpharmacological treatment elements: music and mindfulness. These core treatment components were selected based on their ubiquitousness in psilocybin studies and their potential for significant patient preference effects. The investigators will conduct a patient-preference randomized clinical trial where 16 patients with TRD will receive two doses of psilocybin (PEX010, Filament Health, 25mg). For each patient, one psilocybin dose will be administered with music-centered psychological support and the other with mindfulness-centered psychological support. In the first 4-week phase, patients will be asked to rate their preferences for these different psychotherapeutic approaches. Patients will then be 50:50 randomized to first receive either their preferred or their non-preferred treatment approach. In a second 4-week crossover phase, patients will receive the other treatment approach. All patients will thus undergo both music-centered and mindfulness-centered PAP interventions, but in an order dictated by their preferences and randomization. Each treatment phase entails pre-treatment and post-treatment psychotherapy following standard protocols. Similar patient-preference clinical trial designs have shown that preferences can significantly influence the efficacy and tolerability of existing psychiatric treatments. The primary aim of this pilot trial is to examine this design's feasibility for exploring such preference effects in PAP, which the investigators hypothesize will be substantial. As secondary aims, the trial will generate preliminary estimates about the magnitude of preference effects, compare the music- and mindfulness-centered approaches, and yield qualitative data about the diverse sociocultural factors that influence patient preferences, including with a modified Cultural Formulation Interview administered at baseline. An additional exploratory aim is to examine novel physiological measures of therapeutic alliance, a crucial factor in psychiatric care. Depression affects millions of Canadians and new treatments are sorely needed. This line of research seeks to produce systematic approaches to tailoring the psychotherapy of PAP for TRD. Its ultimate goal is to improve this promising intervention's efficacy, safety, and applicability to diverse populations.

Conditions

• Treatment-Resistant Major Depressive Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	Psilocybin 25mg	Psilocybin 25mg
OTHER	Music-centered psilocybin-assisted therapy	Psilocybin therapy emphasizing the use of music.
OTHER	Mindfulness-centered psilocybin-assisted therapy	Psilocybin therapy emphasizing the use of guided mindfulness.

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-01-01
• Primary completion: 2028-07-01
• Completion: 2028-12-01
• First posted: 2026-01-28
• Last updated: 2026-01-28

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: Canada