The Bloom #180 Free Edition the science is my passion

It is with great sadness and profound gratitude that I want to acknowledge the passing of psychedelic pioneer Amanda Fielding on May 22nd. As the driving force behind the psychedelic research renaissance, her visionary work has left an indelible mark on the field, and she will be dearly missed. See her obituary in The Economist here.

Last month's research was relatively slow, and I've recapped it here.

Floris - Founder of Blossom

ps Researchers are studying connections between psychedelic use, psychological variables, and belief systems to inform future clinical work. Please help advance this important research by completing their brief anonymous survey here: https://forms.gle/MMvppQf8ppbCqSCr8​

pps Missed the inaugural Delphi Insight Session? See the 40-minute replay here.

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Latest Psychedelic Research

1 Effects of Psilocybin on Religious and Spiritual Attitudes and Behaviors in Clergy from Various Major World Religions​

This randomised, waitlist-controlled exploratory study (n=29) of psychedelic-naïve clergy delivered two supported psilocybin sessions (20mg/70kg followed a month later by 20-30mg/70kg). Six months after screening (and still evident 16 months later) the psilocybin group showed sustained improvements in religious practice, leadership effectiveness and overall well-being, with 96 % ranking at least one session among their five most spiritually significant life events and no serious adverse events despite 46 % describing the experience as among their five most challenging.

2 Economic evaluation of subcutaneous ketamine injections for treatment resistant depression: A randomised, double-blind, active-controlled trial - The KADS study​

This cost-utility analysis, alongside a randomized controlled trial (n=174), compared subcutaneous ketamine (twice-weekly for 4 weeks) with midazolam in treatment-resistant depression. Including midazolam costs, ketamine raised QALYs (0.435 vs 0.352) and was dominant with an 89–91 % chance of costing < $50 000/QALY, but once these comparator costs were excluded ketamine was no longer cost-effective (ICER ≈ $108 500–$251 250/QALY, ≤ 5 % probability).

3 Therapeutic emergence of dissociated traumatic memories during psilocybin treatment for anorexia nervosa​

This case study (n=2) of an open-label pilot study (n=10) explores psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for women with anorexia nervosa (AN or partial remission). Two participants experienced the therapeutic emergence of previously dissociated traumatic memories, leading to remission of AN symptoms and meaningful weight gain at 3-month follow-up.

New on Blossom

1 Psychedelic Research Recap May​

Ketamine and psychedelic therapies are moving from experimental treatments to real-world clinical options, but questions about cost-effectiveness and safety remain central to their adoption. This month’s research tackles these practical concerns head-on, with economic studies suggesting ketamine could actually save healthcare systems money when replacing more expensive treatments like electroconvulsive therapy.

Safety data also offers encouraging news. Long-term follow-up of over 1,000 esketamine patients shows the treatment remains both effective and manageable over years of use, while new research reveals how different psychedelics can be safely administered through various routes and formulations.

Perhaps most intriguingly, studies of psilocybin and MDMA are uncovering how these therapies work at a deeper level. Unlike traditional antidepressants that can blunt emotions, psilocybin appears to preserve emotional responsiveness while still treating depression. Meanwhile, MDMA’s benefits for PTSD seem to flow directly through enhanced self-compassion, suggesting that explicitly targeting this mechanism could improve outcomes.

2 Psychedelic Landscape – Request for Feedback​

This page has been updated with your feedback!

For the past six years, Blossom has tracked all psychedelic research and distilled the findings for researchers, clinicians and the curious. Along the way, we noticed a glaring gap: knowing what the science says is only half the story—understanding who can turn that science into real-world impact is the other half. Today, we are closing that gap with the first public draft of our Psychedelic Landscape Map.

Please review it on the site and send me your feedback.

3 Psychedelic Research Links 2025​

A comprehensive overview of all psychedelic research that has come out this year. We cover the research per month and provide a one-sentence summary for each new publication. After the full summary is added, a link to Blossom's review is added to the papers included in our database.
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Spotlight

No spotlight this week.

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