The last decade has seen remarkable progress in research and clinical development of psychedelics and related drugs e.g. MDMA for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. This has been instigated by research studies of their psychological and neuroscience mechanisms that reveal important differences from traditional pharmacological treatments, that has led to many clinical trials in. These have revealed both psilocybin and MDMA to have clear efficacy in treatment-resistant depression and PTSD respectively. There is growing evidence for efficacy in several addictions especially smoking and alcohol dependence, plus early data in anorexia, OCD and end-of-life distress. Based on these data both these agents are now accepted as treatments in Australia, Switzerland, Canada, New Zealand and Germany for compassionate use. The Czech Republic is soon to follow suit.
The symposium will explain the background to this major development in psychiatric practice and highlight the latest clinical data, to update the recent RCPsych report on psychedelic treatments. https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/news-and-features/latest-news/detail/2025/09/19/more-research-needed-into-psychedelics-as-potential-treatments-for-mental-disorders--calls-rcpsych
Learning objectives
In this webinar you will:
• Learn the pharmacological and clinical effects of psilocybin and MDMA on major mental illness and addiction
• Be provided with the latest upto date evidence base for psilocybin and MDMA as treatments
• Learn about the use of psychedelic medicine in other countries
• Understand the importance of psychotherapy alongside psychedelic medicine use.
Speakers
Chair: Professor Fiona Gaughran, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London
Co-Chair: Dr Ananta Dave, Black Country ICB, Wolverhampton
Professor David Nutt, Imperial College, London
Professor Ranil Gunewardene, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Dr Jonny Martell, Imperial College, London
Funding
RCPsych International Congress is financially supported by the purchase of exhibition stand packages. A full list of confirmed exhibitors can be found here: Exhibiting Organisations at International Congress 2026
Availability
This webinar is part of the Congress webinar 2026 package. If you attended all four days of Congress, you will have access to these as part of your Congress package. Otherwise the Congress webinar 2026 package can be purchased below.
