Blog by Rebecca Morris, NIHR Maudsley BRC PhD Student
Eating disorders (ED) are difficult to treat, with the efficacy of treatment being variable and relapse common and eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa having no approved medication for its treatment. Psychedelics are promising new approaches that are currently being explored across the world for many different mental health conditions and may offer new directions for eating disorder treatment.
Our research reviewed findings from qualitative studies to understand how we can develop safe and effective eating disorder-specific approaches for using psychedelics.
The study, published in BMC Medicine, sought to understand the experiences of both individuals with eating disorders who have used psychedelics and people who have facilitated psychedelic use in this population.
We aimed to understand how we can minimise risk and tailor treatment to improve outcomes for people with eating disorders. We conducted a qualitative meta-synthesis of eight primary studies that explored classical (e.g. psilocybin and ayahuasca) and atypical (e.g. ketamine) psychedelic use in various settings (e.g. ceremonies, retreats, clinical trials, and psychedelics rehabs) in individuals with a range of eating disorders, primarily focusing on anorexia nervosa. A meta-synthesis combines the qualitative data across studies to generate new, interpretative insights on the topic.
Identifying themes to gain insight
Five overarching themes emerged from the data:
- Mind-body-spirit: Internal transformative processes, such as reconnecting with the self and body, that restore unity between the mind, body, and spirit.
- Emotional processing: Ability to regulate and process emotions or memories that had previously been unresolved or avoided.
- Navigating challenges and risks: Risks that are specific to the ED population (e.g. anxiety, low body weight) that interact with psychedelic use.
- Enabling safe and supportive psychedelic experiences: Importance of safety in psychedelic treatment, including trained providers who support the psychedelic experience.
- Therapeutic improvements: Subjective outcomes and improvements that are associated with psychedelic use, such as improvement of psychological wellbeing.
In the emotional processing theme participants described their experiences of the short-term psychedelic effects, including being able to reprocess and understand emotions and memories, and reconnecting with their self:
Service userYou might call that soul retrieval. You can’t go anywhere, you can’t hide from it… it was like one of the first times where I just sat in fear or sat in sadness or sat in memories I was trying to hide from.
In the ‘therapeutic improvement’ theme participants described experiences of changes in eating disorder symptoms following psychedelic use:
Service userI sit down and every meal I’m able to stop, to chew, to fully be mindful in my meal… I really enjoy that moment. It was like my brain was reprogrammed.
Navigating challenges and risks
Findings from the ‘navigating challenges and risks’ and ‘enabling safe and supportive psychedelic experiences’ themes suggested that it would be beneficial to develop eating disorder-specific guidance. For example, exploring expectations and letting the individual decide on features of the setting (e.g. music playing, wearing an eye mask, sitting or lying down) could help to mitigate fears around uncertainty that typify eating disorders.
Another example would be including eating disorder-specific screening for potential precautions against the use of psychedelics, such as medical risks (e.g. electrolyte abnormalities, low body weight) that increase the chances of negative side effects with psychedelic use, like nausea or more intense acute effects.
… physiologically, they’re already in a very, very delicate disposition. Eating disorders are characterised by such an intolerance for uncertainty and high levels of anxiety… It could be very off-putting and could really derail the whole process. if it’s not known [lack of predictability around content that may emerge in the experience] and if it comes up as a surprise and they’re not prepared for that.
– Service provider
Findings informing new approaches
These findings point to the need to develop eating disorder-specific protocols, by integrating knowledge of eating disorder psychopathology, and design approaches that reflect the lived experience of individuals with eating disorders. When these factors are carefully considered, psychedelics may open the door to transformative processes and therapeutic improvements for people with eating disorders.
Future research
The team is currently working on a placebo-controlled feasibility study of ketamine as a treatment for individuals with anorexia and depression (EDEN). If you are interested in participating, please contact eden@kcl.ac.uk for more information on the study and how you can be involved.
Links
Morris, R., Gundogan, A., Lawrence, V. et al. Understanding experiences of psychedelic treatments for eating disorders: a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies. BMC Med (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-026-04929-2
People Involved
- Rebecca Morris, NIHR Maudsley BRC PhD Student
- Janet Treasure, Professor of Adult Psychiatry
- Vanessa Lawrence, Professor of Qualitative Health Research
- Hubertus Himmerich, Clinical Reader in Eating Disorders
- Johanna Keeler, Postdoctoral Research Associate
