Emerging Treatments for Common Mental Health Conditions Affecting Veterans: Psychedelic Interventions

DVA commissioned Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation (GMRF) to undertake a rolling Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) of emerging and adjunct treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and common mental health conditions affecting veterans. The emerging treatments were psychedelic interventions (i.e., ketamine; methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA; lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD; psilocybin; and dimethyltryptamine, DMT, including ayahuasca), medicinal cannabis, d-cycloserine (DCS), stellate ganglion block (SGB), and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS, including theta burst stimulation, TBS). The initial REA was delivered in a tranche of seven individual reports in 2022. Four update reports were contracted at 6-monthly intervals to incorporate the most up-to-date information from newly published studies. The goal of the REA was to provide an evidence base to develop a flexible, yet robust, decision-making process that allows DVA to assess emerging treatments for veterans who have not responded to evidence-based treatments.