Roberta Murphy

• Fellow at Imperial College London

Background Psilocybin therapy (PT) produces rapid and persistent antidepressant effects in major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the long-term effects of PT have never been compared with gold-standard treatments for MDD such as pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy alone or in combination. Methods This is a 6-month follow-up study of a phase 2, doub...

Background: Psilocybin Therapy (PT) is being increasingly studied as a psychiatric intervention. Personality relates to mental health and can be used to probe the nature of PT's therapeutic action. Methods: In a phase 2, double-blind, randomized, active comparator controlled trial involving patients with moderate-to-severe major depressive disor...

The field of psychedelic assisted therapy (PAT) is growing at an unprecedented pace. The immense pressures this places on those working in this burgeoning field have already begun to raise important questions about risk and responsibility. It is imperative that the development of an ethical and equitable infrastructure for psychedelic care is prior...

Background: Across psychotherapeutic frameworks, the strength of the therapeutic alliance has been found to correlate with treatment outcomes; however, its role has never been formally assessed in a trial of psychedelic-assisted therapy. We aimed to investigate the relationships between therapeutic alliance and rapport, the quality of the acute psy...

Background Psilocybin may have antidepressant properties, but direct comparisons between psilocybin and established treatments for depression are lacking. Methods In a phase 2, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial involving patients with long-standing, moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder, we compared psilocybin with escitalopram, a...

Background WHO’s mental health gap action programme intervention guide (mhGAP-IG) is an evidence-based tool aimed at front-line health workers in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Its potential to improve global mental health education, especially through digital technologies, has been little studied. Problem-based learning (PBL) is u...

Background Rates of unemployment and early retirement are increased in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and contribute to disease burden. Aims To investigate time to loss of employment from PD onset and predictors of continued employment; to identify common issues and possible interventions in the workplace. Methods Eighty-eight patients with PD diagnosed...